Henningsen v. Bloomfield Motors, Inc.
Supreme Court of New Jersey
161 A.2d 69 (N.J. 1960)
Mrs. Henningsen (plaintiff) bought a new car from Bloomfield Motors (defendant), and just ten days later the steering wheel spun in her hands and the car crashed. Buried in small print on the back of the sales contract was a disclaimer limiting Bloomfield's liability for any warranty breach to replacing defective parts. The car was totaled in the crash, making it impossible to determine whether the steering mechanism itself had actually been defective. The Henningsens sued, the trial court ruled in their favor, and Bloomfield appealed.
Whether a disclaimer of the implied warranty of merchantability in the sale of a car is invalid when it was never brought to the buyer's attention at the time of sale.