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P was injured when the chair he was sitting on collapsed. P was at work at the Hoban Control Center and was employed as an assistant trainmaster for the Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corporation (PATH). P was six feet six inches tall and weighed approximately 325 pounds. P had been sitting in the chair for almost two hours when he suddenly heard a loud noise; the back of his chair cracked and gave way; and he fell backward to the floor. Other employees heard either a clicking or ratcheting sound or a loud noise like the grinding of gears. D manufactured the chair. It had been in use at Hoban Control Center for five weeks. There was no evidence, however, that the chair had been misused by anyone. In part, P alleged products liability claims against D, pursuant to manufacture and warning defect theories. P's expert was unable to duplicate the accident, identify a specific defect in the chair or state that a defect caused the accident. P asked the court to charge the jury on res ipsa loquitur in respect of the manufacturing defect claim since he was relying on circumstantial evidence to prove the existence of a manufacturing defect. The court declined to grant that charge. The jury found PATH was negligent in failing to provide P with a safe workplace and awarded him $1.5 million. The jury also found that P failed to establish a manufacturing defect in the chair. PATH appealed, and P cross-appealed. The Appellate Division reversed both verdicts and remanded for a new trial. The verdict against PATH was reversed on an evidentiary basis. As against D, the trial court should have instructed the jury on res ipsa loquitur. D appealed.

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