People v. Warner-Lambert Co.

At a Warner-Lambert Co. (defendant) chewing-gum factory, a buildup of magnesium stearate dust near a Uniplast machine, combined with liquid nitrogen used in production, led to a catastrophic explosion and fire that killed six workers and injured more than fifty; the company and four corporate officials were charged with second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide. The prosecution offered two competing, largely speculative theories for what actually ignited the explosion -- a mechanical spark or a liquid-nitrogen-to-liquid-oxygen reaction -- without solid proof that either specific mechanism was foreseeable to the defendants. The trial court dismissed the indictment, the appellate division reversed, and the defendants appealed.