Sales and Leases | 197
3. Seller’s Reason to Know of the Buyer’s Particular Purpose and Reliance For the implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose to apply, the seller must have reason to know of the buyer’s particular purpose and reliance on the seller’s skill or judgment to furnish goods suitable for that purpose. Because the seller need only have reason to know, not actual knowledge, it suffices if the surrounding circumstances reasonably indicate the buyer’s purpose and reliance. As a practical matter, though, the buyer will normally directly inform the seller of her particular purpose, which itself implies the buyer’s reliance on the seller’s skill or judgment. [U.C.C. § 2-315, cmt. 1 (1951); 2 Hawkland UCC Series § 2-315:2, Westlaw (database updated June 2021).] Example : A small manufacturer of electrical components contacted a computer store about purchasing a computerized inventory-control system to handle inventory, billing, and recordkeeping. In particular, the manufacturer wanted a system with single-entry inventory control that would automatically delete items from the inventory records upon their sale. The manufacturer made his requirements known to the store in exacting detail. The store’s sales representative, in turn, promised to supply a computer system that could meet the manufacturer’s requirements. As the representative knew, the manufacturer lacked sophistication in terms of computers. Here, the store had reason to know of the manufacturer’s purpose for the computer system, because the manufacturer informed the sales representative of it. This fact, coupled with the knowledge that the manufacturer lacked computer sophistication, sufficiently indicated the manufacturer’s reliance on the store. [ See Hollingsworth v. The Software House, Inc. , 513 N.E.2d 1372 (Ohio Ct. App. 1986).] 4. Requirement That the Buyer Actually Rely on the Seller’s Skill or Judgment For the implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose to apply, the buyer must actually rely on the seller’s skill or judgment to furnish suitable goods. The fact that the buyer mentions a particular brand or specific type of items or gives specifications does not, by itself, necessarily indicate a lack of reliance, though some courts have invoked this fact to find a lack of reliance. [U.C.C. § 2-315, cmt. 1 (1951); 2 Hawkland UCC Series § 2-315:2, Westlaw (database updated June 2021).] Example : A contractor sought to purchase several tractors, of a specific make and brand, for use in installing catfish pools. The contractor himself selected the tractors, neither desiring nor inviting any input from the seller on which tractors might be best for that task. Here, a court would likely find that the implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose does not apply, because the circumstances indicate that the contractor did not rely on the seller’s skill or
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