The Third Party Installation Of A Manufacturer's Component Was Not Covered By Its Express Warranty
CARLISLE v. DEERE & COMPANY (August 7, 2009)
Carlisle and his partner operated an excavating business. In 2002, they purchased a used heavy-duty tree grinder called the Beast. The Beast already had a history. It was originally manufactured and purchased in 1999. The original owner replaced the engine with one manufactured by Deere & Co. From the moment Carlisle purchased the Beast, it was anything but. It lacked power, overheated, and generally underperformed. After many inquiries, Carlisle was eventually told to check the Performance Programming Connector (PPC), a component in the Beast's control mechanism. The PPC is also manufactured by Deere but sold separately from its engines. Carlisle discovered that a wire had been installed that limited the engine's rotations. Carlisle cut the wire with immediate effect -- the Beast was again worthy of its name. Carlisle sued Deere for breach of the warranty it inherited when it purchased the Beast. The district court granted summary judgment to Deere. Carlisle appeals.
In their opinion, Judges Kanne, Evans and Dow affirmed. The issue for the Court on appeal was whether the deficiency noted by Carlisle was covered by the warranty. The warranty covered "defective workmanship" but excluded from its coverage components that were not installed by Deere. Because the PPC is meant to be configured in a number of possible ways depending on the use of the engine it controls, it is manufactured and shipped by Deere in an unconfigured state. The Court concluded, therefore, that the unwanted wire could not be considered defective workmanship. Deere could still be liable if it installed, and configured, the PPC. The only admissible evidence in the record supported Deere's contention that it did not. Carlisle attempted to prove otherwise with his statement that the engine installer had told him that Deere configured the wiring. The Court concluded that the statement was classic hearsay and rejected Carlisle's contention that the installer was either authorized to make the statement or was an agent of Deere's under Rule 801(d).
