Also known as: merchants · mercantile · mercative · mercatum · merchantability · merchantable · trader · commerce · sales
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A person who deals in goods of the kind or who by occupation holds himself out as having knowledge or skill peculiar to the practices or goods involved in the transaction.
Matrix Technologies, a merchant dealing in specialized software components, ships goods across state lines under a federal tax scheme. When a state imposes a nonuniform excise on its sales, Matrix challenges the levy as violating uniformity requirements. The transaction involves a merchant under the applicable sales rules.
Momentum Capital, a merchant in financial instruments, faces an indemnity claim after its products reach a forum state through distribution. The foreign merchant argues that mere stream-of-commerce placement does not create jurisdiction. The court weighs the merchant's limited contacts against the burdens of defending in the forum.
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Majestic Construction, a merchant in building materials, embeds a false specification in a sales document for steel beams. A buyer relies on the document and suffers loss when the beams fail. The merchant faces liability for the misrepresentation embodied in the commercial document.
Midwest Airlines, a merchant in aviation parts, imports components subject to a proposed federal duty. The merchant contests the timing and amount of the duty under constitutional limits on import taxes. The transaction involves a merchant under the applicable sales rules.
Maria Morales operates as a merchant selling consumer electronics nationwide from her principal place of business in one state. A plaintiff sues her in another state for an unrelated claim based on continuous sales there. The court holds that mere sales activity does not render the merchant at home for all-purpose jurisdiction.
Michael Miller, a merchant hauler of commercial waste, challenges a local ordinance directing waste to a public facility. The ordinance favors the government provider over private merchants. The court applies lenient review because the favoritism serves public objectives rather than protecting private merchants.
A merchant who makes a signed writing assuring that an offer will remain open is bound without consideration for up to three months. The rule applies only when the offeror qualifies as a merchant dealing in goods of the kind. Nonmerchants remain subject to common-law consideration requirements.
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The warranty arises only in a sale of goods by a merchant who deals in goods of that kind. It guarantees that the goods are fit for ordinary purposes and pass without objection in the trade. Casual sellers who do not meet the merchant definition do not trigger the warranty.
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The exception applies when both parties are merchants and one sends a signed confirmation within a reasonable time. The recipient must have reason to know the contents yet fail to object within ten days. If either party is not a merchant the statute of frauds writing requirement is not satisfied by the memo alone.
For Article 9 consignment purposes a merchant must deal in goods of the kind under a name other than the consignor and must not be generally known by creditors as substantially engaged in selling others' goods. The definition incorporates the Article 2 merchant standard but adds creditor-notice requirements.
…from the ad. In addition, the jury heard the testimony of a newspaper editor . . . ; a real estate and insurance man . . . ; the sales manager of a men's clothing store . . . ; a food equipment man . . . ; a service station operator . . . ; and the operator of a truck line for whom respondent had formerly worked . . . .…