FANNIE B. KALIS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. COLGATE-PALMOLIVE COMPANY, MILLEN TRUE VALUE HARDWARE and MILLEN HARDWARE, Defendants-Appellees., 231 F.3d 1049

Summary

Plaintiff purchased liquid fondue fuel from a local hardware store. During a party, the container exploded. It was discarded. Plaintiff sued on theories of negligence, breach of warranty, and strict liability. On appeal from a grant of summary judgment on the ground she could not establish that defendant manufactured the product, plaintiff alleged several errors. First, she maintained that the district court abused its discretion in striking an affidavit. Second, she argued the district court erred in ruling on the summary judgment motion in the face of her request for additional discovery. Third, she believed that the district court erred in holding that the absence of the fuel container would constitute an absolute bar to recovery under Illinois law. Finally, she stated that the magistrate judge did not have authority to enter summary judgment. The court held that district court did not abuse its discretion in disregarding the affidavit or the belated answers to the requests to ...