Williams v. RCA Corp.

Williams (plaintiff), a restaurant security guard, carried a two-way portable radio made by RCA (defendant) to summon police. During an attempted robbery he tried to radio for backup, but the radio was defective and failed. He then tried to arrest the robber himself and was shot. Williams sued RCA, claiming the defective radio was the proximate cause of his injury. The trial court granted RCA's motion to dismiss, and Williams appealed.

Whether a manufacturer is liable in products liability for an injury when an unforeseeable intervening event broke the causal connection between the defective product and the injury.