Opinion ID: 418037
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Warranty Instructions.

Text: 9 The Water Works contends that the trial court erred in refusing to submit to the jury its proposed instructions 11A and 15, which dealt with the creation of a warranty between a seller of goods and a purchaser when there has been no direct dealing between the seller and purchaser. 10 The parties 1 do not argue that either the district court's instructions or the Water Works' proposed instructions are incorrect statements of law. Rather, the plaintiff argues that the trial court did not adequately inform the jury as to the law applicable to the facts in this case. 11 The Water Works argues that the court committed reversible error when it refused to give the requested instructions because nothing in the court's instructions indicated to the jury that a warranty can be created through indirect communication, and the parties had agreed in a stipulation that Dorr-Oliver had no direct communication with the Water Works prior to the installation of the concentrator. The plaintiff argues that a party is entitled to a specific instruction on its theory of the case, and that the trial court erred when it rejected the plaintiff's specific instructions and instead submitted a general instruction. See Ralston Purina Co. v. Parsons Feed & Farm Supply, Inc., 364 F.2d 57, 62 (8th Cir.1966); Chicago & N.W. Ry. Co. v. Green, 164 F.2d 55, 61 (8th Cir.1947). 12 In its denial of the plaintiff's motion for a new trial, the district court ruled that although the plaintiff's proposed instructions were correct statements of law, their substance was included in the court's instructions. The district court noted that it refused to give the Water Works' proposed instructions in an effort to avoid repetition in the charge to the jury. 2 13 A litigant is entitled under federal rules of procedure to have the jury instructed as to its claims and theories of law if they are legally correct, supported by the evidence, and brought to the court's attention in a timely request. Corey v. Jones, 650 F.2d 803, 806 (5th Cir.1981); see Fed.R.Civ.P. 51. However, the trial court is not bound to give the party's requested instruction. A district judge has broad discretion in framing the form and language of the charge to the jury, and as long as the entire charge fairly and adequately contains the law applicable to the case, the judgment will not be disturbed on appeal. Corey v. Jones, 650 F.2d at 806; Brown v. Cedar Rapids & Iowa City Railway Co., 650 F.2d 159, 165 (8th Cir.1981); E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. v. Berkley & Co., 620 F.2d 1247, 1271 (8th Cir.1980); Chavis v. Finnlines Ltd., 576 F.2d 1072, 1084 (4th Cir.1978); Bern v. Evans, 349 F.2d 282, 287-88 (8th Cir.1965); 9 C. Wright & A. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure Sec. 2552, at 627 (1971). 14 The trial judge did not abuse his discretion when he rejected the proposed instructions, since the substance of the requests was included in the court's charge to the jury. Joyce v. Atlantic Richfield Co., 651 F.2d 676, 686 (10th Cir.1981); Beard v. Mitchell, 604 F.2d 485, 497 (7th Cir.1979); Bern v. Evans, 349 F.2d at 287-88. In the Water Works' requested instruction 11A and in the first two paragraphs of its proposed instruction 15, it sought to instruct the jury that a warranty may be created even though no direct communication existed between the buyer and the seller. The substance of that contention was conveyed to the jury when the court instructed that an express warranty is any affirmation of fact or any promise by the seller relating to the goods.... (instruction 17A) (emphasis added). Nowhere in the charge was the jury instructed that in order to create a warranty the seller had to make an affirmation of fact or a promise directly to the buyer. The plaintiff also overlooks the court's instruction 22, which read in part: 15 The first essential of an implied warranty of fitness is that the buyer make known to the seller the purpose for which the goods are required. It is not necessary that there be any specific conversation between the parties with respect to this matter. It may be shown by implication from the facts and circumstances surrounding the transaction, from past transactions, and from the nture [sic] of the goods which are being sold. 16 The third paragraph of the plaintiff's proposed instruction 15 states the rule enunciated in Iowa Code Ann. Sec. 554.2318 (U.C.C. Sec. 2-318) (West 1967 & Supp.1982), that a seller's warranty extends to any person reasonably expected to use, consume or be affected by the goods and who is injured by breach of the warranty. That contention is included almost verbatim in the court's instruction 31A. 3 17 We find no error in the court's refusal to give the Water Works' proposed instructions 11A and 15. 18