H. Parsons Ltd. v. Uttley Ingham & Co

1 Q.B. 791 (1977)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

H. Parsons (P) was a pig farmer with nearly 700 pigs in his herd. P fed the pigs on special pignuts, and they used about 10 tons of them per month. In order to store and handle the nuts, P bought a big hopper in 1968 called a bulk feed storage hopper. They purchased the hopper from Uttley (D) who was sheet metal workers. P paid 270 pounds for it. P then ordered a second hopper in 1971 that cost 275 pounds. D accepted the order to supply a hopper just like the first and to fit it with a ventilation top and complete filler and breather pipes with a 15-pound delivery charge to be delivered in an upright position and bolted down. D delivered the second hopper, and it was exactly the same as the first except the delivery man forgot to adjust the ventilator. He left it closed, and no one noticed the mistake because it was 28 feet above ground on the top of the hopper. P used the hopper and filled it with 9.5 tons of pignuts in August, and with like quantities in September and October. All was well until September 28th when a small number of nuts appeared to be moldy. Things kept getting worse, but it was known that moldy nuts do not harm pigs. However, eventually, there were significant quantities of moldy nuts and the pigs were ill. They called the nut supplier and the vet and bought bagged food to feed the pigs. Eventually, they called D, and he climbed on top and simply opened the ventilator. P sued D, and the trial judge found that the closed ventilator was the cause. A large number of the pigs got E.Coli, and eventually, 254 pigs died at a value of 10,000 pounds. P claimed a total loss of 20,000-30,000 pounds. The judge found that the makers of the hopper could reasonably contemplate that the ventilator would remain closed while the hopper was in use, that the pignuts stored in it would become moldy for want of proper ventilation, and that the moldy pig nuts would be fed to the pigs. There was no dispute over damages but only over the remoteness of them. D was found liable.