Opinion ID: 1863146
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: GMImplied Warranties.

Text: In its opinion in this case, the Court of Civil Appeals held that under Alabama's version of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), implied warranties are applicable only to sellers. 769 So.2d at 901-02. We agree; that holding is an accurate statement of the law. See Rhodes v. General Motors Corp., 621 So.2d 945, 947 (Ala.1993). If Tucker had alleged a breach of an implied warranty as to GM, a summary judgment would be proper as to any such claim. To the extent that the Court of Civil Appeals' opinion implies that Tucker stated such a claim, however, and to the extent that Tucker argues that he should be allowed to proceed on such a claim, we point out that the complaint does not appear to state a claim alleging any breach of implied warranties by GM. Tucker's complaint states: 8. By and through the purchase of said automobile, implied warranties of Merchantability and Fitness for a Particular Purpose were created by operation of Alabama law; an express warranty attached by contract; and plaintiff further purchased a 75,000 mile extended warranty for an additional fee of $1,000.00. The complaint also states: 13. Defendants have breached the express warranty that accompanied the purchase of the automobile and have further breached the purchased `extended warranty' that covered the first 75,000 miles of the vehicle, thereby resulting in property damage to the plaintiff. 14. Defendant Jim Bishop Chevrolet-Geo-Buick-Olds, Inc., has further breached the implied warranties that have attached to the vehicle and plaintiff has suffered both personal and property damage as a result of said breach. As is clear from the above, although Tucker's complaint charges Bishop and GM with the breach of express warranties, it does not charge GM with the breach of any implied warranty. The adoption of the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure liberalized the previous rules of pleading, doing away with many of the strict requirements of the former rules. B & M Homes, Inc. v. Hogan, 376 So.2d 667, 674 (Ala.1979). Under the Rules of Civil Procedure, pleadings are to be construed liberally, with every reasonable intendment and presumption ... made in favor of the pleader. Johnson v. City of Mobile, 475 So.2d 517, 518-19 (Ala. 1985). Notwithstanding the liberalization embodied in the Rules of Civil Procedure, pleadings remain the principal means by which the parties choose the issues that they wish to litigate. Rutley v. Country Skillet Poultry Co., 549 So.2d 82, 84 (Ala. 1989). Tucker's complaint, quite simply, does not state a breach-of-implied-warranty claim against GM. Nor does the record reveal any evidence that would tend to support such a claim. Therefore, although its affirmance of the summary judgment for GM on the breach-of-implied warranty claims was based on an incorrect reason, its judgment was correct, and we affirm the Court of Civil Appeals' judgment on those claims.