Legal Question in Business Law in Texas

Liability exposure for home based business

Hello, I had a question about a home-based business. My wife is producing custom made/decorated candles. These are sold at local craft shows and such. She is currently under a sole proprietor, and I was wondering what type of risk we are assuming? My concern of course would be how much liability would we be responsible for if someone was irresponsible using one of our products. Just to clarify, we do not actually make the candles; we just add a decorative cover. Thanks


Asked on 9/08/03, 4:02 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Peter Bradie Bradie, Bradie & Bradie

Re: Liability exposure for home based business

You are always facing the risk of a lawsuit. Remember, you have a product that has an open flame. If you don't have a label that says words to the effect to not use near flammable objects, you could be sued for some idiot burning down their house. Of course you could be sued by the same idiot even if you had the label on it.

The liability is a function of what you're selling, not where it's made.

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Answered on 9/08/03, 4:15 pm
Barbara Lamar Law Office of Barbara Lamar

Re: Liability exposure for home based business

Given that your wife is probably not selling a huge volume of candles, the odds of anyone suing her are relatively slim.

Still, there is always the chance that something could happen. A quick Web search on "candles" and "lawsuits" turned up a 1997 lawsuit filed against the retailer Gap and its subsidiary Banana Republic for selling candles that contained lead and caused soot damage to users' homes. Another web page had a story about a Christmas candle that was close enough to an overloaded electrical wire to melt the insulation and cause a major fire.

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Answered on 9/08/03, 6:08 pm


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