Court Opinion

ID: 9646813
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 13:12:01.063951+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:11:42.154300
License: Public Domain

CANTU, Justice,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent. I disagree with the majority’s treatment of appellant’s requested special issues. I would hold that the trial court’s failure to submit these requested issues denied appellant a fair submission of the controlling and ultimate issues in the case as applicable to his alternate recovery theory.
The submitted special issues inquiring whether the knife was manufactured in a defective manner and, if so, was the producing cause of the injury, were based upon Restatement (Second) of Torts § 402A (1965). Appellant, however, also plead and offered evidence to support a cause of action based upon section 402B and was entitled to submission of this theory through special issues. See generally Texas General Indemnity Co. v. Scott, 152 Tex. 1, 253 S.W.2d 651 (1952). Section 402B is a distinct cause of action which imposes strict liability for physical harm to the consumer resulting from a misrepresentation of a material fact concerning the character or quality of a product sold and, upon which the consumer justifiably relied, even though the misrepresentation is an innocent one, and not made fraudulently or negligently.
The majority holds that because the requested special issues did not ask the jury (1) whether the representations made were one of material fact and (2) whether appellant’s employer justifiably relied upon these representations when purchasing appellee’s tools, these being essential elements of a section 402B cause of action, the requested issues were not in ‘substantially correct’ form. The majority, therefore, holds that appellant waived his right to complain that they should have been submitted. I would hold that, based on the pleadings and evidence presented in this case, appellant submitted the required issues in ‘substantially correct’ form. See Tex.R.Civ.P. 279. Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. v. Thomas, 554 S.W.2d 672 (Tex.1977); Hardware Dealers' Mutual Fire Ins. Co. v. King, 426 S.W.2d 215 (Tex.1968).
The strict tort liability formulated by section 402B involves a misrepresentation of material facts that justifiably induces the purchase of a product. The commentary to the Restatement of Torts asserts that section 402B applies only to misrepresentations of material facts concerning the character or quality of the chattel in question. Section 402B does not apply to statements of opinion, and, in particular, it does not apply to the kind of loose general praise of wares sold which the seller considers to be “sales talk”, and is commonly called “puffing”. In addition, the commentary asserts that the fact misrepresented must be a material one, of importance to the normal purchaser, by *813which the ultimate buyer may justifiably be expected to be influenced in buying the chattel. Restatement (Second) of Torts § 402B (1965), Comment g. Thus a material fact is one which induces a party to act in reliance on it. See Putnam v. Bromwell, 73 Tex. 465, 11 S.W. 491 (1889); Sawyer v. Pierce, 580 S.W.2d 117 (Tex.Civ.App.—Corpus Christi 1979, writ ref’d n.r.e.).
Appellee, in a catalogue sent to their customers, represented that the knife was “sturdily constructed of high grade steel carefully tempered” and “guaranteed against defects in materials and workmanship.” The evidence was uncontroverted that appellant’s employer purchased the knife in reliance upon the representations by appellee. Appellee never claimed that such representations were mere ‘puffing’ or opinions of the company, and, in fact, the president of the company conceded that the representations referred to the quality of the knives and that, based upon the guarantees made, they had had to replace the knives of some of their customers.
When an issue is uncontroverted, there is no requirement that it be submitted to the jury. Sullivan v. Barnett, 471 S.W.2d 39 (Tex.1971); Wingfield v. Bryant, 614 S.W.2d 643 (Tex.Civ.App.—Austin 1981, writ ref’d n.r.e.). I feel, and the record indisputedly supports a finding that all the evidence relevant to the issues of “material fact” was uncontroverted. Appellee’s president acknowledged that the representations referred to the quality of the product which the company readily backed with a replacement guarantee, thus the representations were of the kind by which the ultimate buyer might justifiably be expected to be influenced in the purchase of the product.
Appellant’s employer’s testimony that he was induced to purchase the knife by the representations of appellee in the sales cat-alogue is, therefore, unchallenged. Thus the representations were necessarily of material facts as contemplated by section 402B, and did not require a submission of issues to the jury on the element of material fact.1 When an issue is conceded or unchallenged there should be no reason to require the jury to do a useless thing by requiring it to find an admitted fact.
Under comment j the authors further assert that section 402B applies only where there is justifiable reliance upon the misrepresentation of the seller, and physical harm results because of such reliance, and because of the fact which is misrepresented. Section 402B does not apply where the misrepresentation is not known, or there is indifference to it, and it does not influence the purchase or subsequent conduct. The misrepresentation need not be the sole inducement to purchase, or to use the chattel, but it is sufficient that it has been a substantial factor in that inducement. Restatement (Second) of Torts § 402B (1965), Comment j.
Again, it was uncontroverted that the representations made by appellee were substantial factors in appellant’s employers’ purchasing the knife. Appellee never suggested that appellant’s employer had no knowledge of or was indifferent to the representations made by appellee. Since the issue of reliance was also uncontested, appellant was not required to submit it in his requested issues.
Appellant’s third requested issue, however, did address reliance; there was merely a failure to include the word justifiable. I would hold this to be only a slight variance, see Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. v. Thomas, supra, particularly since appellee did not choose to make an issue of any type' of reliance. The requirement that an issue must be tendered in substantially correct form does not mean that the issue must be absolutely correct. See Fawcett v. Bellah, 556 S.W.2d 598 (Tex.Civ.App.— Corpus Christi 1977, no writ). I would hold that the element of justifiable reliance was submitted in substantially correct form through appellant’s requested special issue number three, although under the evidence *814the issue was conceded and did not require submission.
Appellee submits that the trial court properly refused the requested special issues because these issues duplicated the submitted parts. This argument is without merit since appellant relied upon more than one theory of recovery and was entitled to submission of the controlling special issues which would establish each theory. Texas General Indemnity Co. v. Scott, supra. The failure to submit such issues is reversible error. See Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. v. Thomas, supra.
Strict liability for innocent misrepresentation is totally distinct from the liability imposed by section 402A and the elements of each are distinctly different. In an article by James Sales, The Innocent Misrepresentation Doctrine: Strict Tort Liability Under Section 402B, 16 Hous.L.Rev. 239 (1979), he states:
Under section 402A, liability depends upon whether a product is defective and unreasonably dangerous, whereas section 402B requires only that one show the misrepresentation of a material fact. Thus, section 402B neither focuses nor depends on a defective product, and the fact a product incidentally may be defective or unreasonably dangerous is wholly immaterial to liability. Conversely, a product, although perfectly designed and manufactured, may create liability if the representations of its quality or condition prove to be inaccurate or false. It is the public assurance of quality in merchandising that furnishes the judicial foundation for liability under section 402B. [footnotes omitted]
Id. at 252.
The issues submitted to the jury paralleled section 402A. The issues tendered by appellant but not submitted to the jury substantially conformed to a section 402B cause of action. Thus, the pleadings and evidence dictate that appellant was entitled to special issues on both sections 402A and 402B causes of action.
Appellee further argues that the special issues tendered by appellant but not submitted to the jury were not supported by the pleadings and proof. It is true that appellant used pleadings sounding in breach of warranty to support a cause of action based upon a misrepresentation, but the overall language was sufficient to put ap-pellee on notice of a section 402B cause of action.
Since appellee did not deem it necessary to except to appellant’s pleadings on the basis of the language used he should not now be heard to complain that he was caught by surprise and did not expect to defend against a section 402B cause of action. Appellant, on the other hand, should not be penalized because he did not select language acceptable to appellee when in fact his selection of words were equivalent to those appellee now claims are required under a section 402B action. We should not concern ourselves with the choice of language in the pleadings but only with their sufficiency and effect.
Appellant relies on the dissenting opinion in Jack Roach-Bissonnet, Inc. v. Puskar, 417 S.W.2d 262 (Tex.1967), which asserted that the majority should have considered a section 402B cause of action. The plaintiff in Roach plead breach of warranty, negligent misrepresentation, and negligence in refusing to repair. On motion for rehearing, the majority addressed the section 402B cause of action and overruled plaintiff’s contention not because the cause of action was not plead but because the evidence did not show that the product “was not of the character or quality indicated by the manual.” Furthermore, cases from other jurisdictions which have imposed strict liability for breach of warranty have pointed out that warranties do not have to sound in contract but may be based upon liability imposed by law, therefore, sounding in tort. See Greenman v. Yuba Power Products, Inc., 59 Cal.2d 57, 377 P.2d 897, 27 Cal.Rptr. 697 (1962); Worley v. Proctor & Gamble Mfg. Co., 241 Mo.App. 1114, 253 S.W.2d 532 (1952); Baxter v. Ford Motor Co., 168 Wash. 456, 12 P.2d 409 (1932).
Appellant’s pleadings alleged that appel-lees had made certain express warranties *815concerning the knife. The allegations were that the knife was not as warranted, that the breaking of the knife should not have occurred had the knife been in the condition which it was warranted, and that such breach of warranties was a direct and proximate cause of the damages suffered by appellant.
There is little difference between the use of the terms “misrepresent” and “warrant”. In fact, warrant implies a representation. Warrant has been defined as follows: “to assure, as a thing sold, to the purchaser; that is, to engage that the thing is what it appears, or is represented, to be, which implies a covenant to make good any defect or loss incurred by it.” Webster’s New International Dictionary of the English Language, 2nd ed. (1959), p. 2877. Warranty denotes an express promise that the goods will conform to a particular standard of quality. 13 Tex.Jur.2d Contracts § 159 (1960). An express warranty is an affirmation of fact or a promise by a seller, relating to the goods, that has a natural tendency to induce the buyer to purchase and on which he relies in purchasing the goods. 50 Tex.Jur.2d Rev. Sales, § 240 (1963). Misrepresent has been defined as, “To give a false, improper, or imperfect representation (of).” Webster’s, supra, p. 1570. Section 402B does not require that the representation be a fraudulent or negligent one, it being sufficient that the representation be wrong, even if innocently made. I see little distinction to be made between the use of either term.
I would hold the pleadings sufficient to support the requested issues. Thus having plead allegations sufficient to support the issues, and having introduced evidence in support of each of the allegations, appellant was entitled to submission of his section 402B special issues. I would reverse and remand.

. The majority opinion, citing 3 R. McDonald, Texas Civil Practice § 12.33.2 (rev. 1970), and a rule supported by numerous cases, recognizes that a request is in “substantially correct” form when it incorporates all of the required special issues.