Panera Gets ‘Exploding’ Chair Suit Win Affirmed by 8th Circuit

A consumer who sued Panera LLC after a chair in one of the company’s Omaha cafe’s suddenly collapsed can’t revive his product liability suit, a federal appeals court said Friday.

Panera and the chair manufacturer, Furniture Design Studios Inc., were properly awarded summary judgment, the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit unanimously said.

Mehner sued the companies after sitting in a chair at a Panera store in 2017. He said he sat in an “exploding cafe chair,” and sustained spinal injuries. He brought negligence claims against both defendants, and strict liability claims against FDS.

For his claims against ...