 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Moore v. Coachmen Industries Inc.5/5/1998
aiming its implied warranties under the applicable state statutes. There are some large component suppliers who possess the economic control necessary to require that manufacturers include component part disclaimers with finished product literature or to require sellers to include component disclaimers in the purchaser's contract. For example, Intel and Motorola are component suppliers whose sales exceed ten billion dollars. See Christopher W. Weber, Note, Purchaser of a Defective Product Cannot Recover Purely Economic Loss Against a Component Part Supplier of the Finished Product Under Tort or Breach of Implied Warranty Theories: Hininger v. Case Corp., 23 F.2d (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 115 S.Ct. 728 (1994), 26 Tex. Tech. L. Rev. 1287, 1325-27 (discussing the 1994 controversy surrounding an Intel computer chip malfunctioning, in regards to the Hininger analysis). However, in the case of most component part suppliers, this justification for the removal of the privity requirement--the ability to effectively disclaim implied warranties--is noticeably absent.
For the above-mentioned reasons, we conclude that defendant MagneTek was, as a matter of law, covered by defendant Sportscoach's Limited Warranty, although there was no specific reference to defendant MagneTek or to its product, the power converter unit in that warranty. It would be inequitable to hold otherwise, as the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals stated in Shipco 2295, Inc. v. Avondale Shipyards, Inc., 825 F.2d 925 (5th Cir. 1987), cert. denied, 485 U.S. 1007, 99 L. Ed. 2d 701 (1988),
The buyer ordinarily has no interest in how or where the manufacturer obtains individual components. The buyer is usually interested in the quality of the finished product and is content to let the manufacturer decide whether to do all the work or delegate part of it to others.
Id. at 929. In the instant case, plaintiffs bargained for a complete and functional recreational vehicle, not for wheels, electrical convertor box, stereo, etc. Thus, they had no reasonable expectation that MagneTek, or any of the other manufacturers of unbranded components, would resolve any problem they encountered with the vehicle. See Hininger, 23 F.3d at 127.
We hold, therefore, that plaintiffs' breach of the implied warranty of merchantability claim (third claim) against defendant MagneTek is also barred by the language of the Limited Warranty. In light of our conclusion in regard to the applicability of the Limited Warranty, all of plaintiffs' breach of warranty claims are time barred. With only plaintiffs' negligence claims against defendants surviving, we must next discuss the viability of these remaining claims under the economic loss doctrine.
III. The Economic Loss Doctrine
North Carolina has adopted the economic loss rule, which prohibits recovery for economic loss in tort. Instead, such claims are governed by contract law--in this case, the UCC. The courts have construed the term "economic losses" to include damages to the product itself. See Ports Authority v. Roofing Co., 294 N.C. 73, 240 S.E.2d 345 (1978); Reece, 110 N.C. App. 462, 429 S.E.2d 768. The rationale for the economic loss rule is that the sale of goods is accomplished by contract and the parties are free to include, or exclude, provisions as to the parties' respective rights and remedies, should the product prove to be defective. To give a party a remedy in tort, where the defect in the product damages the actual product, would permit the party to ignore and avoid the rights and remedies granted or imposed by the parties' contract. See Reece, 110 N.C. App. at 466-67, 429 S.E.2d at 770. Where a defective product causes damage to property other than the pro
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 North Carolina Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
By using the system, you agree to TERMS OF SERVICE
|