Rumsey v. Freeway Manor Minimax

423 S.W.2d 387, 1968 Tex. App. LEXIS 2994
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJanuary 11, 1968
Docket14814
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 423 S.W.2d 387 (Rumsey v. Freeway Manor Minimax) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rumsey v. Freeway Manor Minimax, 423 S.W.2d 387, 1968 Tex. App. LEXIS 2994 (Tex. Ct. App. 1968).

Opinion

BELL, Chief Justice.

Appellants sued Freeway Manor Mini-max, a retail grocery store, herein called Minimax, and Echols Manufacturing Company, the manufacturer of “Echols King-tex”, a roach poison, herein called Echols, to recover damages resulting from the death of their three year old son, Bruce, who allegedly died as a result'of ingesting some of the roach poison which contained thallium.

After appellants rested their case, the trial court sustained the motion of Mini-max for an instructed verdict and at the conclusion of all evidence it instructed a verdict favorable to Echols. A judgment was rendered that appellants take nothing.

The appellants by point of error here assert liability on the part of Minimax, the retailer, on the ground of implied warranty.

Appellants assert liability on the part of Echols on the following grounds:

1. There was a fact issue as to whether Echols was negligent in the labeling of “Echols Kingtex”.

2. There was a fact issue as to whether there was negligent failure to warn.

3. There was a fact issue as to whether there was a breach of express warranty.

4. There was a fact issue as to whether there was a breach of implied warranty.

As to both appellees it is asserted there was error in instructing a verdict because there was only a fact issue as to whether appellants were guilty of contributory negligence and whether they could not recover because of the doctrine of volenti non fit injuria.

The fundamental basis of recovery is that the label on the bottle purchased by Mrs. Rumsey did not contain a statement that there was no known antidote for thallium.

In May of 1961, Mrs. Rumsey purchased a one ounce bottle of “Echols Kingtex” from Minimax. A friend had told her she used this insecticide, so she decided to buy it. She had some roaches in the garage. She found it on the shelf and she read the label before she purchased it. She read *389 the antidote given, which was as follows: “Give a tablespoonful of salt in a glass of warm water and repeat until vomit fluid is clear. Have victim lie down and keep warm. Call a physician immediately! Warning: Cumulative Poison. Absorbed through the skin. Do not get in eyes, on skin or on clothing. Wash thoroughly after handling. Keep children and domestic animals away from baited areas and burn all pests killed.” She relied on the label when she made the purchase. She also saw the crossbones and skull painted in red on the label. She also saw the word “Poison” written on the label in three different places. She knew this was something not to let children get into.

She, following directions on the label, filled small bottle caps — Seven-Up caps— and put them in the garage. The directions on the label that she was talking about read: “Place in small lids or beverage caps. Only a few necessary. Place in cabinets and closets where children and pets cannot reach. Place remainder in jar and use as needed. It is good as long as you have use for it.” The caps with the poison would be placed at night around the garbage cans in the garage and she would then lock the doors. After picking them up from the floor she would place them on the back of a shelf. The shelf was about A1/2 feet from the floor. She would put them at the back of the shelf that was about 8 inches wide. She was careful not to let Bruce know where they were. If her husband was home she had him keep Bruce while she put them out. If her husband was gone, she would put them out after Bruce had gone to bed. She had followed this procedure during the month of May and part of June.

On June 27, 1961, around 10 o’clock a. m., Bruce and a six year old boy, Mark Harris, came over to play. They played in the breezeway between the house and the garage. About 11 or 11:30 they went across the street to play in a swimming pool. He later played at another neighbor’s house. About one o’clock Bruce had his lunch and then went outside. He came back and asked where his Seven-Up cap was. She asked him to show her what he meant. He took her to the garage and she saw the other two lids on the floor and the poison was spilled and she noticed Bruce had poison on his cheek and hands. She took him to the bathroom to wash the poison off and she found the other cap on the dressing table in the bathroom. She immediately went to her next-door neighbor and they immediately took Bruce to the doctor, who was about five minutes away. She didn’t try the warm salt water first aid given on the label because she felt that would take longer than taking him to the doctor.

When the first doctor learned Bruce had eaten thallium, he called several people and looked in some books. He then told Mrs. Rumsey to take him to another doctor. From the time she got to the first doctor’s office until she got to the second doctor, about an hour had elapsed. The second doctor examined Bruce and then took him across the street to the hospital. They were at the hospital for an hour or an hour and a half. They then went home. The child seemed drowsy. She took him back to Dr. Rothenberg, the second doctor. The boy had vomited some before they left the hospital. The child was in pain on the return to the doctor’s office. The boy continued to vomit. After being there a short while, the child’s eyes began to roll and he turned blue. He was taken to the hospital again. The child expired there.

Mrs. Rumsey said she had never heard of thallium. Her son told her he had eaten some of the poison. The six year old boy said he had knocked the caps off the shelf. He told this to his mother. He had eaten none of the poison. While at the hospital the first time, a nurse pumped Bruce’s stomach.

There was nothing on the label that said “Kingtex” if eaten was fatal. Mrs. Rum-sey told her husband that anything they would recommend putting in the cabinet *390 with food and dishes wouldn’t be too harmful. Dr. Moise, the first doctor, said there was no antidote.

When purchasing the poison at Minimax, she did not talk to anyone connected with the store about making the purchase. She never, before the purchase, talked to anyone about how poison thallium was. She used the poison on the basis of the label. When she sees the skull and crossbones she thinks of caution. Too, they signify death. At the time she read the label she didn’t think it would cause death because of the antidote. Since she knew poison could cause death, that was the reason she took the precautions she did in making use of it. When she stored the poison she put it up on the very top shelf. She took every precaution to see that Bruce was not exposed to it because the label said “Poison”. She thinks the only reason Bruce was exposed to the poison was because the Harris boy either knocked it off the shelf or got it off.

Mr. Rumsey was out of town so much, he knew nothing of the incident. He left the use of the poison to Mrs. Rumsey.

From the testimony of the pathologist, who performed an autopsy, and the chemist and toxicologist, who made various anal-yses, it certainly could be concluded that death resulted from thallium poisoning.

Dr. Rothenberg testified when he first examined Bruce there was no evidence of illness. However, where there had been a possible ingestion of a toxic substance, it is customary to pump the stomach.

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Bluebook (online)
423 S.W.2d 387, 1968 Tex. App. LEXIS 2994, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rumsey-v-freeway-manor-minimax-texapp-1968.