Court case[1936] AC 85

Dr Grant bought two pairs of woollen underpants from the retailers John Martin and Co., manufactured by Australian Knitting Mills. The garments contained an excess of sulphite chemicals left over from the manufacturing process, invisible to any examination. After wearing them he developed severe dermatitis and was ill for a year. He sued the retailer for breach of the implied conditions and the manufacturer in negligence.

The Privy Council, advised by Lord Wright, held both defendants liable. Against the retailer: the sale was a sale by description even though the buyer saw the goods, because he bought them as 'woollen underwear' and not as specific identified things; the garments were not of merchantable quality, since no one who knew of the chemicals would have bought them; and the purpose of being worn next to the skin was obvious, so the fitness condition applied and was broken. Against the manufacturer: applying Donoghue v. Stevenson, a manufacturer who sends out goods in a form that reaches the consumer without reasonable possibility of intermediate examination owes him a duty of care.