Facts

On May 29, 2006, plaintiff Jill Riter attempted to open a bottle of Francis Ford Coppola Sofia sparkling wine with a corkscrew after she could not open it by hand. Unknown to plaintiff, the corkscrew pushed through the cork and scraped against the inside of the bottle, causing a fracture. When plaintiff pulled out the cork, the bottle exploded, breaking into shards of glass, allegedly injuring plaintiff. Following the accident Francis Ford Coppola Presents Inc. added the following warning on the Sofia bottle: "Warning: Do Not Use a Corkscrew".

The plaintiff brought suit for products liability negligence under design, manufacturing, and warning defects against defendants, wine owners Francis Ford Coppola Presents Inc. and Niebaum-Coppola Estate Winery, bottle manufacturer Saint Gobain Containers, and product assembler Weibel Inc. Saint Gobain Containers sued a distributor of the bottles, cross-defendant Saxco-Demptos.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
The plaintiff contended that although the cork was supposed to be removed by hand, it would not budge, forcing her to try different methods of opening the cork, which finally led to her use of the corkscrew.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
The defendants contended that plaintiff was liable for her injuries because she abused and misused the product by using a corkscrew. The plaintiff attempted to use a wine corkscrew to open a bottle that was corked with a "champagne" style cork, and not designed to be open with a corkscrew. After pushing the screw through the side of the cork, she admitted that she tugged as hard as she could on the cork, holding the corkscrew in one hand and the neck of the bottle in the other. Plaintiff knew the bottle was under pressure and had opened hundreds of champagne/sparkling wine bottles in the past when she worked as a cocktail waitress.

The defense claimed that an inspection of the bottle revealed no manufacturing defect. The defense also alleged that the plaintiff's injuries were the result of prior injuries in which she cut herself on a wine glass. Weibel alleged that it wasn't in the chain of distribution because it was merely performing the service of assembly.

Damages

According to defense counsel: Plaintiff claimed $38,000 in past and $25,000 in future income loss as a systems manager at AT&T. She claimed $30,000 in past medical specials and an estimated $15,000 in future medical specials for additional surgery to her hand. As of the date of the MSC at which the case settled, her settlement demand to all defendants was $200,000.

Injuries

The plaintiff claimed right thumb and palm lacerations, which severed nerves in her fingers. The plaintiff claimed residual numbness and pain in her thumb.

Result

The plaintiff settled the case for $38,000 (Niebaum-Coppola & Coppola Presents for $13,000; Weibel for $12,500; Gobain for $8,500; and Saxco-Demptos for $4,000).