The First Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the complaint in this products liability case did not state causes of action for breach of warranty. Plaintiff tried the product, an elastic exercise band, which was on display at the store. He secured one end of the band with his foot. That end slipped out and hit him in the eye:
… To begin, plaintiff did not assert a claim in the SAC [second amended complaint] for breach of implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose (see UCC 2-315). In any event, such a claim requires allegations that defendants had “reason to know any particular purpose for which the goods” are used and that plaintiff relied on defendants’ “skill or judgment to select or furnish [those] suitable goods” … . The SAC, however, did not allege any particular purpose of the exercise band other than its ordinary purpose for exercise, and there were no allegations that defendants knew or should have known about any particular purpose for which the goods were purchased, nor were there any allegations that plaintiff relied upon defendants’ skill or judgment in selecting those goods … .
Similarly, plaintiff failed to state a claim for breach of the implied warranty of merchantability, which provides under that warranty that goods “are fit for the ordinary purposes for which such goods are used” (UCC 2-314[2][c]). To plead a breach of the implied warranty of merchantability, a plaintiff must allege that goods are defective such that they were not reasonably fit for the ordinary purpose for which they were used, that the defect in the goods was a substantial factor in causing the injury, and that the alleged defect existed at the time the goods left the manufacturer or entity in the line of distribution … . Fiuzzi v Paragon Sporting Goods Co. LLC, 2023 NY Slip Op 00054, First Dept 1-10-23
Practice Point: The complaint in this case did not state causes of action for breach of implied warrant of fitness for purpose of breach of warranty of merchantability, criteria explained.