South Carolina Electric and Gas Co. v. Combustion Engineering, Inc.
Court of Appeals of South Carolina
322 S.E.2d 453 (1984)
South Carolina Electric and Gas Co. (SCE&G) (plaintiff) purchased a boiler unit from Combustion Engineering (defendant) under a contract with an express one-year warranty and a clause disclaiming all other warranties, including implied ones; after a metal hose ruptured over a year later and caused a plant fire, SCE&G sued for breach of implied warranties of merchantability and fitness. Combustion moved for summary judgment, submitting extensive documentation of the parties' seven-month negotiation over the disclaimer clause, and argued that even though the disclaimer didn't strictly comply with statutory wording and placement requirements, the negotiation history showed SCE&G was fully alerted that implied warranties were being excluded, falling within a recognized statutory exception; the trial court granted summary judgment, and SCE&G appealed.
Whether a warranty-disclaimer provision that fails to meet statutory requirements as to wording and location will nonetheless be valid if the party challenging the provision was alerted to its effect on warranties.