| Court: | US Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit |
| Facts: | Salespersons promised that MUSE could handle a specfic load of ECG data, but it never performed at that level, in spite of much technical support. Ironically the defendants couldn't produce the actual signed warranty document, so now there's arguing over the specifics. |
| Posture: | District court found that there was a breach of warranty, and awarded damages to the plaintiff. |
| Issue: | Was there sufficient evidence to construct an oral warranty? If so, does it override the manual, service as a written one, (i.e., with parol evidence)? |
| Holding: | Yes, and yes. The seller created express oral warranties. Affirmed. |
| Rule: | If the buyer was aware of the practices of the trade, the written terms would stand, as part of a patten in an ongoing commercial relationship. |
| Reasoning: | There's no reason here to think that the buyer was cognizant of these terms, and you can't unilaterally insert terms into a warranty agreement after the fact. |
| Dicta: | |