AMI 2520 Buyer's Damages for Accepted Goods—Breach of Warranty
Ark. Model Jury Instr., Civil AMI 2520
Arkansas Model Jury Instructions-Civil
December 2023 Update
Chapter 25. UCC Sales Contracts
AMI 2520 Buyer's Damages for Accepted Goods—Breach of Warranty
[If you decide for (buyer) on the question of (insert particular issue involved)] [If an interrogatory requires you to assess the damages of (buyer)], you must then fix the amount of money that will reasonably and fairly compensate [him][her][it] for [any of] the following (number) element(s) of damage:
[(First:) [The difference at the time and place of acceptance between the value of the goods accepted and the value they would have had if they had been as warranted (unless special circumstances show proximately caused damages in a different amount)][The loss resulting in the ordinary course of events from the seller's breach as determined in any manner which is reasonable][and]
[(Second:) Any (incidental)(or)(consequential) damages as explained in these instructions.]
Whether [this][(either) (any) of these] element(s) of damage has been proved by the evidence is for you to determine.
[Any damages recoverable by (buyer) are to be reduced by any expenses saved in consequence of the breach by (seller).]
NOTE ON USE
Since this instruction will be used in all cases where goods are accepted, insert in the first bracketed sentence the particular issue involved in the case (e.g., breach of implied warranty or breach of express warranty).
If special circumstances show proximate damages of a different amount than the first stated element, the measure demonstrated by the special circumstances should be substituted for, or added to, the first element. Ark. Code Ann. § 4-2-714(2). If there is a fact issue as to the existence of such circumstances, this instruction may be modified.
If consequential damages are to be submitted, use AMI 2522 in conjunction with AMI 2443.
The first bracketed phrase in the first alternative element is the usual measure of damages for breach of warranty. If the case involves a non-conforming tender other than a breach of warranty, use the second bracketed phrase in the first alternative element.
Use the final bracketed paragraph when there is evidence of saved expense.
COMMENT
This instruction is based on Ark. Code Ann. §§ 4-2-714 and 4-2-715. See F.L. Davis Builders Supply, Inc. v. Knapp, 42 Ark. App. 52, 60–61, 853 S.W.2d 288, 292 (1993) (market value differential is not the sole measure in every case).
The concept of non-conformity is broader than breach of warranty, with the latter being included within the former. Ford Motor Credit Co. v. Harper, 671 F.2d 1117 (8th Cir. 1982). See also Microsize, Inc. v. Arkansas Microfilm, Inc., 29 Ark. App. 49, 780 S.W.2d 574 (1989). Ark. Code Ann. § 4-2-714(2) specifies the basic measure of damages for breach of warranty cases, while § 4-2-714(1) sets forth a broader standard for other non-conformity cases.
© 2023 Arkansas Supreme Court Committee on Jury Instructions-Civil
| End of Document |