Pouncey v. Ford Motor Co.
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
464 F.2d 957 (1972)
A radiator fan blade broke off Pouncey's (plaintiff) Ford-manufactured car and struck him in the face; his expert testified steel impurities weakened the fan blade, while Ford's (defendant) experts blamed bent blades causing an off-center wobble, and Ford presented only its current quality-control procedures, not those in place when Pouncey's fan was actually made. The jury found for Pouncey and awarded $15,000, and Ford appealed, arguing the case was too speculative to go to the jury without proof its testing procedures were inadequate.
Whether a jury may infer manufacturer negligence from circumstantial evidence in a manufacturing-defect suit where there is direct evidence of an actual product defect.