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Products Liability Keyed Owen, 8th Ed.
Martinelli v. Custom Accessories, Inc.
Citation:
14 Mass. L. Rptr. 601 (2002)Facts
On June 12, 1997, Lynda Martinelli purchased a cup of hot coffee in a Styrofoam cup with a lid at a Dunkin’ Donuts drive-thru in Malden, Massachusetts. She placed the coffee in a plastic cup holder she had purchased about ten days earlier at Sonny’s Car Wash, which she had affixed to her car door by wedging the hook portion into a groove parallel to the window. Martinelli noticed the cup might have been too heavy for the holder and kept two fingers on the holder during her drive. When she reached her house and needed to make a sharp left turn, she removed her fingers from the cup holder to place her hand on the steering wheel. At that point, the cup holder detached, causing the coffee to spill onto her left hip and thigh, resulting in burns. Martinelli admitted she knew she would be burned if the coffee spilled on her.
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