A. Implied Warranties
Shalom Malul contracted with capital Cabinets Inc. in 1999 for new kitchen cabinets made by Holiday Kitchens. The price was $10900. On Capitals recommendation, Malul hired Barry Burger to install the cabinets for $1600. Burger finished the job in March 2000, and Malul contracted for more cabinets at a price of $2300 which Burger installed in April. Within a couple of weeks the doors on several of the cabinets began to melt as the laminate began to pull away from the material underneath. Capital replaced several of the doors but the problem occurred again, involving a total of six out of 30 doors. A Holiday Kitchens representative inspected the cabinets and concluded that the melting was due to excessive heat, the result of the doors being placed too close to the stove. Malul filed a suit in a New York State court alleging among other things breach of warranties. Is he right?
ANALYZING A CASE
When presented with a case problem to analyze, use the following format:
Briefly summarize the facts of the case - restating the facts in a clear and concise manner (You must understand the facts of a case before you can attempt to resolve it)
Identify the major issue(s) that flow from the facts (Legal issue). Sometimes this process indicates the various avenues of litigation open to the plaintiff. For instance, the issues identified can suggest that both Negligence and Strict Liability may be pursued.
Identify the elements of each issue (Determine the relevant elements of each issue. For instance Negligence has: Existence of Duty of care, Breach of that Duty, Proof of Injury and Causation or Proximate Cause).
Sometimes the elements of the Legal Issue may not be very apparent or obvious. In that case DEFINE or DESCRIBE the issue as best as you can according to the text.
Discuss the elements of each issue as they apply to the case or apply the description to the facts.
Apply the relevant law (Make a decision based on the relevant law).
Cite a supporting case (As this is common law, briefly state the facts of the supporting case and show how it can serve as a precedent to your case problem). You can find cases at : Findlaw.com, Westlaw.com, Lexisnexis.com, Lawnix.com, Lawteacher.net. Google Scholar, or even Wikipedia, the online Encyclopedia.
All written cases will follow the above format. Sometimes a case may have questions at the end of the case. You should answer those questions only after you have followed the above prescribed format. If the questions do help you in applying the given format, then you do not have to duplicate your answer since it will be contained in the answer to the questions.