Also known as: Alt. B · Alternative B provision
Written by attorneys — see sources below.
A statutory drafting option in uniform acts that supplies a specific formulation of a rule.
After a court in State A enters a dissolution decree without personal jurisdiction over spouse Adrian Aguilar, spouse Amelia Amari files in State B for property disposition. The court assigns Adrian's separate property to Adrian and divides the community property in just proportions after weighing the statutory factors, without regard to any marital misconduct.
Atlas Ventures sells a vehicle to a buyer who later lends it to employee Antonio Alvarado. When a defect causes personal injury to Antonio, he sues the seller for breach of implied warranty. Because the jurisdiction has enacted Alternative B, Antonio may recover even though he lacked privity with the seller.
Nancy Denny was severely injured when the Ford Bronco II that she was driving rolled over on June 9, 1986. The rollover occurred after Denny slammed on her brakes to avoid a deer that had walked directly into the vehicle's path. The Bronco II was a downsized small utility vehicle designed for off-road use on unpaved and rugged terrain. Ford marketed the vehicle as suitable for commuting, suburban and city driving, and family use in snow and ice. Denny and her spouse sued Ford Motor Co. asserting claims for negligence, strict products liability and breach of implied warranty of merchantability under UCC 2-314(2)(c) and 2-318. The case went to trial in the District Court for the Northern District of New York in October of 1992. Plaintiffs introduced evidence that the Bronco II had a high center of gravity, narrow track width and short wheel base that made it prone to rollover on paved roads. Ford introduced evidence that those design features were necessary to the vehicle's off-road capabilities and that it had not been designed primarily as a passenger car. The jury found that the Bronco II was not defective under the strict products liability claim but that Ford had breached the implied warranty of merchantability and that the breach proximately caused Nancy Denny's injuries. Following apportionment the plaintiff was awarded judgment in the amount of $1.2 million. Ford moved for a new trial under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59(a) arguing that the verdicts were irreconcilable. The trial court rejected the motion. On appeal the Second Circuit certified three questions of New York law to this Court.
View caseAlternative B removes the family-household-guest limitation found in Alternative A and extends warranty protection to any natural person who may reasonably be expected to use or be affected by the goods and who suffers personal injury from the breach.
Supporting sources
It directs the court to assign each spouse's separate property to that spouse and to divide community property in just proportions after considering all relevant factors, without regard to marital misconduct.
Supporting sources
Yes. The language reaches any natural person reasonably expected to use the goods, so the seller's warranty is not limited to the immediate buyer or those in close privity.
…injury claims and commercial claims based on implied warranty is further manifested by the Legislature's decision to adopt alternative B of the three formulations proposed by the National Conference of the Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, the alternative which removed the requirement of privity in personal injury claims…