International Harvester Co. of America v. Law

• Decision Date: 12 October 1916
• Docket Number: 9528.
• Parties: INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER CO. OF AMERICA v. LAW.
• Court: South Carolina Supreme Court

90 S.E. 186

105 S.C. 520

INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER CO. OF AMERICA v. LAW.

No. 9528.

Supreme Court of South Carolina

October 12, 1916

Appeal from Common Pleas Circuit Court of Lee County; I. W. Bowman Judge.

Action by the International Harvester Company of America against E D. Law. From an adverse judgment, plaintiff appeals. Reversed.

Lyles & Lyles, of Columbia, for appellant.

McLeod & Dennis, of Bishopville, for respondent.

HYDRICK J.

Plaintiff sued on a note given by defendant in part payment for an engine. Defendant set up, as defenses breach of warranty, express and implied, and fraud and misrepresentation in the sale, and a counterclaim for damages caused by defects in the engine.

The contract of sale contained the following provisions:

"International Harvester Company of America (Incorporated), warrants the within described engine to do good work, to be well made, of good materials, and durable if used with proper care. If, upon one day's trial, with proper care, the engine fails to work well, the purchaser shall immediately give written notice to International Harvester Company of America, at Chicago, Illinois, and to the agent from whom it was purchased, stating wherein the engine fails, shall allow a reasonable time for a competent man to be sent to put it in good order, and render necessary and friendly assistance to operate it. If the engine cannot then be made to work well, the purchaser shall immediately return it to said agent and the price paid shall be refunded which shall constitute a settlement in full of the transaction. Use of the engine after three days, or failure to give written notice to said company and its agent, or failure to return the engine as above specified, shall operate as an acceptance of it and a fulfillment of this warranty. No agent has power to change the contract of warranty in any respect, and the within order can be canceled only in writing from said company's Chicago office. This express warranty excludes all implied warranties, and said company shall in no event be liable for breach of warranty in an amount exceeding the purchase price of the engine. If within ninety days' time any part proves defective, a new part will be furnished on receipt of said part showing defect."

Under date of September 23, 1910, after the engine had been installed, defendant gave plaintiff's expert the following certificate, addressed to plaintiff:

"This is to certify that your expert Litchfield has adjusted and operated my thirty-five horse power Gaso. Eng. to my entire satisfaction.

[Signed] E. D. Law, Purchaser."

Defendant testified that he used the engine to run his ginnery, and ginned about 500 bales of cotton with it during the ginning season of 1910-11; that he commenced ginning again, about the middle of August, 1911, for the season of 1911-12, and, about the middle of October, after he had ginned about 100 bales, the gears of the engine broke. So far as the evidence shows, that was the first break. Previous to that time the engine seems to have worked satisfactorily. Plaintiff sent an expert to fix it, but, from that time on, it continued to break down, from time to time, and did not work satisfactorily, notwithstanding repeated efforts to make it do so.

On December 14, 1911, after plaintiff's expert had repaired it, defendant gave him the following statement:

"I, E. D. Law, have this day thoroughly tested the thirty- five horse power gasoline engine sold me on or about May, 1910, after the expert for the I. H. Co. put same in repair, and am thoroughly satisfied with same, and the same is running satisfactorily.

[Signed] E. D. Law."

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