Judson v. Giant Powder Co.
California Supreme Court
40 P. 1020 (Cal. 1895)
Giant Powder Co. (defendant) manufactured dynamite at a factory next door to a factory owned by Judson (plaintiff). An explosion at Giant Powder's factory destroyed Judson's building. All of Giant Powder's employees on duty that day died in the blast, so there was no direct testimony about what caused the explosion. An expert testified that, in the ordinary course of events, an explosion like this would not have happened. The trial court ruled for Judson, denied Giant Powder's motion for a new trial, and Giant Powder appealed.
Whether negligence may be inferred, without direct evidence of its cause, when an accident is caused by something under a party's exclusive management and the accident would not ordinarily occur if that party used proper care.