Travis v. Washington Horse Breeders Ass'n

759 P.2d 418, 111 Wash. 2d 396
CourtWashington Supreme Court
DecidedJuly 15, 1988
DocketNo. 54204-0
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 759 P.2d 418 (Travis v. Washington Horse Breeders Ass'n) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Washington Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Travis v. Washington Horse Breeders Ass'n, 759 P.2d 418, 111 Wash. 2d 396 (Wash. 1988).

Opinion

Dolliver, J. —

Defendants Washington Horse Breeders Association, Inc. (WHBA) and Northwest Farms (the sellers) appeal a Court of Appeals judgment modifying a trial court judgment in favor of plaintiffs (Travis).

On August 24, 1981, Travis purchased a colt, Hip No. 2, at WHBA’s summer yearling sale auction for $25,000. Travis had become familiar with the sale through advertisements which promoted the horses offered as "truly outstanding" and '"bound to run'". These advertisements had been on television, appeared in "The Washington Horse" magazine and the "Daily Racing Form", and were aimed at [399]*399all prospective buyers, including those who had never purchased before.

During the 4 days preceding the sale, Travis had visited the auction grounds. There he had met Dale Leach, the agent of Northwest Farms, who told him Hip No. 2 was "a fine athlete" and "in very good condition." Travis obtained a copy of the sales catalog upon arrival at the sale. At no time other than during the auction were there explicit negotiations between Travis and the sellers.

One week after the sale, the colt was examined by Travis' veterinarian who detected a loud heart murmur. Travis immediately contacted the sellers and requested a rescission of the sale, which was refused. The sellers took the position, based on language in the catalog, that the sale could not be rescinded once the colt was removed from the auction grounds. Travis obtained a more definitive diagnosis — that the horse was unsound and should not carry a rider. At that juncture both sellers took the position the sale was final. The sellers based their position on disclaimers of warranty contained in "Conditions of Sale" located in their sales catalog. Travis then filed this action.

Subsequent to the filing of the lawsuit but prior to the trial, Northwest Farms offered to repurchase Hip No. 2 for $5,000 without prejudice to the lawsuit. Travis refused this offer. Ultimately, of the causes of action alleged, only the claims on implied warranty of merchantability, implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose, express warranty, mutual mistake, and the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) (RCW 19.86) were submitted to the jury.

The jury returned verdicts in Travis' favor on each of the five claims with identical findings regarding the amount of damage. The court entered judgment for Travis. The judgment granted rescission and awarded approximately $230,000. The bulk of the award was for attorney fees pursuant to the CPA (RCW 19.86.090). The fees were awarded for work done on both CPA and non-CPA claims because, in the words of the trial court, "all of the claims overlapped and were intertwined in this matter", and "[c]ertain basic facts were essential to each cause of action." The amount of [400]*400the fees was determined in part by applying a 1.5 multiplier to the lodestar hourly rate of attorney Steven Gaines. The trial court had applied the multiplier in part because Gaines had performed high quality work and had taken the case for a contingent fee.

The sellers then appealed to the Court of Appeals which modified the judgment by disallowing the multiplier as well as certain costs not at issue here. The balance of the judgment was affirmed. Travis v. Washington Horse Breeders Ass'n, 47 Wn. App. 361, 734 P.2d 956 (1987).

Defendant sellers petitioned this court for review challenging the judgment of the trial court on all five claims. Travis asked for review of disallowance of the multiplier. We accepted review and affirm in part and reverse in part.

I

In our consideration of the implied and express warranty claims, we initially discuss the implied warranties. At trial, sellers argued conditions of sale in the sales catalog served as written disclaimers of both an implied warranty of merchantability and an implied warranty of fitness. The sales catalog was admitted into evidence but the disclaimer language was excised by the trial court. The basis of the court’s ruling was that the written disclaimer did not bar a claim based on implied warranties. As authority, the court cited Berg v. Stromme, 79 Wn.2d 184, 193-94, 484 P.2d 380 (1971), which involved the sale of a new automobile:

[A waiver of quality or capability], even though printed, should not be allowed to arise from the fine print to haunt the buyer . . . unless he has agreed to be bound by it with the same degree of explicitness that he bound himself to the other vital conditions of the contract of purchase.

Later in Berg we said:

Waivers of [implied] warranties, being disfavored in law, are ineffectual unless explicitly negotiated between buyer and seller and set forth with particularity showing the particular qualities and characteristics of fitness which are being waived.

[401]*401Berg v. Stromme, supra at 196. Parenthetically, we note that in 1982, after this case arose, RCW 62A.2-316 was amended to provide "there are no implied warranties as defined in this article that. . . livestock are free from sickness or disease . . ." (RCW 62A.2-316(3)(d)). This amendment does not apply here.

As a threshold issue, we must consider whether the express and implied warranty provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code (U.C.C.) apply to sales made at auction. We hold they do.

Article 2 of the U.C.C. "applies to transactions in goods ..." RCW 62A.2-102. "Goods" means anything which is "movable at the time of identification to the contract for sale ..." RCW 62A.2-105. Under this definition, live animals are "goods", regardless of the manner in which they are sold. Moreover, a clear intent to include auctions within article 2 can be found in RCW 62A.2-328, which contains specific rules regarding sales by auction.

The implied warranty provisions of the U.C.C. apply "if the seller is a merchant with respect to goods of [the] kind" at issue. RCW 62A.2-314(1). A "merchant" is someone who "holds himself out as having knowledge or skill peculiar to the practices or goods involved in the transaction or to whom such knowledge or skill may be attributed . . ." RCW 62A.2-104(1). An auctioneer who regularly sells certain types of goods is a "merchant" under this definition (Powers v. Coffeyville Livestock Sales Co.,

Related

Biszants v. Stephens Thoroughbreds
620 F. App'x 535 (Sixth Circuit, 2015)
Loeffelholz v. CITIZENS FOR LEADERS
82 P.3d 1199 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2004)
Mahler v. Szucs
957 P.2d 632 (Washington Supreme Court, 1998)
Sintra, Inc. v. City of Seattle
935 P.2d 555 (Washington Supreme Court, 1997)
Hume v. American Disposal Co.
880 P.2d 988 (Washington Supreme Court, 1994)
Eifler v. Shurgard Capital Management Corp.
861 P.2d 1071 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1993)
Malarkey Asphalt Co. v. Wyborney
821 P.2d 1235 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1991)
Styrk v. Cornerstone Investments, Inc.
810 P.2d 1366 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1991)
Mason v. Mortgage America, Inc.
792 P.2d 142 (Washington Supreme Court, 1990)
Travis v. WA. HORSE BREEDERS ASS'N, INC.
759 P.2d 418 (Washington Supreme Court, 1988)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
759 P.2d 418, 111 Wash. 2d 396, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/travis-v-washington-horse-breeders-assn-wash-1988.