Lanham v. Solar America of Cincinnati, Inc.

501 N.E.2d 1245, 28 Ohio App. 3d 55, 2 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 1545, 28 Ohio B. 67, 1986 Ohio App. LEXIS 9973
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 14, 1986
DocketCA85-07-013
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 501 N.E.2d 1245 (Lanham v. Solar America of Cincinnati, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lanham v. Solar America of Cincinnati, Inc., 501 N.E.2d 1245, 28 Ohio App. 3d 55, 2 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 1545, 28 Ohio B. 67, 1986 Ohio App. LEXIS 9973 (Ohio Ct. App. 1986).

Opinions

*56 Per Curiam.

This cause came on to be heard upon an appeal from the Wilmington Municipal Court.

This case concerns the purchase of a supplemental home solar heating system by plaintiffs-appellees, Bobby and Shirley Lanham, from defendant-appellant, Solar America of Cincinnati, Inc. (“Solar America”). Our review of this case, has been hampered by errors made in using the recording device at the trial proceedings. We, therefore, have only a partial transcript of the actual proceedings and no statement of the evidence (see App. R. 9) has been forthcoming.

From the partial transcript it appears that after the installation of a supplemental solar heating unit, appellees began to have problems. The first two units were replaced. The third unit had a problem with paint peeling.

It appears that appellees became so displeased with the overall performance of all three units that they demanded that appellant remove the unit from their house; and, when appellant failed to do so and appellant’s sales manager failed or refused to return their calls, they filed an action -pro se in which they demanded that their contract with Solar America be terminated. The trial court, to whom the case was tried without a jury, decided in favor of appellees. In its judgment entry the court indicated that Solar America breached its oral and written warranties to appellees. However, the relief awarded was revocation of acceptance of the goods and return of the states quo ante. The central focus of this suit is upon the propriety of the court’s action in declaring the contract terminated.

Appellant raises two assignments of error. The first assignment of error reads as follows:

“The trial court erred to the prejudice of the defendant in holding that the defendant breached its warranty with respect to the solar energy unit.”

A review of the trial court’s judgment entry reveals the trial court found the buyers were entitled to cancel the contract, have a refund of monies paid to date, and be compensated to restore their roof to its pre-contract appearance. The apparent basis for the trial court’s decision and grant of relief was a breach of warranty by the appellant. While appellant contends that there was no “objective” evidence of a defect in its product on which the court could make a determination that it breached its warranty to the Lanhams, appellees’ counsel argues that “[hjowever inartistically worded, the requested remedy and the remedy actually granted [was] that of cancellation for material misrepresentation by defendant.” We agree. For the reasons which follow we find appellant’s first argument unpersuasive.

Whatever else the trial court’s decision said or did, it permitted the Lanhams to revoke acceptance of goods sold to them by Solar America. R.C. 1302.66 (UCC 2-608) on revocation of acceptance provides:

“(A) The buyer may revoke his acceptance of a lot or commercial unit whose non-conformity substantially impairs its value to him if he has accepted it:
“(1) on the reasonable assumption its non-conformity would be cured and it has not been seasonably cured; or
“(2) without discovery of such nonconformity if his acceptance was reasonably induced either by the difficulty of discovery before acceptance or by the seller’s assurances.
“(B) Revocation of acceptance must occur within a reasonable time after the buyer discovers or should have discovered the ground for it and before any substantial change in condition of the goods which is not caused by their own defects. It is not effective until the buyer -notifies the seller of it.
“(C) A buyer who so revokes has *57 the same rights and duties with regard to the goods involved as if he had rejected them.”

The transcript of proceedings here contains two warranty forms given the Lanhams. One warranty is in the form of a pledge that the purchaser of a solar unit will enjoy a twenty-five percent energy savings over his previous year’s heating bill based on fuel consumption and that if such savings are not realized, Solar America will pay the homeowner up to $500 towards savings that he should have had. The second warranty is a standard warranty of the unit’s materials and workmanship under normal use for five years.

Recently, the Ohio Supreme Court stressed the importance of statements made in warranties and even television commercials as providing a basis for consumer expectations of a product’s performance in the context of strict liability in tort for personal injuries under the Restatement of the Law 2d, Torts (1965) 347, Section 402A. See Leichtamer v. American Motors Corp., (1981), 67 Ohio St. 2d 456, 462 [21 O.O.3d 285], While this is not a Section 402A case and no bodily injury is claimed, Ldchtwmer is significant in this case to the extent that it suggests consumers are legitimately entitled to have certain minimal expectations as to a product’s performance. Furthermore, it suggests those expectations may properly be considered to arise from statements or warranties made to the consumer about the product. In this case, we feel the statements made in the warranties, whether breached or not, legitimately gave rise to certain expectations about the quality and performance of these solar units irrespective of whether the warranties were technically breached in any “objective” sense. Moreover, we feel reliance upon them was justified because they obviously formed part of the inducement to buy the unit.

Notwithstanding appellant’s argument that no objective proof of a warranty breach existed, R.C. 1302.66 states a buyer is entitled to revoke acceptance where a product’s non-conformity substantially impairs its value to him. Official Comment 2 to this section suggests that this is a subjective standard for the buyer.

The record reveals that two units were removed from the appellees’ roof for unstated reasons and the paint on the outer skin of the third unit began to peel and chip. When this started, ap-pellees called appellant for assurances of satisfaction but there was no answer. We believe that the first two units’ poor performance, combined with the third unit’s unprecedented (if one believes Solar America’s “expert”) chipping and peeling paint, together with appellant’s sales manager’s refusal to assure ap-pellees immediately that he would stand behind his product, was justification for appellees to consider their solar unit’s value to them to be substantially impaired irrespective of whether any warranty was actually breached. Thus, ap-pellees were justified in concluding that the value of their solar unit to them was substantially impaired as contemplated by R.C. 1302.66.

R.C. 1302.66(B) requires that a buyer give the seller notice of revocation of acceptance within a reasonable time after the buyer discovers the grounds for it. However, the revocation is not effective until the buyer notifies the seller.

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501 N.E.2d 1245, 28 Ohio App. 3d 55, 2 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 1545, 28 Ohio B. 67, 1986 Ohio App. LEXIS 9973, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lanham-v-solar-america-of-cincinnati-inc-ohioctapp-1986.