Opinion ID: 1766959
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: law the layaway truck

Text: The arrangement in this case is reminiscent of a layaway type plan where one party agrees to hold the goods until the other fulfills an agreed upon payment plan. Such plans which concern the sale of goods are covered by Article 2 of the U.C.C. Unless the context otherwise requires, this chapter applies to transactions in goods; it does not apply to any transaction which although in the form of an unconditional contract to sell or present sale is intended to operate only as a security transaction nor does this chapter impair or repeal any statute regulating sales to consumers, farmers, or other specified classes of buyers. Miss. Code Ann. § 75-2-102. See also Beck Enterprises, Inc. v. Hester, 512 So.2d 672 (Miss. 1987) (holding that Article 2 of the U.C.C. applies to sales of both new and used motor vehicles). Massey's failure to make the payments required under the agreement constituted a breach of the contract and allowed Moore to take appropriate steps to limit his damages. Section 75-2-703 of the Mississippi Code Annotated says in part: Where the buyer wrongfully rejects or revokes acceptance of goods or fails to make a payment due on or before delivery or repudiates with respect to a part or the whole, then with respect to any goods directly affected and, if the breach is of the whole contract (Section 2-612) [§ 75-2-612], then also with respect to the whole undelivered balance, the aggrieved seller may ... ... . (d) resell and recover damages as hereafter provided (Section 2-706) [§ 75-2-703]... . The proper procedure for conducting a resale of goods following a breach is detailed in § 75-2-706: (1) Under the conditions stated in Section 2-703 [§ 75-2-703] on seller's remedies, the seller may resell the goods concerned or the undelivered balance thereof. Where the resale is made in good faith and in a commercially reasonable manner the seller may recover the difference between the resale price and the contract price together with any incidental damages allowed under the provisions of this chapter (Section 2-710) [§ 75-2-710], but less expenses saved in consequence of the buyer's breach. (2) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (3) or unless otherwise agreed resale may be at public or private sale including sale by way of one (1) or more contracts to sell or of identification to an existing contract of the seller. Sale may be as a unit or in parcels and at any time and place and on any terms but every aspect of the sale including the method, manner, time, place, and terms must be commercially reasonable. The resale must be reasonably identified as referring to the broken contract, but it is not necessary that the goods be in existence or that any or all of then have been identified to the contract before the breach. (3) Where the resale is at private sale the seller must give the buyer reasonable notification of his intention to resell. (Emphasis added) Moore's sale to Raymond Reed was a private sale. By not telling Massey of his intention to resell, Moore violated the notice requirement of § 75-2-706(3). In Wood v. Downing, 243 Ark. 120, 418 S.W.2d 800 (Ark. 1967), the appellant Arnold Wood was holding a television for the appellee Ned Downing. Downing had initially paid $100.00 down and was to pay an additional $350.00 within 30 days. After Downing failed to make the payments, Wood sold the television to a third party without first notifying Downing. The Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that the sale fell under their version of U.C.C. § 2-706 and that as the seller conducted a private sale of the television without first notifying the buyer, the buyer was entitled to a refund of his previous payment. The law expressed in Wood controls here. Moore's failure to give Massey reasonable notification of his intent to resell entitles Massey to a refund of the $1,000.00 theretofore paid on the truck. [1] Reversed, and judgment rendered in favor of William Roger Massey in the amount of $1,000.00. REVERSED, AND JUDGMENT RENDERED IN FAVOR OF WILLIAM ROGER MASSEY IN THE AMOUNT OF $1,000.00. DAN M. LEE and PRATHER, P.JJ., and SULLIVAN, PITTMAN, BANKS, McRAE, JAMES L. ROBERTS, Jr., and SMITH, JJ., concur.