Opinion ID: 1971440
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: If plaintiff's action was timely brought under Maine's applicable statute of limitations, is plaintiff's breach of warranty claim specifically time-barred under Maine law?

Text: As originally enacted in 1963 the Maine version of the Uniform Commercial Code required that an action for breach of warranty be commenced within four years of the date on which the action accrued. 11 M.R.S.A. § 2-725(1) (1964). Section 2-725(2) provided that a cause of action accrued and a breach of warranty occurred at the time delivery of the goods was tendered. By the time of defendant's 1971 sale of the gun involved in this case, the Maine legislature had expanded significantly the scope of warranty liability. In a series of enactments the legislature eliminated the requirement of privity and extended warranty protection to those persons who might reasonably be expected to use, consume or be affected by the goods. [2] Prior to 1973, however, the legislature did not specify any accrual event for the cause of action created by elimination of the requirements of privity. This Court has not previously determined whether the cause of action accrued upon the initial tender of delivery for warranty claims arising in the absence of a contractual relationship. In 1973 the legislature amended section 2-725 (P.L.1973, ch. 442, § 1) to provide a general six-year statute of limitations in cases of personal injury, with the cause of action accruing at time of injury. 14 M.R.S.A. § 751 (1980). The applicability clause of the 1973 act contained the proviso that the amendments shall not be construed to affect any cause of action arising prior to the effective date of this Act. Ruger now contends that plaintiff's cause of action for breach of warranty arose in 1971 at the time the gun was originally sold to its distributor and that the 1973 amendments are inapplicable. Plaintiff contends that as a remote purchaser with no contractual relationship his cause of action did not arise until his injury in 1975 and therefore that the 1973 amendments are applicable to his claim. The differing interpretations result from the fact that although the concept of accrual was prospectively changed by the legislature's amendment of section 2-725, the accrual event remains undetermined for those causes of action which involved a tender of delivery prior to 1973 and an injury after 1973 to a non-contractual claimant. We conclude that plaintiff's cause of action did not accrue in 1971 when defendant tendered delivery of the gun to its distributor. Only when plaintiff came into possession of the gun in 1975 did he achieve the status of a foreseeable user which could serve as the predicate for the assertion of warranty liability in the event of injury. We hold that the non-contractual liability resulting from the elimination of privity and premised upon a status measured by reasonable foreseeability sounds in tort rather than in contract, [3] and is subject to the limitations applicable to torts. 14 M.R.S.A. § 752 (1980). The legislative extension of liability is not based upon contractual intent but is purely a matter of social policy. In the absence of a contrary statement of legislative intent the general rule prevails that the action accrues when the particular potential plaintiff has a judicially recognizable claim against the defendant. Williams v. Ford Motor Company, 342 A.2d 712, 718 (Me.1975) (emphasis in original). Even before the 1973 amendments, section 2-725 did not apply to persons other than the contracting parties. We adopt the rationale set forth in Hahn v. Atlantic Richfield Co., 625 F.2d 1095 (3rd Cir.1980) and Salvador v. Atlantic Steel Boiler Co., 256 Pa.Super. 330, 389 A.2d 1148 (1978). Plaintiff's cause of action did not arise prior to the effective date of the 1973 amendments and is not barred by the previous version of section 2-725(2) nor is it precluded by the applicability clause of the 1973 Act. The action has been brought within the time specified in the applicable general statute of limitations.