Book Opener

A multimillion-dollarmasterpiece paintedby Monet entitled“Nympheas, 1904” thathad been plundered bythe Nazis during WorldWar II was identified bythe granddaughter ofits rightful owner whenit was displayed atthe Boston Museum ofFine Arts in 1998. Themuseum had borrowedthe painting from aFrench museum. Uponlearning that it wasstolen, the French governmentreturned thepainting to the heirs ofits rightful owner.clerk agreed to order the mower for Darnell to pick up in aweek. Darnell knew that his friend, Foster, was interested inbuying his used mower. He offered to sell the mower to Fosterfor $25. Foster accepted his offer and paid Darnell.Darnell’s contract with the hardware store is a contract to sellbecause he will not take ownership of the mower until a week later. Incontrast, his deal with Foster is a sale because Foster took immediateownership of the mower for the agreed price.Contracts for Both Goods and ServicesWhen a contract includes both goods and services, the dominantelement determines the type of contract. For example, if your parentsbuy a furnace and have it installed, the sale of goods—the furnace—is dominant and the laws of the UCC apply. However, if your parentshave their furnace serviced and some new parts are installed, the performanceof services is dominant and the common law of contractsapplies instead.Special Rules for Sales ContractsWith some exceptions, the UCC applies to all sellers and buyers ofgoods. A merchant is a business or person who deals regularly in thesale of goods or who has a specialized knowledge of goods. A nonmerchantis a casual or occasional seller. For example, you are a nonmerchantwhen you sell a used CD to a music store.Example 3. Farley, owner of a shoe store, bought 100 pairs ofsneakers from Best-Ever Sneakers, Inc., a manufacturer. BothFarley and Best-Ever are merchants because selling is theirprofession.A sales contract must contain the same elements as other contracts,but the UCC has relaxed some of the strict rules of contract law. Thefollowing flexible rules apply in all contracts for the sale of goods.Good FaithParties to a sales contract must treat each other fairly.Methods of Dealing and Usage of Trade When parties havepreviously dealt with each other, those methods of dealing may beused to supplement or qualify the terms of their sales contract. Thisrule is true with any usage of trade , which is the method of dealingthat is commonly used in the particular field.270 Unit 3: Understanding Consumer Law