QUESTIONS
At the advent of the social season, Aunt Lavinia purchased a hula skirt in Sadie’s dress shop.
The salesclerk told her, “This superior garment will do things for a person.” Aunt Lavinia’s houseguest, her niece, Florabelle, asked and obtained her aunt’s permission to wear the skirt to a masquerade ball. In the midst of the festivity, at which there was much dancing, drinking, and
smoking, the long skirt brushed against a glimmering cigarette butt.
Unknown to Aunt Lavinia and Florabelle, its wearer, the garment was made of a fine unwoven
fiber that is highly flammable. It burst into flames, and Florabelle suffered severe burns. Aunt Lavinia notified Sadie of the accident and of Florabelle’s intention to recover from Sadie.
Can Florabelle recover damages from Sadie, the proprietor of the dress shop, and Exotic
Clothes, Inc., the manufacturer from which Sadie purchased the skirt? Explain.
2. The Talent Company, manufacturer of a widely advertised and expensive perfume, sold a quantity of this product to Young, a retail druggist. Dentley and Bird visited Young’s store and Dentley, desiring to make a gift to Bird, purchased from Young a bottle of this per-
fume, asking for it by its trade name.
Young wrapped up the bottle and handed it directly to Bird. The perfume contained a foreign chemical that, upon the first use of the perfume by Bird, severely burned her face and caused a permanent facial disfigurement. What are the rights of Bird, if any, against Dentley, Young, and the Talent Company?
John Doe purchased a bottle of “Bleach-All,” a well known brand, from Roe’s combination service station and grocery store. When John used the “Bleach-All,” his clothes deteriorated due to an error in mixing the chemicals during the detergent’s manufacture. John brings an action against Roe to recover damages. Explain whether John will be successful in his lawsuit.
A route salesperson for Ideal Milk Company delivered a one-half-gallon glass jug of milk to Allen’s home. The next day, when Allen grasped the milk container by its neck to take it out of his refrigerator, it shattered in his hand and caused serious injury.
Allen paid Ideal on a monthly basis for the regular delivery of milk. Ideal’s milk bottles each contained the legend “Property of Ideal to be returned,” and the route salesperson would
pick up the empty bottles when he delivered milk. Can Allen recover damages from Ideal Milk Company? Why or why not?
While Butler and his wife, Wanda, were browsing through Sloan’s used car lot, Butler told Sloan that he was looking for a safe but cheap family car. Sloan said,
As Butler drove the car out of Sloan’s lot, the left rear wheel fell off, and Butler lost control of the vehicle. It veered over an embankment, causing serious injuries to Wanda. What is Sloan’s liability to Butler and Wanda?
John purchased for cash a Revenge automobile manufactured by Japanese Motors, Ltd., from an authorized franchised dealer in the United States. The dealer told John that the car had a “24-month, 24,000-mile warranty.”
Two days after John accepted delivery of the car, he received an eighty-page fine print manual that stated, among other things, on page 72:
The warranties herein are expressly in lieu of any other express or implied warranty, including any implied warranty of merchantability or fitness, and of any other obligation on the part of the company or the selling dealer.
Japanese Motors, Ltd., and the selling dealer warrant to the owner each part of this vehicle to be
free under use and service from defects in material and workmanship for a period of twenty-four
months from the date of original retail delivery of first use, or until it has been driven for 24,000
miles, whichever first occurs.
Within nine months after the purchase, John was forced to return the car for repairs to the dealer on thirty different occasions, and the car has been in the dealer’s custody for more than seventy days during these nine months.
The dealer has been forced to make major repairs to the engine, transmission, and steering
assembly. The car is now in the custody of the dealer for further major repairs, and John has demanded that it keep the car and refund his entire purchase price.
The dealer has refused on the ground that it has not breached its contract and is willing to continue repairing the car during the remainder of the “24-24” period. What are the rights and liabilities of the dealer and John?
Fred Lyon of New York, while on vacation in California, rented a new model Home Run automobile from Hart’s Drive-A-Car. The car was manufactured by the Dumars
Motor Company and was purchased by Hart’s from Jammer, Inc., an automobile importer.
Lyon was driving the car on a street in San Jose when, due to a defect in the steering mechanism, it suddenly became impossible to steer. The speed of the car at the time was thirty miles per hour, but before Lyon could bring it to a stop, the car jumped a low curb and struck Peter Wolf, who was standing on the sidewalk, breaking both of his legs and causing other injuries.
What rights does Wolf have against (a) Hart’s Drive-A-Car, (b) Dumars Motor Company, (c) Jammer, and (d) Lyon?