Title: Nalbandian v. Byron Jackson Pumps, Inc.
Citation: 399 P.2d 681, 97 Ariz. 280
Docket Number: 7596
State: Arizona
Issuer: Arizona Supreme Court
Date: March 3, 1965

97 Ariz. 280 (1965) 399 P.2d 681 Peter NALBANDIAN, doing business as Arrowhead Ranches, Appellant, v. BYRON JACKSON PUMPS, INC., a corporation, Appellee. No. 7596. Supreme Court of Arizona. En Banc. March 3, 1965. *281 Christy, Kleinman, Peterson &amp; Hoyt, Phoenix, for appellant. Jennings, Strouss, Salmon &amp; Trask, by Nicholas Udall, Phoenix, for appellee. BERNSTEIN, Justice. Plaintiff sued defendant for breach of an express warranty in connection with the breakdown of an electric submersible pump *282 sold by defendant to plaintiff's predecessor, Arrowhead Ranches, Inc. Arrowhead Ranches, Inc. was dissolved and plaintiff now operates as Nalbandian dba Arrowhead Ranches, and succeeded to certain assets, including this claim. He conducted the negotiations for the purchase of the submersible pump involved in this suit for the corporation. The complaint alleged that Arrowhead Ranches, Inc. purchased the electric submersible pump motor "* * * upon the representation and warranty made to it by the defendant that said motor was in all respects properly constructed and constructed of good materials, and that said motor was well suited for the purpose for which it was to be used, and the defendant expressly guaranteed to said Arrowhead Ranches, a corporation, that said motor would operate properly and perform the services for which it was to be used for a period of not less than one year, and that if it failed to do so, defendant would pay all repair bills thereon or replace said motor with a new one." The case was tried by the Superior Court sitting without a jury. No findings of fact or conclusions of law were made or requested. The trial judge gave a judgment for defendant, and plaintiff has appealed. The equipment involved was a submersible pump motor completely encased in oil, inside a metal container, sealed by the factory, and installed in the well by factory representatives. They determined the depth at which the pump would be placed. There was no opportunity for inspection, the pump operated automatically and there is no evidence that the breakdown of the pump could have been caused by improper operation or maintenance by the purchaser. The submersible pump is of a type commonly used for irrigation in Arizona, and was not unusual or experimental equipment of special design, but on the contrary, equipment commonly sold on the open market. Plaintiff ordered the submersible pump by telephone from defendant for the reason that the defendant had installed the same type of pump, which gave satisfactory service, in the same well. Defendant's regional sales manager, called as an adverse witness, testified that defendant warranted all its products against defective workmanship or materials for a period of one year, and that this warranty applied to the particular pump sold to Arrowhead Ranches, Inc. The witness said: *283 Defendant's regional specialist handling mainly deep wells and submersible pumps, called as a witness by the defendant, testified: Under A.R.S. § 44-215(1) there is an implied warranty that the pump was reasonably fit for the purpose for which it was to be used. Under A.R.S. § 44-215(6) this is in addition to any express warranty which is not inconsistent. Singleton v. Dunn, 71 Ariz. 150, 224 P.2d 643; Davidson v. Wee, 93 Ariz. 191, 379 P.2d 744; Colvin v. Superior Equipment Co., 96 Ariz. 113, 392 P.2d 778. Where the suit is on the contract it is necessary to show that the warranted equipment failed to operate properly during the period for which it was guaranteed. When the pump failed, both parties at first thought failure was caused by lightning. This contention was abandoned prior to trial. Defendant made the necessary repairs and replacements, at a net cost of $4,089.46, which the plaintiff paid in order to place the pump back in operation immediately. He now sues to recover. In contract, the failure of a product to be reasonably fit for the purpose for which it was to be used within the guaranteed time is all the plaintiff need prove to establish a prima facie case. The plaintiff need not prove negligence in the manufacture of the warranted product. 1 Williston, Sales § 237 (Rev.Ed. 1948); Kessler, The Protection of the Consumer under Modern Sales Law, 74 Yale Law Journal 262, 272. See, Cotton, A Note on the Remedies of Injured Consumers, 1 Law &amp; Contemporary Problems 67, 69. Under the Uniform Sales Act, from which A.R.S. § 44-215 was taken, the liability of the manufacturer to consumer, where there was privity of contract, is a strict liability. At the trial the judge stated that if the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur applied to this case, the judgment should be for the plaintiff. The doctrine of res ipsa loquitur does not apply to the case. Res ipsa loquitur is a rule of evidence applicable only in tort cases. Throop v. F.E. Young and Company, 94 Ariz. 146, 382 P.2d 560; Capps v. American Airlines, Inc., 81 Ariz. 232, 303 P.2d 717; Udall, Arizona Law of Evidence § 195. The rule of strict liability in breach of warranty cases, however, serves the same purpose as the rule of res ipsa loquitur in negligence cases. That is, it relieves the plaintiff of the necessity of proving matters peculiarly within the knowledge of the defendant, if, indeed, they are known to anyone. Professor Williston gives this explanation of the English Rule, which under the Uniform Sales Act, in force in Arizona as A.R.S. § 44-201 et seq., is now universally applied in this country: The defendant here was both the manufacturer and the seller of the pumps. He may be held liable as manufacturer or as seller, or as both. In Canadian Fire Insurance Company v. Wild, 81 Ariz. 252, 254, 304 P.2d 390, 391, we said: The fact situation in Canadian is strikingly similar to that in this case. The evidence in Canadian was merely that the fuse plug failed to function, but the court held that that was sufficient to require a reversal of a judgment for defendant. In the instant case the pump failed to function. See also Fraley v. Ford, 81 Ariz. 268, 304 P.2d 1068. In his brief the defendant concedes: Defendant in his argument stresses the fact that the plaintiff's theory is one of express oral warranty, as stated by his counsel at the trial. The implied warranty, however, is preserved by A.R.S. § 44-215(6) unless it is inconsistent with the express warranty. We find no inconsistency between a warranty of workmanship and materials, and a warranty that an article is fit for the purpose for which it was purchased. Under the Uniform Act it has been held that where there is an express warranty, the implied warranties are merged therein and survive unless expressly *286 made inapplicable. Warren Co. v. Exodus, 114 Ind. App. 651, 54 N.E.2d 775. Defendant also contends that it was not shown that plaintiff relied on the warranty. In Vitro Corp. of America v. Texas Vitrified Supply Co., 71 N.M. 95, 376 P.2d 41, 48, the court said: Expert testimony was introduced that sand might have caused damage of the type which this pump suffered. No direct evidence, however, was presented that there was an undue amount of sand in this well. It is immaterial, whether sand was present in the well. Defendant made the installation. He knew the well having installed *287 the pump previously used. Defendant also determined the level at which the pump was installed. We do not have a case in which a purchaser installed a good pump in a sandy well, but a case where the purchaser relied on the seller to pick a pump suited to the conditions in his well and to install it properly. Since this case was tried by a judge without a jury, "* * * if we can on any reasonable view of the evidence deduce therefrom facts which, on any theory of the law, would sustain the judgment, we must affirm it." Babbitt &amp; Cowden Livestock Co. v. Hooker, 28 Ariz. 263, 266, 236 P. 722, 723; Colvin v. Superior Equipment, supra. But here there is no evidence in the record which would sustain a judgment for the defendant. Defendant's counterclaim is admitted. Judgment is directed to be entered for plaintiff in the amount of $4,089.46, less the amount of the counterclaim. Reversed and remanded for further proceedings as directed in this decision. STRUCKMEYER, V.C.J., and UDALL and McFARLAND, JJ., concurring. LOCKWOOD, Chief Justice (concurring): I concur in the conclusion reached by the majority of this Court that this case should be reversed and remanded for further proceedings. However, the conclusion of the majority is based upon the theory of statutory implied warranty. In the recent case of Colvin v. Superior Equipment Company, 96 Ariz. 113, 392 P.2d 778 (1964), this Court adopted the modern legal concept of a manufacturer's strict liability in tort with regard to its manufactured products. This action was brought by the plaintiff against the defendant for breach of warranty. A study of the complaint demonstrates that it was brought either ex contractu or in tort. The gravamen of that complaint was a breach of warranty. I am concerned lest the readers of the majority opinion interpret that opinion to be a modification of that doctrine adopted in the Colvin case. Thus I would point out that the majority cites the Colvin case as good law albeit in support of a legal point which does not reach the heart of the problem with which we are here concerned. In the Colvin case, supra, we adopted Greenman v. Yuba Power Products, Inc., 59 Cal. 2d 57, 27 Cal. Rptr. 697, 377 P.2d 897 (1963). We quoted from that case as follows: In the Greenman case, supra, the Supreme Court of California also said: That court also said: The Greenman case concluded: We held in Colvin, supra, that the same rationale is to be applied whether we are concerned with an injured man "as the foundation of accident liability, or by the purchaser to avoid a contract." 96 Ariz. at 119, 392 P.2d at 782. Indeed the same rationale is applicable in a situation such as this where the plaintiff has brought an action to recover monies paid to the manufacturer to repair its defective product. It is to be noted here that there is no controversy over the fact that the defendant supplied and installed the motor and that the defendant had supplied the plaintiff with pumps and motors previous to the one here in question and was aware of the uses to which the motor was to be put. The defendants herein had a duty to provide a pump and motor fit for the purpose for which it was intended and the plaintiff had the right to rely thereon. Mack v. Hugh W. Comstock Associates, Inc., 37 Cal. Rptr. 466 (Dist.Ct.App. 1964). Had the court below applied the doctrine of strict liability in tort which this Court has adopted, it would have been required to find for the plaintiff.