Joan and Ron bought and paid for six dining room chairs from Hills Interiors (Hills). Joan and Ron drove their car to the Hills warehouse loading dock behind the store to load the chairs into their car. The loading dock attendant was helping another customer load furniture when Joan and Ron arrived at the dock. Joan and Ron waited about ten minutes, then told the dock attendant they would load the chairs themselves. The six chairs were sitting on the dock in plain sight so the attendant agreed. As soon as he was free, the attendant quickly came to help Joan and Ron load the last of the six chairs into their car.

When Joan and Ron unloaded the chairs at their home, the leg on one of the chairs was broken in transit. Joan and Ron returned to Hills with the damaged chair and requested that Hills replace it. They admitted the chair was not damaged when it was sitting on the dock before being loaded into their car. They further claimed that because the dock attendant was unavailable to load the chairs when they arrived at the dock, Hills should be responsible for the damaged chair. Joan and Ron stated they were not professional furniture handlers and should not have had to load the chairs themselves or be responsible for any damage.

Should Hills legally be responsible for the damage to the chair? Why or why not?

If you were the Hills warehouse manager, how would you handle this situation, and what would be your legal justification?