Caterpillar Tractor Co. v. Waterson

679 S.W.2d 814, 13 Ark. App. 77, 40 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 1721, 1984 Ark. App. LEXIS 1884
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arkansas
DecidedNovember 28, 1984
DocketCA 84-68
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 679 S.W.2d 814 (Caterpillar Tractor Co. v. Waterson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Caterpillar Tractor Co. v. Waterson, 679 S.W.2d 814, 13 Ark. App. 77, 40 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 1721, 1984 Ark. App. LEXIS 1884 (Ark. Ct. App. 1984).

Opinion

Donald L. Corbin, Judge.

This suit was instituted by E. A. Martin Machinery Company against appellee, Ancel P. Waterson, to collect the balance due on a promissory note covering the purchase price on a Caterpillar D-5 bulldozer. Appellee filed a counterclaim against E. A. Martin Machinery Company and a third-party complaint against appellant, Caterpillar Tractor Company, alleging breach of express and implied warranties. He sought damages of $50,000.00. At trial, E. A. Martin Machinery Company and appellee dismissed their respective claims against each other and appellee returned the D-5 bulldozer to E. A. Martin Machinery Company. Appellee pursued his third-party action against appellant on the theory of breach of express warranty. Appellant defended, contending that language in its written warranty limited appellee’s remedy to repair or to replacement of defective parts and excluded liability for any other damages.

The jury returned a general verdict for appellee, fixing his damages at $35,000.00. Appellant appeals on the grounds that the trial court erred in instructing the jury on lost profits and on the issue of unconscionability or failure of essential purpose. We affirm.

Appellee ordered the D-5 Caterpillar bulldozer by filling out a customer purchase order given to him by the dealer, E. A. Martin Machinery Company. The original purchase order was a one page document with printing on both the front and back. In general, the purchase order provided that appellant warranted the product sold to be free from defects in material and workmanship for six months after date of delivery and limited appellant’s express obligation to the repair or replacement of any defective parts and provided that the warranty was in lieu of all other express or implied warranties and barred liability for incidental, consequential or special damages arising from defects in material and workmanship. Appellee signed the purchase order indicating he had carefully read the instrument and was acquainted with its contents.

Appellee testified that the dozer had an annoying, almost constant vibration from the very day it was delivered, a vibration that nearly “drove you out of your mind.” He testified that despite numerous attempts to correct the problem, neither E. A. Martin Machinery Company nor appellant could pinpoint or eliminate the vibration. Leroy McDonald and James Moore, experienced heavy equipment operators employed by appellee, testified that they noticed the dozer’s vibration and pointed it out to E. A. Martin Machinery Company and appellant’s representatives. Both men stated that the vibration on the dozer was much greater than that normally felt when operating heavy construction equipment.

Loren Niblett, a bulldozer mechanic employed by E. A. Martin Machinery Company, investigated appellee’s complaints about the dozer and confirmed that the machine had an abnormal vibration. It was his opinion that the vibration was a result of a defect in material and workmanship at the Caterpillar factory. Jerry Ford, another witness for appellee, explained that appellee hired him to tear down the dozer in an attempt to discover the cause of its problems. In the process of tearing down the machine, he discovered that the dozer’s rear thrust bearings were installed backwards, the side marked “block side” being turned away from the block. Jerry Ford also testified that the vibration in this bulldozer was certainly abnormal and, in his opinion, was a defect in material and workmanship. He stated that the dozer’s value with the vibration problem was $35,000.00 or $36,000.00 at the time of its purchase by appellee.

In addition to the vibration problem, the record reflects that appellee experienced other problems with the dozer which required replacement or repair of the following parts: starter, head gasket, hydraulic hoses, flex coupling, yoke, gaskets and seals.

Appellee had the dozer for approximately twenty months and at the date of trial when the dozer was returned to E. A. Martin Machinery Company, it had approximately 1,400 hours of use on it. Appellee estimated that the dozer was down a total of 68 days during this time and stated that the net profit per day amounted to $161.58 for a total loss of profits of $10,987.48. Evidence adduced at trial established that appellee purchased the D-5 bulldozer at a price of $71,264.67 and was credited with $23,264.67 for a trade-in. A balance of $48,000.00 was to be paid by appellee in monthly installments. Appellee testified that upon return of the dozer toE. A. Martin Machinery Company, he had paid $14,613.72 on the balance of the note. Appellee also testified that in his opinion the fair market value for the machine for the condition it was in when he purchased it was $20,000.00.

Appellant argues in its first point for reversal that the trial court erred in instructing the jury on lost profits. In this regard, appellant contends that the language contained in the purchase order effectively limited appellee’s recovery to repair or replacement of defective parts and relies upon the holding of the Arkansas Supreme Court in the case of Gramling v. Baltz, 253 Ark. 361, 485 S.W.2d 183 (1972), anda United States Court of Appeals case, Cryogenic Equipment Inc. v. Southern Nitrogen, Inc., 490 F. 2d 696 (8th Cir. 1974). In Gramling, supra, the Arkansas Supreme Court impliedly recognized that liability for consequential damages can be limited by “clear and unmistakeable language.” The Court there held that the trial court erred in refusing to admit plaintiff’s testimony concerning consequential damages in the nature of lost profits because such damages were not properly limited or excluded in the manufacturer’s warranty. We believe this case is distinguishable in that the question was whether plaintiff had made a prima facie case for the jury on the issues of breach of'express and implied warranties and the failure of the remedy’s essential purpose was not before that Court as. it is in the case at bar. Appellant’s reliance upon Cryogenic Equipment, Inc., supra, is also misplaced. In upholding a disclaimer of liability for loss of profits in that case, the court held that the disclaimer of liability was not unconscionable in view of the expertise of both parties and in view of the absence of any evidence of a disparity of bargaining power between the parties. The issue of failure of the remedy’s essential purpose was not addressed by the Cryogenic court.

Under the Uniform Commercial Code, a seller of goods may limit his contractual liability in two ways. He may disclaim or limit his warranties, pursuant to Ark. Stat. Ann. § 85-2-316 (Supp. 1983), or he may limit the buyer’s remedies for a breach of warranty, pursuant to Ark. Stat. Ann. § 85-2-719 (Add. 1961). These methods are closely related, and in many cases their effect may be substantially identical. White and Summers, Handbook of the Law Under the Uniform Commercial Code (Hornbook Series, 1980), § 12-8, p. 462. Á disclaimer of warranties limits the seller’s liability by reducing the number of circumstances in which the seller will be in breach of the contract; it precludes the existence of a cause of action. A limitation of remedies, on the other hand, restricts the remedies available to the buyer once a breach is established. White and Summers, supra, § 12-11, pp. 471, 472.

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679 S.W.2d 814, 13 Ark. App. 77, 40 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 1721, 1984 Ark. App. LEXIS 1884, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/caterpillar-tractor-co-v-waterson-arkctapp-1984.