Klein v. Sears Roebuck & Co. 41 UCC Rep. 1233 (4th Cir. 1985) FACTS of his right arm and hand and was unable to continue his Shortly after Steven Klein was married and moved into a employment as a jeweler. He brought suit against Sears new home, he went to a local Sears store to consult with to recover for his injuries, claiming, among other things, a salesperson about the purchase of a riding lawn mower. breach of the warranty of fitness for a particular purpose. He explained to the salesperson that he had no experi- Sears argued, among other things, that the owner's manual ence with lawn mowers and that the property on which stated that the mower should not be used on a slope in the mower was to be used was a M-acre tract containing excess of 15 degrees and thus that Klein's injury was due to numerous hills. The salesperson recommended a Sears improper operation, not breach of warranty. Craftsman 8-horsepower, electric-start, rear-engine riding mower with a 30-inch cutting deck. The sale, however, was ISSUE conditional on an inspection of Klein's property, to be con- Was Sears liable for breach of warranty of fitness for a par- ducted at the time of delivery of the mower. A few days ticular purpose? later, the Sears salesperson delivered the mower to Klein's DISCUSSION residence, inspected the property, and pronounced the Yes. The court found that the warranty of fitness for a par- mower suitable for mowing the property. He did warn Klein ticular purpose was made in this case because Sears had the hills. that the mower should be driven vertically up and down knowledge of the particular purpose for which the mower Klein used the mower without incident for about a year. was to be used and that Klein was relying on its judg ment to select and furnish suitable goods. The warranty However, one day when he was mowing vertically up a was breached when Klein was injured while operating the 19-degree slope, the mower tipped over backward and his hand was severely injured when it came in contact with mower in a manner consistent with the representations made by the Sears salesman-that is, vertically on a slope the rotating blades. He suffered an 80 percent impairment that was pronounced safe