MacPherson v. Buick Motor Co.
MacPherson v. Buick Motor Co., 217 N.Y. 382, 111 N.E. 1050 (1916) is a famous New York Court of Appeals opinion by Judge Benjamin N. Cardozo that removed the requirement of privity of contract for duty in negligence actions. Facts. The plaintiff, Donald C. MacPherson, a stonecutter, was injured when one of the wooden wheels of his 1909 Buick Runabout collapsed. The defendant, Buick Motor Company, had manufactured the vehicle but not the wheel, which had been manufactured by another party but installed by defendant. It was conceded that the defective wheel could have been  discovered upon inspection. The defendant denied liability because the plaintiff had purchased the automobile from a dealer, rather than directly from the defendant. Judgment. In the earlier precedent, duty had been imposed on defendants by voluntary contract via privity as in an English case, "Winterbottom v. Wright". which is the precursor rule for product liability. The portion of the "MacPherson" opinion in which Cardozo demolished the privity bar to recovery is as follows: