Monsanto Agr. Products Co. v. Edenfield

• Decision Date: 16 November 1982
• Docket Number: No. AH-485,AH-485
• Citation: 426 So.2d 574
• Parties: 35 UCC Rep.Serv. 781 MONSANTO AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS COMPANY, Appellant, v. Clinch EDENFIELD, Appellee.
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals

Page 574

426 So.2d 574

35 UCC Rep.Serv. 781

MONSANTO AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS COMPANY, Appellant, v. Clinch EDENFIELD, Appellee.

No. AH-485.

District Court of Appeal of Florida,

First District.

Nov. 16, 1982.

Rehearing Denied Feb. 8, 1983.

Michael I. Coulson of Howell, Howell, Liles, Braddock & Milton, Jacksonville and John Q. McShane and John L. Krenn of Gray, Plant, Mooty, Mooty & Bennett, Minneapolis, Minn., for appellant.

Marlin M. Feagle, Lake City, for appellee.

THOMPSON, Judge.

Monsanto Agricultural Products Company (Monsanto) appeals a judgment entered on appellee's complaint alleging negligence and breach of express and implied warranties in connection with the manufacture and sale of its herbicide product, Lasso. We reverse in part and affirm in part.

Monsanto manufactures Lasso herbicide and sells it to distributors who in turn resell it to dealers or directly to farmers. Appellee Clinch Edenfield is a Columbia County farmer who purchased Lasso from local farm supply dealers for use in controlling weeds in his 1978 soybean crop. Appellee purchased the Lasso in sealed five gallon cans which bore on their labels and on the face of instruction booklets affixed to their tops the legend "LIMIT OF WARRANTY AND LIABILITY." Below this legend as it appeared on the label of each can was a statement of express warranty of merchantability (warranty of chemical composition and fitness for purposes described in the directions for use of the product), which included in bold face type the statement "NO OTHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTY OF FITNESS OR MERCHANTABILITY IS MADE." The statement of express warranty thereafter limited liability for breach of warranty to refund of purchase price of the product. The reference to warranty and liability which appeared on the face of the instruction booklet affixed to the top of each can of Lasso read as follows:

Read "LIMIT OF WARRANTY AND LIABILITY" before buying or using. If terms are not acceptable, return at once unopened.

Although the evidence was conflicting as to whether appellee followed accepted farming practices in planting his crop, and as to whether he applied the product in accordance with the directions, there was no genuine dispute that appellee's weed control program failed. By the time appellee's soybean plants had grown to a height of some three to four inches, weeds began to appear in the field, and by the time the plants were 12 inches high the weeds had begun to choke them and stifle their growth. Appellee then elected to plow the crop under and replant, but the second crop also failed, either because the optimum planting time had passed or because of drought conditions which occurred during the latter part of the 1978 growing season. Appellee thereafter instituted this action, alleging breach of express and implied warranties of merchantability, breach of implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose, negligent manufacture, and negligent failure to instruct as to proper use and application of the product. The complaint included no allegation that the herbicide had in any way caused direct damage to appellee's soybean plants, either because of a defect in the Lasso or because of improper application due to the alleged failure to provide adequate instruction. Rather, the complaint alleged only that the Lasso failed to control weeds, and that as a result of the ineffectiveness of the product, the weeds competed with the soybean crop for available nutrients, thereby damaging the crop.

During a charge conference and motion hearing conducted at the close of plaintiff/appellee's evidence, the trial judge correctly ruled that the allegation of breach of implied warranty of merchantability was With respect to the allegations of breach of warranty, we find that there was adequate, competent, and substantial evidence in the record to support the jury's determination that the herbicide failed to control the weeds in appellee's soybean field, and that Monsanto thereby breached its express warranty of merchantability. However, we conclude that the trial court erred in instructing the jury that Monsanto's limitation of warranty and liability had no legal effect and would not operate to limit the damages recoverable by appellee.

identical to, and encompassed within, the allegation of breach of express warranty, and that appellee had failed to adduce any evidence in support of the allegation of negligent manufacture. He directed a verdict for appellant on these counts. However, the trial judge denied appellant's motion for directed verdict on the remaining negligence count, and thereafter instructed the jury on negligence. This was error. The damage to appellee's crop was not directly caused by any vice or defect in the herbicide, but was consequential damage indirectly caused by the product's ineffectiveness. Tort law imposes upon manufacturers a duty to exercise reasonable care so that the products they place in the marketplace will not harm persons or property. However, tort law does not impose any duty to manufacture only such products as will meet the economic expectations of purchasers. Such a duty does, of course, exist where the manufacturer assumes the duty as part of his bargain with the purchaser, or where implied by law, but the duty arises under the law of contract, and not under tort law. Prosser, Law of Torts § 101 (4th Edition 1971); Seely v. White Motor Co., 63 Cal.2d 9, 45 Cal.Rptr. 17, 403 P.2d 145 (1965); Clark v. International Harvester Co., 99 Idaho 326, 581 P.2d 784 (1978). Further, there was no evidence that Monsanto's alleged failure to instruct as to proper use and application of the product was the legal cause of any damage sustained by appellee. Accordingly, we reverse that portion of the judgment holding Monsanto liable to appellee on grounds of negligence.

With the demise of the privity doctrine in Florida, manufacturers became liable to remote purchasers for breach of both express and implied warranties. See, e.g., Manheim v. Ford Motor Company, 201 So.2d 440 (Fla.1967). Although Manheim was decided after Florida's adoption of the Uniform Commercial Code, Chapters 671-679, Fla.Stat., (the UCC) the sale at issue in the case occurred prior to the adoption of the UCC. The Manheim court held that an express warranty limitation did not operate to preclude recovery on the basis of implied warranty where the product was defective and unsuitable for its ordinary and intended use. However, limitations of implied warranties of merchantability and fitness are now expressly authorized by the UCC if said limitations are made a part of the bargain between the parties, are reasonably consistent with any express warranties made, are in writing and are conspicious, and are not unconscionable. Sections 672.302, .316, .719, Fla.Stat. The trial judge's refusal to give effect to Monsanto's limitation of warranty and liability appears to have been based on his determination that the UCC did not apply in this case, based primarily on the authority of Ford Motor Company v. Pittman, 227 So.2d 246 (Fla. 1st DCA 1969), cert. denied, 237 So.2d 177 (Fla.1970) and Rehurek v. Chrysler Credit Corporation, 262 So.2d 452 (Fla.2d DCA 1972), cert. denied, 267 So.2d 833 (Fla.1972). Both of these cases involved the sale of dangerous instrumentalities (automobiles) to unsophisticated consumers. In both cases the court also found that the limitation or exclusion of warranty was not conspicious. The Rehurek court found that the disclaimer clause appeared in small print in paragraph six on the back page of the contract and did not comply with § 672.316(2), Fla.Stat., which required that any modification or exclusion of an implied warranty of merchantability mention merchantability, be in writing, and be conspicious. In Ford Motor Company this court held the manufacturer "must prove that the disclaimer clause was in fact a part of that contract, rather than some extraneous matter hidden in a bulk of materials handed to the buyer at the time Here, Monsanto has not attempted to disclaim all warranties of merchantability and fitness for intended purposes, but has merely attempted to limit its liability for any consequential damages which might flow from a breach of its express warranty of merchantability and fitness. Monsanto has agreed to return the full purchase price of its product should the product (if used according to directions) fail to perform as advertised. We doubt that the manufacturers involved in the cited automobile cases would have found themselves in court had they promptly offered to replace the defective automobiles or to refund the purchase price.

                of purchase."  Id. at 249 (footnote omitted).  In our view, these cases do not support the trial judge's refusal to apply the UCC in a case such as this, involving a purely commercial transaction between a manufacturer of agricultural chemicals and an experienced and knowledgeable farmer.  Furthermore, it appears that in the cited automobile cases the manufacturers were attempting to limit their liability to replacement of defective parts and correction of defective workmanship without regard to whether the automobiles were fit for ordinary use and would perform as advertised.   There the manufacturers were attempting to disclaim any warranty of merchantability or fitness for use as a motor vehicle, whether express or implied.   Such an attempt to disclaim any warranty of merchantability was clearly invalid under pre-UCC law, and remains invalid under the UCC provisions prohibiting unconscionable contracts or clauses of contracts
                

Although we recognize that herbicide failure may occasionally result in economic loss for commercial farmers such as Mr. Edenfield, and that our decision herein may therefore be considered by some as harsh, we do not think it so. The courts of this state have long recognized the risks and uncertainties of agricultural ventures. See, e.g., Corneli Seed Co. v. Ferguson, 64...