In Speirs v. Dexter Shoe Co. , Jean Speirs filed a personal injury lawsuit to recover damages she sustained when she slipped and fell while bowling at Herrill Lanes , in New Hyde Park, New York.
Speirs, a recreational bowler with over 40-years of experience, was wearing bowling shoes manufactured by Dexter Shoe Company . Since she believed the shoes were defective and contributed to the accident, Speirs also asserted a products liability claim.
Finding that Speirs had owned the shoes for nearly two-years and, by her own admission, had worn the shoes approximately 64 times, the Nassau County Supreme Court awarded Dexter Shoe Company summary judgment in its favor and dismissed the products liability claim.
On appeal, the Appellate Division, Second Department, was equally unsympathetic to that theory of recovery, and held that the "evidence submitted by Dexter made out a prima facie case demonstrating that, as a matter of law, the bowling shoe was not defective."
It seems that Speirs hit the gutter with that one.
For a copy of the Appellate Division's decision, please use this link: Speirs v. Dexter Shoe Co.