Johnson v. John Deere Co.

Walter Johnson (plaintiff), an experienced mechanic turned farmer, bought a new tractor from John Deere Company (John Deere) (defendant) through dealer Nelson Implement, Inc. (Nelson) (defendant), signing a purchase-order form that disclaimed all warranties except a single repair-and-replacement warranty and excluded liability for incidental or consequential damages. The tractor - which the trial court itself called a "lemon" - repeatedly malfunctioned, requiring extensive repairs that left Johnson without its use for months at a time; Johnson sued for breach of warranty, but the trial court ruled for the defendants based on the warranty disclaimers, and Johnson appealed.