Negligence; Food contamination; Causation; Skinner v Square D Co; Implied warranty; Defect at sale; Computer Network, Inc v AM Gen Corp; Adulterated food; MCL 289.5101; Spoliation

The court held that plaintiff failed to present evidence creating a genuine issue of material fact that the wire removed from her small intestine came from the hamburger she bought at defendants’ fast food restaurant. Plaintiff ate the hamburger on a Friday afternoon, developed abdominal pain that night, and underwent surgery Sunday morning, when doctors removed a three-centimeter piece of wire from her small intestine. The trial court granted summary disposition under MCR 2.116(C)(10) on plaintiff’s negligence, implied-warranty, and Food Law claims after finding her theory of causation speculative. On appeal, the court held that although causation may be proven circumstantially, the evidence must support “reasonable inferences of causation, not mere speculation,” and “the mere possibility of causation is insufficient to survive summary disposition.” The court found plaintiff did not meet that standard because the surgeon testified that the inflammatory response showed the wire had been lodged there for “at least a couple of days,” that it could have been in plaintiff for “a couple of years,” and that it was unlikely she ingested it Friday and showed that level of inflammation by Sunday. The court also noted that although the doctor said the wire’s shape “could have originated from a brush,” he agreed that linking it to defendants’ restaurant was “speculation.” The court further held that plaintiff’s own testimony did not bridge the gap because she did not taste, feel, or see metal while eating. Because plaintiff failed to show that the hamburger was defective or adulterated, her implied-warranty and MCL 289.5101 claims failed as well. The court declined to reach the spoliation argument because even proof that wire brushes existed in defendants' restaurant would not establish the missing causal link. Affirmed.