Eberhard

Eberhard was injured in a fire at his house, which broke out while an employee of Bruhn was installing a countertop in the kitchen. Eberhard sued Bruhn for negligence and breach of warranty, and a jury found in favor of Bruhn. On appeal Eberhard contends the jury was erroneously instructed in the law.

On the day of the fire Lykken, an employee of Bruhn, came to Eberhard’s house to install a formica top on a counter next to a gas stove in the kitchen. After arranging his materials and preparing the surface of the counter for the formica Lykken opened a gallon can of Grip, a contact cement used to bind formica to other surfaces. An expert testified that Grip gives off highly inflammable vapors which possess an extremely low flash point. After Lykken brushed on approximately 10 strokes of Grip an explosion occurred, and everything caught fire, including his shirt. He shouted “fire” several times, ran from the kitchen through the hallway out the back door, and rolled on the ground to put out the fire in his shirt. He saw Eberhard come out of the house, also with clothing afire, and he then helped Eberhard put out the flames on his person.

Plaintiff theorized that the fire…