Exam 20: Warranties and Product Liability

A common problem in cases of express warranty is being able to separate statements that create express warranties from statements that do not.Discuss what type of statements create an express warranty and four indications that a statement is likely to create an express warranty.

A merchant seller who would like to exclude the warranty of merchantability can do so by doing which of the following?

Myrtle walks into Hank's Hardware Store and says,"I need metal storage shelves that can hold 500 pounds." Hank directs her to a metal storage shelving system.Myrtle buys the shelving recommended by Hank.When Myrtle puts 475 pounds of weight on the bottom shelf,it breaks.Hank's Hardware breached the warranty of merchantability.

Privacy is required in strict product liability cases.

Express warranties must be in writing.

Bill is injured while standing on the corner of Hollyhock and Vine when Mia's new Hog speeds out of control because of a defective part.In most jurisdictions,Bill:

In a tort case,the statute of limitations runs from the time the defect was discovered.

An express warranty may be created by a sample.

In a breach of warranty case,the buyer must:

Many states prohibit a seller from disclaiming implied warranties in the sale of consumer goods.

Which of the following would be a breach of the implied warranty of merchantability?

In the case Goodman v.Wenco Foods,Inc.,the Supreme Court of North Carolina addressed the issue of:

Kyle is the owner of a motorcycle company.His tire supplier having gone out of business,he asked several tire manufacturers for samples.He selected one manufacturer,based on the quality of the rubber,the tread depth and the price,and ordered 1000 tires.When he received his order,he found that the quality did not match that of the sample.In particular,the tread depth was much lesser than that of the sample.What recourse does Kyle have?

When Angelena was shopping for a new lawn mower,the salesman,Mark,told her the model she was interested in cuts an 18" swath and the only maintenance it needs is an oil change and a new sparkplug at the beginning of each mowing season.He hands her a warranty booklet which describes that model as a mulching mower and says it has a five-year full warranty.The booklet also disclaims "any warranties or statements made by any agent or salesperson or that appear elsewhere in this booklet." The effect of the written disclaimer is:

The plaintiff,Donald Laird (Laird)has a bachelor of science degree in animal science from the University of Nebraska,had previously been employed at the university's swine research center,had managed a feed mill in North Platte,had been employed as a herdsman for Hog Breeders,Incorporated,had worked for five years for Armour & Company at its feeder pig operations,and was a branch manager of the Scribner Co-op,Inc.(Co-op)for 14 years,until February 1986.Laird's assistant manager while at the Co-op was Gary Ruwe.When Laird quit the Co-op,Ruwe became the manager.In March 1986,Laird went to Co-op to purchase some feed ingredients for his hogs.In speaking with Ruwe,Laird learned that the Co-op grain bin was not operating properly and therefore the corn was not drying properly.If the corn does not dry properly,it can collect mold and insects.Laird said he would take 1300 bushels of corn if Ruwe could pull the corn out of the middle of the grain bin.The corn was delivered to Laird where he noticed some damaged corn and an odor that indicated that the corn may have mold.Laird did not reject the shipment,however.Laird then began to feed the corn to his hogs.The boars began to develop pneumonia,began vomiting,and would not eat regularly.When it was time for the sows to farrow,the sows had an abnormally high number of miscarriages and stillborns.The ultimate conclusion was that the corn delivered was tainted with vomitoxins,a toxic substance that made the corn unmarketable as feed.Laird sued the Co-op for breach of the implied warranties of fitness for a particular purpose and merchantability.In order to recover under the warranty of fitness for a particular purpose what does Laird have to prove? What is the implied warranty of merchantability? Does Laird have a successful claim with this warranty?

An express warranty can be created by which of the following?

Mark,a power tool salesman,promises Jill,a customer,that the Turbo Power Hedge Trimmer 1000 will easily cut through bamboo up to 3 inches thick.Mark's statement constitutes an express warranty if Jill purchases the hedge trimmer.

Alice's Aspirin Inc.,produces and packages aspirin for sale to retail stores.Bob buys a bottle of Alice's aspirin at Dahl's Food Stores.Two days later Bob's friend,Hank,takes two aspirin while at Bob's house.Within minutes,Hank is very ill and is rushed to the hospital,where it is found that a defect in the aspirin caused the reaction.Which of the following is correct?

A tag attached to a tree in a nursery identifying the tree as a Southern Magnolia creates an express warranty.

Henry,a tomato producer,purchases 15 gallons of a new herbicide from GardenWorld to get rid of weeds.Henry bought the herbicide without consultation with GardenWorld for suggestions.Although Henry correctly knew that any herbicide would kill the weeds in his garden,after he sprayed the new herbicide,he realized that it did not kill the weeds.The weeds even seemed to grow! Did GardenWorld breach a warranty?