Opinion ID: 1719950
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: limited warranty and warranty disclaimer.

Text: Holiday Rambler and KOA contend on this appeal that the limited express warranty given by Holiday Rambler prevents the plaintiffs from revoking acceptance of the motorhome. [1, 2] Under the Uniform Commercial Code, (hereinafter UCC) a seller of goods may limit his contractual liability in two ways. He may disclaim or limit his warranties, pursuant to sec. 402.316, Stats., or he may limit the buyer's remedies for a breach of warranty, pursuant to sec. 402.719. These methods are closely related, and in many cases their effect may be substantially identical. K-Lines, Inc. v. Roberts Motor Co., 273 Ore. 242, 541 Pac.2d 1378 (1975); White and Summers, Handbook of the Law Under the Uniform Commercial Code (hornbook series, 1972) (hereinafter White and Summers), sec. 12-8, p. 375. Conceptually, however, they are distinct. A disclaimer of warranties limits the seller's liability by reducing the number of circumstances in which the seller will be in breach of the contract; it precludes the existence of a cause of action. A limitation of remedies, on the other hand, restricts the remedies available to the buyer once a breach is established. White and Summers, supra, sec. 12-11, pp. 383, 384. In the present case we believe the PRE-DELIVERY INSPECTION & ACCEPTANCE DECLARATION is an attempt to both disclaim warranties and limit the remedies available to the buyer upon breach. Sec. 402.316, Stats. [2] permits a seller to limit or exclude both implied and express warranties. See, Recreatives, Inc. v. Myers, 67 Wis.2d 255, 264, 265, 226 N.W.2d 474 (1975). Language limiting implied warranties must be conspicuous and otherwise consistent with the provisions of sec. 402.316 and must not be unconscionable in light of the circumstances at the time the contract was made. Sec. 402.302. The document signed by Mr. Murray purported to exclude all warranties, express or implied, and stated in part, above his signature: WARNING: THE PURCHASER IS EXPECTED TO READ THIS DOCUMENT BEFORE IT IS SIGNED. . . . THE PURCHASER SHOULD NOT SIGN THIS STATEMENT UNTIL ALL OF THE ITEMS INDICATED ABOVE HAVE EITHER BEEN PERFORMED OR EXPLAINED TO HIS SATISFACTION. . . . The undersigned parties attest to the fact that the above representations are, to the best of their knowledge, true and that the purchaser has received a copy of this Pre-Delivery Inspection and Acceptance Declaration and read thoroughly the MANUFACTURER'S UNDERTAKING AVENGER CORPORATION on the reverse side. The reverse side of this document stated: