Cooper Paintings & Coatings, Inc. v. SCM Corporation

457 S.W.2d 864, 62 Tenn. App. 13, 8 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 159, 1970 Tenn. App. LEXIS 250
CourtCourt of Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedMay 25, 1970
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 457 S.W.2d 864 (Cooper Paintings & Coatings, Inc. v. SCM Corporation) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cooper Paintings & Coatings, Inc. v. SCM Corporation, 457 S.W.2d 864, 62 Tenn. App. 13, 8 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 159, 1970 Tenn. App. LEXIS 250 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1970).

Opinion

P ABBOTT, J.

In this circuit court action defendant, SCM Corporation, has appealed from the action of the circuit judge entering judgment based on a jury verdict against it in favor of plaintiff, Cooper Paintings & Coatings, Inc., in the amount of $5,745.72.

The assignments of error complain of the failure of the trial court to sustain defendant’s motion for directed verdict and the giving of an alleged erroneous charge to the jury. For reasons hereinafter given, the assignments are overruled.

Plaintiff predicates its recovery on alleged breach of express and implied warranties and/or misrepresentation of the fitness and suitability of certain synthetic elastic roofing materials manufactured by the defendant and used by the plaintiff on dome-type roofs of school *16 buildings in Mountain City, Tennessee. This suit seeks recovery of the cost of repairing the holes and cracks which developed after the roofs were completed.

Defendant’s plea denies any liability on the basis there was no privity of contract; that defendant made no express or implied warranty to plaintiff; that the material was not defective or was there made any public misrepresentations. Defendant contends the holes and cracks were caused either by faulty application of its materials by plaintiff or faulty design or construction of the roof to which defendant’s materials were applied. Also, defendant contends that any liability which it might otherwise have incurred was validly disclaimed or limited by provisions on the label of the material.

The products involved in this suit are neoprene and hypalon liquid coatings which are rubbery or flexible material referred to in the roofing industry as elastomers or elastomeric systems. The materials may be applied to roof decks with sprays or rollers.

In the instant ease they were applied to three dome-type roofs of the Mountain City High School by plaintiff, Cooper Paintings & Coatings, Inc. The buildings were designed and construction was supervised by Abernathy & Eobinson, architects. Armstrong Construction Company was the general contractor, Industrial Decking and Roofing Company, the subcontractor, to roof the buildings. Plaintiff, Cooper Paintings & Coatings, Inc., entered into a second sub-contract with Industrial to apply the elastomer coats to the insulrock roof deck which had been installed by Industrial.

On these roofs plaintiff was required to first put down a thin mesh coat of fiberglass, then a 20 mil. thickness *17 coat of neoprene whieh was covered with a final coat of hypalon.

Shortly after the completion of the roofs, leaks developed in one of the domes. An inspection of the roofs revealed numerous pin holes and cracks in the elastomer coating.

At the request of plaintiff, Mr. Wolfe, sales manager of the defendant, made an inspection of the roofs. It was Mr. Wolfe’s opinion the pin holes and cracks resulted from improper application of material and a movement or shifting of the insulrock boards used in the sub-roof. Mr. Wolfe recommended and furnished free of charge an additional 150 gallons of hypalon to be used as another finish coat. Shortly after application by the plaintiff of this additional hypalon, the roofs again began to leak. To repair these leaks Mr. Cooper, using another manufacturer’s products, taped the joints of the sub-roof and applied neoprene over the tape and then again completely recoated the domes with hypalon which apparently produced a dry roof.

The record reveals that the original specifications as drawn by Abernathy and Bobinson, architects, call for a plastic coated roof other than on© manufactured by defendant. Mr. Tippitt, employe© of Tennessee Structural Products Company who was the exclusive distributor for defendant’s products in Tennessee, called on the architects who, at Tippitt’s insistence, issued an addendum to the specifications permitting the use of defendant’s material. According to Mr. Tippitt’s testimony, his company was a manufacturer’s representative for the defendant and its products.

*18 Prior to Mr. Tippitt’s meeting with, the architects, he had furnished plaintiff brochures and technical manuals published by the defendant pertaining to the use and application of its elastomer-type roofs. After the specifications had been changed to permit the use of defendant’s products, plaintiff and the prime roofing contractor met with Mr. Tippett to discuss the roofs in question. As a result of this meeting, Cooper became the successful bidder and ordered the necessary materials to build the roofs through Tennessee Structural. The materials were shipped by the defendant directly to the job site.

From the proof in this record, we think it is fairly established that Tennessee Structural was not a general agent of the defendant. However, the proof does appear to be sufficient for the jury to reasonably conclude Tennessee Structural was for limited purposes a special agent of the defendant with authority to make warranties of the quality and fitness of the defendant’s products. Furthermore, there is evidence from which the jury could have reasonably inferred warranties of the products were made. See Quaker Oats Co. v. Davis, 33 Tenn.App. 373, 232 S.W.2d 282.

If defendant’s agent, Tennessee Structural, from which plaintiff purchased the material, did make material false representations, whether such were made on its own or contained in materials furnished to Tennessee Structural by defendant, then no problem of privity arises because such representations would be binding upon the defendant. It is uncontroverted the plaintiff received from Tennessee Structural written material containing representations of fitness and suitability of the defendant’s products. Unquestionably these materials were prepared by the defendant and furnished to Ten *19 nessee Structural for the purpose of inducing sales of its products. Under these circumstances it is inferable that the defendant authorized and made Tennessee Structural its agent for the purpose of advising prospective customers of the quality of its products. Under these circumstances T.C.A. 47-2-313(1) (a) would be applicable and liability could be imposed because such statements made by the seller, whether written or oral, extolling the virtues of a product, “becomes part of the basis of the bargain creates an express warranty that the goods shall conform to the affirmation or promise. ’ See also proposed Sec. 552D, Eestatement, Torts, Second; Ford Motor Co. v. Lonon, 217 Tenn. 400, 398 S.W.2d 240.

Another contention of the defendant is that there can be no liability because on the label of the materials is a disclaimer saying: “* * * we make no warranties of any kind, express or implied * * The label also contains language limiting damages to the return of the material.

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Bluebook (online)
457 S.W.2d 864, 62 Tenn. App. 13, 8 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 159, 1970 Tenn. App. LEXIS 250, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cooper-paintings-coatings-inc-v-scm-corporation-tennctapp-1970.