Milau Associates, Inc. v. North Avenue Development Corp.
Court of Appeals of New York
368 N.E.2d 1247 (1977)
Textile-company tenants (plaintiffs) suffered water damage when a burst underground pipe fractured a sprinkler system designed and installed by subcontractor Higgins Fire Protection (Higgins) (defendant) in a warehouse built by Milau Associates (Milau) (defendant); Higgins's subcontract specified the materials to be used, described its installation obligations, and expressly warranted the work would be of good quality and free from faults. The tenants sued for negligence and breach of the implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose under UCC section 2-315, arguing a notch from a dull cutting tool made the pipe defective; a jury found no negligence, and the trial court refused to let the implied-warranty claim reach the jury, a ruling the appellate division upheld before the tenants appealed further.
Whether the implied-warranty provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code apply to a contract that is predominantly for services.