The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1891-05-16
Ghe @arner.
The Law About Buying and Selling
Live Stock.

Edmund T. Kcndrick, in American Agriculturist.
There is legal maxim often heard in
the courts, which says, Let the buyer be-
ware" The meaning is, that when man
purchases horse, COW or any other article
Of personal property, he must look out for
himself. If farmer buys IA horse and
makes no inquiries as to its sOundness or
auietness. and the seller makes no state
ments in regard to these qualities, and the
animal turns out to be stone blind, or to be
such an inveterate kicker that he is practi-
cally useless, the purchaser must stand the
loss. and cannot fall back on the seller for
damages The buyer should beware be-
fore purchasing. This rule Of "let the
buyer beware applies to every sale OF
personal property, unless there has been
either an express warranty or an implied
warranty. or unless there has been fraud
or unless false representations have been
made by the seller as an inducement to the
sale.
In order for seller to bind himself by
an express warranty, it is not necessary for
him to use the word warrant or any par
ticular form of expression. Any afhrma-
ton made at the time of the sale is a war
rant, provided it is so intended. If the
vendor says, This horse is sound, it is IA
warranty of soundness. When he states
that the animal is free from vice, it is Il
warranty of freedom from vice. In Il case
where the seller said. II will not warrant
but the horse is sound so far as | know,
L 4 1 :. ~
that he did not know the animal to be un-
sound 1t may be inferred that a horse Is
warranted sound it the seller says he Is
all right" 1t is not necessary that Il
warranty should be in writing. \ state
ment of fact constituting a warranty is To
be distinguished from mere expression of
opinion. When the vendor states an
opinion or his judgment on Il matter of
which he has no special knowledge, and on
which the buyer himself may also be ex-
pected TO have an opinion, it is not a war
ranty, but if he assumes to assert IL fact
concerning the property under considera-
ton of which the buyer is Ignorant. such
an assertion is warranty. In order to
make warranty binding it must be
made at the time of the sale, or pend
ing the negotiations 50 that it may be con-
sidered as one of the inducements Of the
trade. If made before the negotiations
have commenced in any way. or if after
the bargain is completed and the animal
sold, the seller says he warrants him TO be
sound, no action can be brought on it, as
there was no consideration for the state
4 nr HINT
some consideration is not binding. Where
an express warranty is made in writing as
to any particular quality, or against any
particular defect, the law suppOses that the
whole warranty is included in the writing,
and evidence is excluded of any other.
Thus, if man gives writing warranting
horse or COW TO be sound, evidence can
not be introduced to show that he also
warranted it To be kind, gentle or free from
vice 1t is held that 4 general warranty
does not cover patent or obvious defects,
nor defects which are apparent on simple
inspection, requiring no skill to discover
them. unless some artifice was used to con
ceal such defects, nor defects which are
known to the purchaser at the time of sale.
They are supposed to have been taken into
consideration at the time the price was
agreed on. Of course the seller may make
such warranty if he so desires.
There is ordinarily no implied warranty
of quality. The expression which one
often hears that IA sound price means Il
sound horse" is not generally held to be
good in law; South Carolina and Louisiana
are the only States in which it has been 50
decided. When an animal is sold by de-
scription or is ordered for particular pur-
pose, and a particular animal is not selected
by the buyer, aud no opportunity is given
for inspection, there is an implied warranty
that it shall correspond with the descrip-
ton and be fitted for the purpose for
which it was ordered. For example, if a
man orders saddle horse for his child to
ride. and the person to whom the order is
Given delivers a horse of ugly disposition,
never broken to the saddle, the purchaser
would have good cause OF action for
breach of an implied warranty that the
horse was a saddle horse and suitable for
child to ride. The principal implied
warranty is that of title. The law in re-
card to this. in a few words, is as follows
In sales of personal property by person in
possesson. and under such circumstances
that he appears to be the owner, there is
Al, implied warranty that the property is
his. and if the purchaser loses the property
by the true owner taking it from him he
can recover the price paid in a suit on the