An explosion took place in the factory of Trossings Glas, a company producing glass items. The building was completely destroyed and a number of nearby buildings were seriously damaged. The explosion was caused by a leak of liquefied petroleum gas that had ignited. The question for the Supreme Court was whether or not the company had strict liability for the damage caused by the explosion or the fire.

The insurance company of the owners of the nearby properties claimed that Trossings Glas was liable to pay damages as a result of the compensation that it had paid to its policyholders. The plaintiff had not claimed that the liability was due to negligence or intent. Thus the Supreme Court had to decide if the event was of such a nature that strict liability could be considered.

The Supreme Court consulted legislation on environmental damage and concluded that there was no legal basis supporting strict liability in this case.