Pudwill v. Brown

294 N.W.2d 790, 29 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 1233, 1980 S.D. LEXIS 335
CourtSouth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedJuly 16, 1980
Docket12909
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 294 N.W.2d 790 (Pudwill v. Brown) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering South Dakota Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pudwill v. Brown, 294 N.W.2d 790, 29 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 1233, 1980 S.D. LEXIS 335 (S.D. 1980).

Opinion

HENDERSON, Justice.

ACTION

Fred Pudwill, plaintiff-appellant, brought suit in the Second Judicial Circuit, Minne- *791 haha County, seeking to recover the sum of $10,695.00 pursuant to a contract between himself and Earl E. Brown, defendant-ap-pellee, for 310 feeder pigs. Appellee urged that appellant had breached the implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose as provided in SDCL 57-4-33 due to the death of 149 pigs that were supplied by appellant. After a trial to the court, judgment was entered on June 12, 1979, granting appellant the sum of $5,140.50 for the pigs that did not die. Appellant appeals from that judgment, urging that the circuit court erred in not allowing him recovery for the full contract price, i. e., $10,695.00. We affirm.

FACTS

The parties herein involved first met in August of 1977, while appellant was delivering a load of feeder pigs to another party near Dell Rapids, South Dakota. Appellant, a resident of Pierre, South Dakota, is a supplier of feeder pigs to farmers. The pigs in question were raised on the Orville Ellenbecker farm at Gettysburg, South Dakota. Appellee is a resident of the Dell Rapids area and has been engaged in a livestock and mixed grain farm operation for several years. On August 2, 1977, appellant agreed to sell appellee 310 feeder pigs at the price of $34.50 per head for a total of $10,695.00.

Appellant purchased the pigs on August 9, 1977, from Mr. Barry Ellenbecker of Gettysburg. These pigs had been kept in a dirt lot with adequate shade, water, and feed. However, sometime prior to loading, the pigs had been moved from the aforementioned lot to a barn. Between 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. on August 9, 1977, the pigs were loaded on to appellant’s horse trailer to transport them to appellee’s farm. The pigs arrived at appellee’s farm at approximately 2:00 p.m. that same day, indicating that they were in the trailer between five and one-half and seven and one-half hours.

During the unloading process, the pigs appeared gaunt, and some were coughing. Medicated and fresh unmedicated water were immediately made available. Surface water was also present. Appellant knew of the medication being used and did not disapprove, nor did he object to the use of any of the waterers.

On August 10, 1977, several members of the appellee’s family observed that the pigs seemed stunned and listless. Sufficient water and an adequate feed supply were available for the pigs. By the morning of August 11, 1977, several pigs were dying, and approximately 100 pigs had died by the end of the day.

Dr. D. B. Phillips, a veterinarian from Colman, South Dakota, was called and arrived at appellee’s farm around mid-morning on August 11, 1977. Dr. Phillips advised appellee to take several live and dead pigs to Dr. Martin Bergeland, a veterinary pathologist at the Veterinary Science Department of South Dakota State University at Brookings. Appellant was notified by appellee on August 11, or 12, 1977, of the pigs’ health problems. Appellee also stopped payment on a $10,695.00 check issued to appellant for payment on the pigs.

Dr. Bergeland determined that the cause of death of the pigs was sodium ion toxico-sis (salt poisoning), which is caused by water deprivation. Dr. Bergeland stated that 12 hours of water deprivation would be sufficient to cause sodium ion toxicosis and that symptoms can appear anywhere from two hours to several days after the animals are again allowed water. There in no known remedy for sodium ion toxicosis. Ultimately, 149 pigs died as a direct result of sodium ion toxicosis.

The trial court entered findings of fact, conclusions of law, and a judgment adjudicating that appellant was to recover only for the pigs that lived. The court concluded, as a matter of law, that:

There is an implied warranty of fitness at the time of sale, and that the defect must exist at that time, although the defect may not be fully developed at the time of sale, and although the defect was not known to the seller at the time of sale.
*792 ISSUE
Whether a buyer may refuse payment to a seller under SDCL 57-4-33 for goods received that prove defective for their particular purpose.

DECISION

We agree with appellee’s position that he is not required to pay appellant for the defective pigs purchased pursuant to the contract between the two parties. Appellant’s actions constituted a breach of an implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose, as imposed by the Uniform Commercial Code at SDCL 57-4-33.

For the implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose to apply to a contract for a sale of goods, three elements are required:

1. The seller must have reason to know the buyer’s particular purpose for the goods involved.
2. The seller must have reason to know that the buyer is relying on the seller’s skill or judgment to furnish appropriate goods.
3. The buyer must, in fact, rely upon the seller’s skill or judgment.

Madison Silos, Div. of Martin Marietta Corp. v. Wassom, 215 N.W.2d 494, 500 (Iowa 1974). White & Summers, Uniform Commercial Code § 9-9, 358 (2d ed. 1980).

It is not the function of this Court to question the lower court’s findings of fact unless such factual determinations are “clearly erroneous.” SDCL 15-6-52(a). See also Big Sioux Township v. Streeter, 272 N.W.2d 924 (S.D.1978); In Re Estate of Hobelsberger, 85 S.D. 282, 181 N.W.2d 455 (1970). SDCL 15-6-52(a) also states that “due regard shall be given to the opportunity of the trial court to judge of the credibility of the witnesses.” Accordingly, although we recognize the inconsistencies in some of the testimony at trial, the following factual determinations made by the circuit court were amply based on the evidence received and cannot be considered clearly erroneous. The seller, appellant, knew that the buyer, appellee, was going to use the pigs as feeders after the purchase was made. Appellant held himself out to appel-lee as having a knowledge or skill peculiar to feeder pigs, and appellee openly and reasonably relied upon appellant’s expertise in furnishing the pigs.

The defect in some of the pigs received by appellee was that, within approximately two days after delivery, many of the animals began dying from sodium ion toxicosis.

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Bluebook (online)
294 N.W.2d 790, 29 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 1233, 1980 S.D. LEXIS 335, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pudwill-v-brown-sd-1980.