Opinion ID: 1936726
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Defendant Grace

Text: South Burlington asserts that Grace breached express warranties and implied warranties of fitness for a particular purpose under 9A V.S.A. §§ 2-313 and 2-315, respectively, regarding the Zonolite Dyzone system. Grace maintains that such claim is barred by 9A V.S.A. § 2-725, since the action was commenced more than four years after the delivery of its product. [5] Assuming, but not deciding, that Grace expressly and impliedly warranted its goods, 9A V.S.A. § 2-725, which sets forth the applicable statute of limitations for a claim arising from a breach of warranty in the sale of goods, provides: (1) An action for breach of any contract for sale must be commenced within four years after the cause of action has accrued. . . . . . (2) A cause of action accrues when the breach occurs, regardless of the aggrieved party's lack of knowledge of the breach. A breach of warranty occurs when tender of delivery is made, except that where a warranty explicitly extends to future performance of the goods and discovery of the breach must await the time of such performance the cause of action accrues when the breach is or should have been discovered. Since the present action accrued before October 8, 1969, the date the roofing materials were installed, and the present action was not commenced until July 3, 1974, it is barred unless Grace's warranty explicitly extended to the future performance of the goods. Not surprisingly, plaintiff argues that the warranty did explicitly extend to future performance while Grace contends that it did not. The negative implication of the statute is that the extension provision applies only to express warranties and not to an implied warranty of fitness, since the latter warranty is not one that explicitly extends to future performance. See, e. g., Sponseller v. Meltebeke, 280 Or. 361, 365-66, n. 2, 570 P.2d 974, 976 n. 2 (1977). Therefore, to the extent that plaintiff seeks to rely on any implied warranties made by Grace its claim fails. Moreover, with respect to plaintiff's breach of express warranty claim, since all warranties in a sense extend to the future performance of the goods, courts will not lightly infer from the language of express warranties terms of prospective operation that are not clearly stated. Wilson v. Massey-Ferguson, Inc., 21 Ill.App.3d 867, 315 N.E.2d 580, 583 (1974). See also J. White & R. Summers, Uniform Commercial Code § 11-8, at 341-43 (1972). To the extent there is language of express warranty in this case, it is to the effect that the Zonolite Dyzone product would last as long as the built-up roofing would last, that it would do as good a job as the [roofing material originally] specified with the built-up roof of twenty years, that it performed satisfactorily in other situations, and that it was suitable for Vermont climatic conditions. To the extent these representations spoke to the future, it cannot be said that they constitute the explicit warranty of future performance envisioned by 9A V.S.A. § 2-725. To be explicit the representations must be clear, unambiguous and unequivocal. Binkley Co. v. Teledyne Mid-America Corp., 333 F.Supp. 1183 (E.D.Mo.1971), aff'd, 460 F.2d 276 (8th Cir. 1972). But where, as here, the words alleged to extend a warranty to future performance are so unclearly stated and are so set forth that there is doubt as to their meaning a court should not infer that more than a warranty of present characteristics, design or condition was intended. A warranty that a product is so manufactured that it should last [20] years is a warranty of present characteristics, design and condition and should not be stretched by implication into a specific promise enforcible at the end of [20] years. Citizens Utilities Co. v. American Locomotive Co., 11 N.Y.2d 409, 417, 230 N.Y.S.2d 194, 198, 184 N.E.2d 171, 174 (1962). Nor is the fact that South Burlington expected a durable and adequate roof, or that it relied on Grace's expertise, sufficient to raise these representations of present characteristics to explicit warranties of future performance. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp. v. Johns-Manville Sales Corp., 453 F.Supp. 527 (W.D.Pa.1978). Since South Burlington did not commence its action against Grace within four years from the date of the alleged breach of warranty, the direction of the verdict in favor of Grace was proper.