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Contracts • Terms of the Contract
K#099
Legal Definition
When a regular person buys goods from a merchant, there is an implied warranty that the goods are fit for the ordinary purposes for which such goods are used.
Plain English Explanation
Have you ever gone to a store and seen a product that says, "Display model only - not for sale"? This is a result of the implied warranty of merchantability, which basically means, "If you're going to sell things that are generally assumed to work a certain way, they need to actually work that way. Otherwise, let people know not to expect them to."
In other words, when you buy a coffee mug at the store, you don't need to ask, "Can this mug hold coffee? How about hot tea?" It's implied that it can hold hot liquids because it is a coffee mug, and the ordinary purpose for coffee mugs is to hold hot liquids.
In other words, when you buy a coffee mug at the store, you don't need to ask, "Can this mug hold coffee? How about hot tea?" It's implied that it can hold hot liquids because it is a coffee mug, and the ordinary purpose for coffee mugs is to hold hot liquids.
Hypothetical
Hypo 1: Bob just moved into a new house and needs to buy furnish it. His first stop is to his local store where stumbles across a set of Star Wars plates, each decorated with a beautiful painting of his favorite characters. Bob is a huge Star Wars nerd, so he eagerly buys them. When he gets home, he immediately makes a big plate of spaghetti and enjoys eating it off his new plate. After he finishes his spaghetti, he realizes the plate is now blank. Little did Bob know, the plate was painted with highly toxic paints and were not at all intended to be used to eat. They were collector plates, meant for display only. Result: This one is actually tricky because you aren't given enough information. If Bob purchased these from a store that sells normal plates, and they were in a section with normal plates, then it would be implied that they should function like normal plates. If, however, the store Bob went to was a "collector's item" store, that sold all types of collector's items, then such an implied warranty may not exist. You'd need to argue this on the exam.
Visual Aids
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