Business Law:

Read the following case and post your comments on what you think the court's decision was and why.

Brian Smith went to the home of Thomas and Cheryl Johnson to look at a used car that the Johnson's had for sale. The car was a 2003 Ford Taurus with about 126,000 miles on it. They discussed the car's transmission, tires, brakes, and maintenance. The Johnson's told Smith that they had experienced no brake problems and that, except for a bad or missing grommet, the car was in good mechanical condition.

After test-driving the car, Smith bought it for $4,500. Two days later, Smith noticed a problem with the clutch. Over the next few days, the clutch problem worsened to the point where Smith was unable to shift the gears, and he paid $942.76 for its repair. The car developed serious brake problems within the same month. Smith paid $1,400.27 for brake work. Robert Hanover, a technician at Car X Muffler, later said that because problems such as those with the car's clutch and brakes take considerable time to devleop, they probably existed when Smith bought the car.

Smith filed a suit in an state court against the Johnsons, asserting that their telling him that the car was in good mechanical condition was a primary consideration in his decision to buy it. What do you think was the court's decision and reasons for it?