Pillars v. R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.

78 So. 365 (1918)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

P sued D, manufacturer, of 'Brown Mule Chewing Tobacco,' for damages resulting to P from chewing a piece of Brown Mule tobacco in which was concealed a decomposed human toe. P purchased the product and consumed one plug of his purchase, which measured up to representations. When P tackled the second plug it made him sick, but, not suspecting the tobacco, he tried another chew, and still another, until he bit into some foreign substance, which crumbled like dry bread, and caused him to foam at the mouth, while he was getting 'sicker and sicker.' P's teeth struck something hard; he could not bite through it. P discovered a human toe, with flesh and nail intact. P consulted a physician, who testified that P exhibited all of the characteristic symptoms of ptomaine poison. The physician examined the toe and identified it as a human toe in a state of putrefaction, and said that P's condition was caused by the poison generated by the rotten toe. The trial judge directed a verdict for Ds. P appealed.