Court Opinion

ID: 9711001
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 04:22:40.947319+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:22:43.560943
License: Public Domain

Mr. JUSTICE GREEN, concurring in part, and dissenting in part: I would affirm the trial court’s dismissal of count I alleging strict liability for defective product and reverse the trial court’s (1) dismissal of count II charging misrepresentation and count III claiming negligence, and (2) denial of the motion to dismiss count IV charging breach of express warranty. I do not agree that economic damages are or should be recoverable in this State for the strict liability tort of defective product absent injury or property damage. The tort places liability without fault upon the tortfeasor, focusing not upon his conduct but-upon the defect in the product which has been placed in commerce. (Kerns v. Engelke (1979), 76 Ill. 2d 154, 390 N.E.2d 859.) The essence of the tort is the unreasonable danger created by the defect and placed upon those to whom a duty is owed. (Hunt v. Blasius (1978), 74 Ill. 2d 203, 384 N.E.2d 368.) The supreme court has made clear that an unreasonably dangerous condition of the product is an essential element of the tort. Dunham v. Vaughan & Bushnell Mfg. Co. (1969), 42 Ill. 2d 339, 247 N.E.2d 401; Hunt. On the other hand, in Santor v. A. & M. Karagheusian, Inc. (1965), 44 N.J. 52, 207 A.2d 305, the New Jersey court proclaimed a tort action for defective product which, unlike the Illinois remedy, made no requirement that the defective product be unreasonably dangerous. The supreme court has never ruled upon whether economic damages are recoverable in an action in strict liability for defective product but the differences between the New Jersey and Illinois remedies indicate differences in treatment. The unreasonably dangerous nature of the product bears particularly upon the likelihood of personal injury and to some extent upon that of property damage. It has little relevance to the likelihood of economic damage when neither personal injury nor property damage are involved. Borrowing in part from an illustration used by the majority, let us assume the existence of two custom farmers who have bought tractors that fail to perform during their working season, causing neither personal injury nor property damage but causing both a substantially equal loss of business. If one of the tractors had an unreasonably dangerous defect but the other’s defect was not so dangerous, and neither defect was caused by negligence, under the holding of the majority, the first farmer would have a cause of action in defective product but the second would be relegated to the remedies of the Uniform Commercial Code. As the majority has stated, drawing boundary lines that define when various measures of damages arise is often difficult. I deem it logical here to draw the line where the majority of cases have done. I agree with Mr. Justice Traynor that when no personal injury or property damage has occurred, the Uniform Commercial Code provides the appropriate vehicle for relief for economic damage arising from a defective product not shown to have been negligently produced. I do not consider the provisions of the Code to be unreasonable to consumers but if they are, it should be amended with the amendments applicable to all suits for breach of the implied warranty of fitness, rather than as here, creating an exception applicable only in those situations where, although no personal injuries or property damages resulted, fortuitously, the defect was unreasonably dangerous. The majority indicates that the most substantial cases, under the rule it sets forth, would be those between business entities. Those would be the cases where the freedom to contract permitted by the Uniform Commercial Code would be the most desirable. I agree with the majority’s disposition of count II charging misrepresentation. Economic damages are recoverable under that claim, and the statute of limitations did not begin to run until plaintiff knew or should have known of the alleged error in the representation. I also agree with the majority’s disposition of count III claiming negligence. Under this count the defendant would not be held liable without fault. The remedy is not based upon the product being dangerous. Thus there is no logical reason to limit recovery for economic damages where there is damage to person or property. I agree that if one owing a duty to another negligently inflicts reasonably foreseeable economic loss upon the other, the negligent actor should be liable. Here the manufacturer-seller and buyer relationship created the duty. I would reject the dictum of West American Insurance Co. v. Sal E. Lobianco & Son Co. (1977), 69 Ill. 2d 126, 370 N.E.2d 804. The alleged tort did not occur until the injury to the tank occurred. We need not decide whether the discovery rule was applicable because there is no showing of record that the suit was not brought within two years of the crack having developed. I do not agree with the majority’s interpretation of count IV. I interpret the count to rely entirely on the warranty set forth in its paragraph 8. As the majority correctly rules, it did not “explicitly extend to future performance.” The count showed on its face that it was barred by the statute of limitations. The motion to dismiss count IV should have been allowed. Accordingly, I concur in the majority’s reversal of the trial court’s dismissal of counts II and III. I dissent from (I) the majority’s reversal of the dismissal of count I, and (2) the majority’s affirmance of the trial court’s denial of the motion to dismiss count IV.