Mason v. American Emery Wheel Works

Mason (plaintiff) was hurt in Mississippi by an emery wheel made by American Emery Wheel Works (AEWW) (defendant), a Rhode Island corporation, and sued in federal court in Rhode Island. AEWW argued Mason lacked privity because the wheel had passed through several owners before Mason's employer bought it, and the district court felt bound to dismiss under the old Mississippi rule in Ford Motor Co. v. Myers requiring privity — while openly noting that modern trends rejected such a rule and that it was applying Ford only reluctantly. Mason appealed, pointing to a later Mississippi Supreme Court decision, Du Pont, which did not expressly overrule Ford (deciding the case on other grounds) but stated in dicta that the principle allowing recovery without privity was now well established.