- The Fact: Plaintiff ( Norton) bought a riding mower from defendant company(Snapper Power Equipment). While using the mower to clear leaves from a yard, plaintiff reached the top of an incline and the mower then began to slide backwards toward a creek. Plaintiff testified that he applied the brakes but the mower continued to slide and crashed into the creek, at which point he was knocked off the seat and his hands somehow got caught in the blades, amputating four of his fingers.
- Issue: Did the district court err in granting a judgment notwithstanding the verdict to defendant on plaintiff’s strict liability claim?
- Reasoning: The jury could reasonably have found that the mower was defective because of defendant’s failure to install a “dead
