Opinion ID: 1767013
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: whether mercury marine was given a reasonable opportunity to cure.

Text: ¶ 12. Mercury Marine first argues that Travis failed to afford it a reasonable opportunity to cure the motors' defects. By purchasing the Yamaha motors on the same day as the malfunction of the Mercury Marine motor and filing suit to recover the cost of the Yamaha motors, Mercury Marine contends that Travis failed to satisfy a legal prerequisite to recovery, namely, cure. Travis responds that the Mercury Marine motors failed on three different occasions and that Mercury Marine was given a reasonable opportunity to cure the defect each time, even the final time. ¶ 13. In Fitzner Pontiac-Buick-Cadillac v. Smith, 523 So.2d 324 (Miss.1988), Smith purchased a used car and sued the dealer alleging breach of express and implied warranties when the car experienced problems with, among other things, an intake gasket, transmission, and radiator. Rather than bringing the car to Fitzner for repair, Smith unconditionally insisted that the contract for the car be deemed rejected and that he be given his money back. 523 So.2d at 328. In reversing and rendering a jury verdict in favor of Smith for the purchase price of the car, we noted the following regarding a seller's right to cure: We recognize that a strict reading of the cure provisions of Miss.Code Ann. § 75-2-508 (1972) reveals no explicit application to the revocation situation with which we are here concerned. The law's policy of minimization of economic waste strongly supports recognition of a reasonable opportunity to cure. Though the express language of Section 75-2-508 does not apply here, cure is not excluded by Section 75-2-608. By analogy to Section 75-2-508 and in furtherance of the policy justification undergirding that statute and our common law doctrine of cure in contracts generally, we recognize that, before Smith was entitled to get his money back, Fitzner had a right to a reasonable opportunity to cure the vehicle's deficiencies. 523 So.2d at 328 n. 1 (citations omitted & emphasis added). ¶ 14. We agree with Mercury Marine that Travis should have brought the malfunctioning motor to a Mercury Marine dealer for repair according to the warranty. The two prior defects had been repaired under the warranty without question. Also, the third and final malfunction occurred on a motor that had yet to experience problems. The fact is that the same thing never broke twice over the ten months Travis used the motors, and there was never any indication that Mercury Marine would not repair the broken rod bearing. Mercury Marine should have been allowed to cure the defective motor. See Tucker v. Aqua Yacht Harbor Corp., 749 F.Supp. 142 (N.D.Miss.1990) (applying Mississippi law) (finding that in a case which was instituted while repairs were being made to piston defect on boat motor, manufacturer should have been allowed to cure and thus could not be held liable for breaches of express and implied warranties). ¶ 15. Also, this case is readily distinguishable from our prior opinions in which we found that the right to cure was not unlimited in the wake of repeated deficiencies and repeated attempts at repair. Guerdon Indus., Inc. v. Gentry, 531 So.2d 1202 (Miss.1988) (finding right to cure not unlimited in case where seller made ten attempts to repair a mobile home's defects in a five-month period); Rester v. Morrow, 491 So.2d 204 (Miss.1988) (holding likewise in a case where plaintiff's Renault automobile experienced problems with its electrical system, air conditioner, and oil indicator gauge justified buyer's revocation of acceptance).