James Faro & a. v. IKO Industries, Inc. ( 2018 )


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  •                        THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
    SUPREME COURT
    In Case No. 2017-0325, James Faro & a. v. IKO Industries,
    Inc., the court on January 26, 2018, issued the following order:
    Having considered the briefs and record submitted on appeal, we
    conclude that oral argument is unnecessary in this case. See Sup. Ct. R. 18(1).
    We affirm.
    The plaintiffs, James Faro and Mary Jean Faro, appeal an order of the
    Superior Court (Ignatius, J.), granting summary judgment in favor of the
    defendant, IKO Industries, Inc., on their claims arising out of the alleged
    premature failure of roofing shingles manufactured by the defendant. They
    argue that, in granting summary judgment on their breach of express warranty
    claim, the trial court erred by concluding that the summary judgment record
    did not support findings: (1) that the defendant advertised its shingles as “30-
    year” shingles, or made any express warranty concerning the longevity of its
    shingles that was in addition to a written limited warranty (limited warranty);
    or (2) that representations within the defendant’s marketing materials had
    become a basis of the parties’ bargain.1
    In reviewing an order granting summary judgment, we consider the
    affidavits and other evidence, and all inferences properly drawn from such
    evidence, in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Weaver v.
    Stewart, 
    169 N.H. 420
    , 425 (2016). We review the trial court’s application of
    law to the facts de novo. 
    Id.
    The party opposing a properly-supported motion for summary judgment
    must do more than merely assert general allegations or denials; rather, the
    opposing party must set forth specific facts demonstrating that there is a
    1 In addition to breach of express warranty, the plaintiffs asserted claims for breach of implied
    warranty, violations of the New Hampshire Consumer Protection Act and the federal
    Magnuson-Moss Act, and negligent misrepresentation. On appeal, however, they challenge
    only those portions of the trial court’s narrative order that analyzed the summary judgment
    record as to the breach of express warranty claim. Although the plaintiffs contend, in passing,
    that the evidence on summary judgment created genuine issues of material fact not only as to
    whether the defendant breached an express warranty as to the longevity of its shingles, but as
    to whether the defendant misrepresented the longevity of its shingles or violated the Consumer
    Protection Act, they have not argued that, even if the trial court’s analysis of the summary
    judgment record as to their express warranty claim is correct, its analysis as to any of their
    remaining claims is erroneous. Accordingly, any such argument is waived. See State v.
    Blackmer, 
    149 N.H. 47
    , 49 (2003) (stating that only arguments that are fully briefed will be
    reviewed on appeal).
    genuine issue for trial. 
    Id.
     If our review of the evidence discloses no genuine
    issue of material fact and demonstrates that the moving party is entitled to
    judgment as a matter of law, we will uphold the trial court’s order granting
    summary judgment. 
    Id.
     An issue of fact is “material” if it affects the outcome
    of the case under applicable substantive law. Lynn v. Wentworth By The Sea
    Master Ass’n, 
    169 N.H. 77
    , 87 (2016).
    “Any affirmation of fact or promise made by the seller to the buyer which
    relates to the goods and becomes part of the basis of the bargain,” or “[a]ny
    description of the goods which is made part of the basis of the bargain,” creates
    an express warranty that the goods will conform to the affirmation, promise, or
    description. RSA 382-A:2-313(1)(a)&(b) (2011). However, “an affirmation
    merely of the value of the goods or a statement purporting to be merely the
    seller’s opinion or commendation of the goods does not create a warranty.”
    RSA 382-A:2-313(2) (2011). “Therefore, to create an express warranty, the
    promise or affirmation of fact must both relate to the goods and become part of
    the basis of the contractual bargain.” Kelleher v. Marvin Lumber & Cedar Co.,
    
    152 N.H. 813
    , 841 (2005).
    The statute of limitations on a claim for breach of express warranty is
    generally four years from when the claim has accrued. RSA 382-A:2-725(1)
    (2011). By agreement, however, parties may reduce the limitations period to
    not less than one year. 
    Id.
     A breach of express warranty claim “accrues” upon
    tender of delivery of the goods, unless the warranty “explicitly extends to future
    performance of the goods and discovery of the breach must await the time of
    such performance,” in which case the claim accrues “when the breach is or
    should have been discovered.” RSA 382-A:2-725(2) (2011).
    In Kelleher, we held that a specific statement in window marketing
    materials describing a window’s design and unambiguously asserting that, as a
    result of the design, the window would be “permanently” protected against rot,
    was sufficient to constitute both a promise or affirmation of fact that the
    windows would be permanently protected against rot damage for purposes of
    RSA 382-A:2-313, and an explicit extension to future performance so as to
    create a lifetime warranty and trigger the discovery rule of RSA 382-A:2-725(2).
    Kelleher, 
    152 N.H. at 828-29, 841, 844
    . We further held, however, that to
    establish that the statement was “part of the basis of the bargain,” the buyer of
    the windows had the burden to prove that, at some point during the bargaining
    process, he actually “read, heard, saw or was otherwise aware of the
    representation” in the marketing materials. 
    Id. at 844
    .
    The summary judgment record here establishes that the shingles at
    issue were delivered and installed in 2001, when the plaintiffs built their
    house. According to the plaintiffs’ responses to interrogatories, they “believe[d]
    that [the shingles] were either ‘30 year shingles’ or ‘35 years shingles,’” and
    their belief as to the “duration of the guarantee and promise” was based upon
    2
    representations made “either by the installer, the architect or the builder” of
    the house. They further represented that they “subsequently confirmed” their
    understanding concerning the shingles “through internet searches,” that they
    had “selected the [defendant’s] shingles based upon their ‘architectural’ quality
    designation and the 30 or 35 year guarantee,” that the alleged “30 or 35 year
    guarantee” was “set forth in marketing materials,” and that they had requested
    the defendant to produce “the brochures, product catalogs, packaging etc.
    upon which [they had] relied in 2001 when . . . [they had] decided on the
    shingle kind and quality.” In fact, the plaintiffs requested in discovery that the
    defendant produce “copies of any labels, inserts, forms, instructions, manuals,
    installation guides, product descriptions, literature or packaging materials
    used in the marketing and/or sale” of the shingles at issue “from the time of
    original manufacture/marketing, to the present,” as well as “any marketing
    materials, posters, information, pamphlets, product literature or purchasing
    manuals used by [the defendant] from 1995 to the present that includes or
    references” the shingles at issue. The defendant produced 16,849 pages in
    response, but subject to an objection that the requests required production of
    documents that the plaintiffs or their contractor would never have seen.
    Each bundle of shingles delivered to the plaintiffs’ property in 2001 was
    wrapped in packaging notifying the purchaser, in all capital letters, that the
    shingles were subject to a limited warranty, that the limited warranty was
    provided to dealers and contractors for distribution to purchasers and was also
    available on the defendant’s website, and that the purchaser should read and
    retain a copy of the limited warranty. The limited warranty itself warranted
    that the shingles were “free from manufacturing defects that result in leaks” for
    a total period of thirty years beginning on the date of installation (warranty
    period). The limited warranty further provided that, for the first five years of
    the warranty period, the defendant would repair or replace any defective
    shingles, but that its maximum liability would be “equal to the reasonable
    replacement cost of the defective shingles,” and that it would not “be
    responsible for roof tear-off, flashing, and metal work or required repairs to
    associated defects or damage.” After the first five years of the warranty period,
    the limited warranty further reduced the defendant’s liability to “a prorated
    amount of the current value of the shingles only (exclusive of labor, disposal
    and tear-off),” to be “calculated by reducing the reasonable replacement
    material cost by the monthly reduction figures for the specific shingles for each
    month the shingles have been installed.” The limited warranty required the
    purchaser to notify the defendant of any defect within thirty days of its
    discovery, and provided that no action for breach of warranty would be brought
    more than one year after the cause of action had accrued. Finally, the limited
    warranty provided that it “REPLACE[D] ALL OTHER ORAL OR WRITTEN
    WARRANTIES” of the defendant, and disclaimed any liability “FOR ANY ORAL
    STATEMENT OR OTHER WRITTEN STATEMENT ABOUT THE SHINGLE.”
    3
    In September 2012, the plaintiffs learned that the shingles had failed,
    and that their roof needed to be replaced. In July 2013, the plaintiffs
    requested, and the defendant provided, a warranty claim package, and in
    September 2014, the plaintiffs submitted a warranty claim to the defendant. In
    March 2015, the defendant rejected the claim, reasoning in part that the
    shingles had not caused leaking so as to fall within the terms of the limited
    warranty, and noting that areas of shingle damage appeared to be attributable
    to improper installation. The plaintiffs filed suit on August 26, 2015, asserting
    that the defendant had breached a warranty to provide “30 Year” shingles.
    In moving for summary judgment, the defendant established, through an
    affidavit of its warranty services manager, the terms of the limited warranty
    that applied to the shingles purchased by the plaintiffs, that the shingles came
    wrapped in the packaging notifying the purchaser that they were sold with the
    limited warranty, and that the limited warranty was available on the
    defendant’s website at the time of the purchase. The defendant also
    established, by submitting the plaintiffs’ interrogatory responses, that the
    plaintiffs had identified no specific statement by the defendant regarding the
    future performance of the shingles they had purchased beyond their general
    assertions that they were aware of “marketing materials” in 2001 that
    referenced a “30 or 35 year guarantee.” The defendant argued that the suit
    was untimely under the one-year limitations period contained within the
    limited warranty, and that there was no evidence of any specific and
    unambiguous representation of the defendant regarding the future
    performance of its shingles on which the plaintiffs could establish the
    defendant’s liability beyond the terms of the limited warranty.
    The plaintiffs objected, arguing that their breach of warranty claim was
    not based upon the limited warranty, but upon a warranty “for a shingle that
    was represented in [the defendant’s] marketing materials and understood by
    consumers in the marketplace to last 35 years.” Thus, they contended that the
    four-year statute of limitations of RSA 382-A:2-725(1), and not the one-year
    limitations period of the limited warranty, applied, and that the statute did not
    begin to run under the discovery rule of RSA 382-A:2-725(2) until September
    2012, when they learned that the shingles needed to be replaced. In support of
    their objection, the plaintiffs submitted an affidavit of plaintiff James Faro
    stating that his “understanding and expectation” that the shingles would last
    thirty or thirty-five years arose “from discussions with our architect and
    builder concerning different degrees of shingle quality, and that shingles came
    in different qualities based upon the duration of the warranty.” According to
    Mr. Faro, the plaintiffs “ordered ‘35 year shingles’ . . . because [they]
    understood that the 35 year warranty ensured that the product would last
    around 35 years.” Additionally, the plaintiffs submitted an affidavit from a
    retained witness with experience in the construction industry, asserting that
    the expectation among consumers and those in the construction industry is
    that a roofing shingle will last the duration of its warranty, and that certain
    4
    language used in marketing materials produced by the defendant contained
    language, such as “30-year” shingles, that would lead a consumer to believe
    that the shingles would last for the duration of the warranty. Attached to the
    retained witness’s affidavit were several pages of marketing materials that the
    defendant had produced in response to the plaintiffs’ document production
    requests. The plaintiffs provided no affidavit or other evidence, however,
    establishing that at the time they purchased the shingles, they had reviewed,
    or were aware of, any of those specific marketing materials.
    Although the trial court initially denied the motion, finding that there
    were material facts in dispute concerning when the plaintiffs should have
    discovered that the shingles were defective, it subsequently reconsidered its
    decision, see Radziewicz v. Town of Hudson, 
    159 N.H. 313
    , 315 (2009) (stating
    that trial court has power to reconsider issue until final judgment or decree),
    ordered the parties to engage in limited discovery concerning the statute of
    limitations, and held a hearing on the summary judgment motion. Following
    the hearing, the trial court granted the motion, finding that “the summary
    judgment record fail[ed] to support the [plaintiffs’] assertion that an express
    warranty separate from the Limited Warranty exists in this case.”
    First, the trial court concluded that the plaintiffs had failed “to identify
    any ‘promise or affirmation’ from [the defendant] that its . . . shingles had a 30
    or 35 year lifespan.” The court observed that, with respect to the marketing
    materials attached to the retained expert’s affidavit, “[w]ithout exception, every
    material from [the defendant] regarding [the shingles at issue] clearly
    references the ‘limited warranty.’” The court further observed that “the only
    representations in these marketing materials pertaining to duration are that
    the . . . shingle is backed by a ‘limited’ 30 or 35 year warranty.” Thus, the
    court determined that “[t]hese statements [were] not guarantees that the . . .
    shingles will last for a particular number of years, but rather an affirmation
    that the shingles come with a 30 or 35 year limited warranty.” Although the
    trial court acknowledged that two pages of the marketing materials did not
    reference the limited warranty, it found that those pages were not from the
    defendant, but were from a related company that “does not advertise or sell its
    shingles within the United States” and, thus, could not bind the defendant.
    Second, the trial court determined that, even if the marketing materials had
    guaranteed that the shingles would last for thirty or thirty-five years, because
    there was no evidence that the plaintiffs or their installer, architect, or builder
    had “read, heard, saw or [were] otherwise aware of the representation[s],”
    Kelleher, 
    152 N.H. at 844
    , the plaintiffs could not establish that the
    representations had become part of the basis of the bargain. Finally, to the
    extent that the plaintiffs were asserting a claim for breach of the limited
    warranty, the trial court reasoned that the limited warranty did not guarantee
    that the shingles would last for thirty years without limitation, and that, in any
    event, any claim for breach of the limited warranty was time-barred.
    5
    On appeal, the plaintiffs do not contest that they failed to assert a timely
    claim for breach of the limited warranty. Instead, they argue that the trial
    court erred by determining, on summary judgment, that the defendant did not
    market its shingles as “30-year” shingles or otherwise make an express
    warranty that was outside the scope of the limited warranty, and that the
    statements in the defendant’s marketing materials were not part of the basis of
    the parties’ bargain. We disagree.
    At the outset, we reject the plaintiffs’ contention that the trial court erred
    by relying upon an “evidentiary proffer” of the defendant’s counsel to find that
    two pages of the marketing materials submitted with their retained witness’s
    affidavit were not from the defendant, but were from a related company that
    “does not advertise or sell its shingles within the United States.” The plaintiffs
    assert, and the defendant agrees, that this finding was based upon a
    representation of the defendant’s counsel at the summary judgment hearing.
    If, as the plaintiffs suggest, the defendant improperly supplemented the
    summary judgment record by submitting evidence at the summary judgment
    hearing in the form of an offer of proof, it was incumbent upon them to object
    to the “evidentiary proffer.” See McIntire v. Woodall, 
    140 N.H. 228
    , 230 (1995)
    (rejecting argument that trial court deprived plaintiff of due process by taking
    testimony at non-evidentiary hearing because plaintiff did not object to the
    taking of testimony); see also McIntire v. Lee, 
    149 N.H. 160
    , 163 (2003)
    (explaining that hearing at which trial court heard testimony, without
    objection, in McIntire v. Woodall was a summary judgment hearing). Likewise,
    if it was erroneous for the trial court to rely upon the “evidentiary proffer” in its
    final order because it was outside the scope of the summary judgment record
    as defined by RSA 491:8-a, III (2010), it was incumbent upon the plaintiffs to
    bring the alleged error to the trial court’s attention in a motion for
    reconsideration. Super. Ct. R. 12(e) (“To preserve issues for an appeal to the
    Supreme Court, an appellant must have given the court the opportunity to
    consider such issues; thus, to the extent that the court, in its decision, addresses
    matters not previously raised in the case, a party must identify any alleged errors
    concerning those matters in a motion [for reconsideration].”); N.H. Dep’t of
    Corrections v. Butland, 
    147 N.H. 676
    , 679 (2002) (holding that challenge to
    alleged error that appellant could not have anticipated until the trial court had
    issued its final order was not preserved because the appellant did not bring the
    alleged error to the trial court’s attention in a motion for reconsideration).
    As the appealing parties, it is the plaintiffs’ burden to provide a record on
    appeal that is sufficient both to decide the issues they are raising, and to
    demonstrate that they raised those issues in the trial court. Bean v. Red Oak
    Prop. Mgmt., 
    151 N.H. 248
    , 250 (2004). The record on appeal contains neither a
    transcript of the hearing on summary judgment showing the precise scope of the
    offer of proof or any objection to it, nor a motion for reconsideration challenging
    the trial court’s reliance upon the “evidentiary proffer” in its final order. We note
    6
    that the defendant asserts, and the plaintiffs do not dispute, that the documents
    that were the subject of the offer of proof and the trial court’s finding are the
    documents referred to by the parties as documents 42 and 43. Accordingly, we
    assume that a transcript of the hearing would support the trial court’s finding
    that documents 42 and 43 were not from the defendant, but from a separate
    company that only marketed and sold shingles outside the United States, see 
    id.,
    and conclude that any argument that the trial court erred by allowing the
    defendant’s counsel to make, and by relying upon, an evidentiary proffer at the
    hearing is not preserved, see id; Butland, 
    147 N.H. at 679
    .
    The plaintiffs’ claim in this case was that the defendant breached an
    express warranty to provide shingles that would, without qualification, last thirty
    years. To prevail upon this claim, it was the plaintiffs’ burden to establish at trial
    that the defendant provided a description of the shingles, or made a promise or
    affirmation of fact related to them, that they had actually read, heard, saw or
    were otherwise aware of at the time they purchased the shingles, that the
    shingles would not need to be replaced for thirty years. Kelleher, 
    152 N.H. at 841, 844
    ; RSA 382-A:2-313(1). In moving for summary judgment, the
    defendant established that it did, in fact, provide a thirty-year warranty on the
    shingles. However, that warranty was limited and subject to conditions,
    including a limitations period shortened pursuant to RSA 382-A:2-725(1), and
    purported to disclaim liability for any other warranties, see RSA 382-A:2-316
    (2011). The defendant further established that the plaintiffs had notice of the
    limited warranty when they purchased the shingles, and that they were not
    entitled to prevail under its terms. Finally, the defendant established that,
    although the plaintiffs had alleged in their complaint that the defendant had
    represented that the shingles would not need to be replaced for thirty years,
    they had not identified any specific representation of the defendant in their
    interrogatory responses to that effect, or that was otherwise inconsistent with
    the thirty-year limited warranty with which the shingles were sold.
    In short, the defendant met its burden on summary judgment to
    establish the absence of a genuine issue of material fact, and that it was
    entitled to judgment as a matter of law as to the express warranty claim.
    Under these circumstances, the burden shifted to the plaintiffs to establish
    specific facts beyond mere general allegations demonstrating that there was a
    genuine issue for trial. Weaver, 169 N.H. at 425. We conclude that the
    plaintiffs failed to carry their burden.
    Contrary to the plaintiffs’ argument, their responses to the defendant’s
    interrogatories were not, alone, sufficient to create a triable issue of fact. The
    interrogatory responses establish only that: (1) the plaintiffs believed the
    shingles were “either ‘30 year shingles’ or ‘35 year shingles’”; (2) their belief was
    based upon representations of their installer, architect, or builder; (3) they
    confirmed the representations of their installer, architect, or builder by
    engaging in “internet searches”; (4) they selected the defendant’s shingles
    7
    “based upon their ‘architectural’ quality designation and the 30 or 35 year
    guarantee, which was set forth in marketing materials”; and (5) they had
    requested that the defendant produce the documents upon which they had
    relied when they chose the defendant’s shingles in 2001. The responses did
    not, however, otherwise describe the terms of the “30 or 35 year guarantee . . .
    set forth in marketing materials” in any manner that was inconsistent with the
    thirty-year limited warranty with which the shingles in fact were sold. Nor did
    they identify a single representation of the defendant that the shingles, without
    limitation, would last for thirty or thirty-five years. See Kuzian v. Electrolux
    Home Products, Inc., 
    937 F. Supp. 2d 599
    , 611 (D.N.J. 2013) (“[A]n express
    warranty with a limited time period does not mean that a seller is promising a
    defect-free product.”). At most, the representations in the interrogatory
    responses amounted to conclusory allegations that were insufficient to
    overcome the defendant’s motion. See Hill-Grant Living Trust v. Kearsarge
    Lighting Precinct, 
    159 N.H. 529
    , 535 (2009).
    Nor did the affidavits and discovery submitted by the plaintiffs in
    opposition to the summary judgment motion create a triable issue of fact. The
    affidavit of James Faro establishes only that he had an expectation that the
    shingles would last for the duration of the defendant’s warranty, and that his
    expectation was based upon his discussions with his architect and builder.
    The affidavit of the plaintiffs’ retained witness likewise establishes only that
    there is a general belief among consumers and those in the construction
    industry that a roofing shingle will last for the duration of the manufacturer’s
    warranty, and that the nomenclature used by manufacturers encourages that
    belief. As the trial court observed, however, none of the marketing materials
    attached to the witness’s affidavit and relied upon by him contain promises of
    the defendant concerning the longevity of the plaintiffs’ shingles that do not
    refer the reader to the limited warranty. Accordingly, the evidence provided in
    opposition to the summary judgment motion does not establish that the
    defendant promised, without qualification, that the shingles would not need to
    be replaced within the warranty period, but establishes only that it promised
    the protection of a limited warranty. See Kuzian, 
    937 F. Supp. 2d at 611
    .
    We reject the plaintiffs’ contention that, by finding that documents 42
    and 43 could not bind the defendant because they were from a separate
    company that does not market or sell shingles within the United States, the
    trial court improperly weighed the evidence. To the contrary, the trial court
    properly determined that those documents did not give rise to a genuine
    dispute of material fact. Cf. Weaver, 169 N.H. at 430 (finding that trial court
    properly determined that evidence that a motorist was intoxicated did not
    create a genuine dispute of material fact as to whether the motorist actually
    appeared intoxicated so as to give rise to liability for negligent entrustment).
    The fact that an entity other than the defendant made representations about
    the shingles in marketing them to consumers in a country other than the
    United States does not create a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the
    8
    defendant made representations that the plaintiffs actually read, heard, saw, or
    were otherwise aware of when they purchased their shingles in New
    Hampshire. Nor does the mere fact that the defendant produced the
    documents, subject to an objection that the document production requests
    were overbroad, create a genuine dispute of material fact over whether the
    defendant made the statements, or whether the plaintiffs read or were aware of
    them in 2001. As noted above, in the absence of a transcript of the summary
    judgment hearing, we assume that the “evidentiary proffer” of the defendant at
    the hearing supports the trial court’s finding that those documents were from a
    separate company that does not market or sell shingles in the United States.
    Finally, we agree with the trial court that, even if the marketing materials
    had provided unqualified statements that the shingles would last thirty or
    thirty-five years, the absence of any evidence establishing that the plaintiffs
    “read, heard, saw or [were] otherwise aware of the representation[s]” in those
    materials is fatal to a breach of warranty claim based upon the marketing
    materials. Kelleher, 
    152 N.H. at 844
    .
    To the extent the plaintiffs contend that Utah Div. of Consumer
    Protection v. GAF Corp., 
    760 P.2d 310
     (Utah 1988), compels a different result,
    we agree with the trial court that, even if we were to assume that GAF Corp. is
    consistent with New Hampshire law, it is distinguishable from this case. In
    GAF Corp., the Utah Division of Consumer Protection (division), a state
    administrative agency, brought suit pursuant to a Utah statutory scheme
    against a roofing manufacturer for engaging in unlawful deceptive acts or
    practices under the Utah Consumer Sales Practices Act. GAF Corp., 760 P.2d
    at 312. The suit arose out of defective roofing shingles sold by GAF, a roofing
    manufacturer, to a Utah consumer in 1974. The consumer testified that, prior
    to purchasing the shingles, he had seen marketing materials from GAF stating
    that the shingles provided “a 25-year roof,” that he understood from the
    materials that GAF would remedy any defects in the shingles that appeared
    within twenty-five years, and that GAF did not notify him that the shingles
    were subject to a written limited warranty. Id. GAF informed the consumer,
    according to his testimony, of the written limited warranty only after it had
    investigated the shingles and determined that they were defective in 1981, and
    at that point, he complained to the division. Id.
    The division brought suit, alleging, in part, that GAF had violated a Utah
    statute defining as “deceptive” any false indication by a supplier that “‘a
    consumer transaction involves or does not involve a warranty, a disclaimer of
    warranties, particular warranty terms, or other rights, remedies, or
    obligations.’” Id. at 314 (quoting 
    Utah Code Ann. § 13-11-4
    (2)(j) (Supp. 1983)).
    The division asserted that GAF had violated this provision by making an
    express warranty to the consumer in 1974 and later attempting to disclaim it.
    
    Id.
     The trial court granted GAF summary judgment on procedural grounds,
    ruling that, under Utah law, the division was not entitled to pursue claims on
    9
    the consumer’s behalf. See 
    id. at 312
    . After reversing the procedural ruling,
    the Utah Supreme Court addressed whether the division had stated claims
    upon which relief could be granted under Utah law. See 
    id. at 313
    . In holding
    that the division had stated a claim for attempting to disclaim an express
    warranty, the Utah Supreme Court reasoned that, although the marketing
    materials the consumer testified he had reviewed in 1974 were not yet in the
    record, such materials could “constitute express warranties under Utah law” if
    they “contained representations about the quality of the shingles.” 
    Id. at 314
    .
    Unlike the record in GAF Corp., the record in this case establishes not
    only that the defendant had sold the shingles with a thirty-year limited
    warranty in 2001, but that the plaintiffs had notice of the limited warranty at
    the time of sale. Moreover, unlike the consumer in GAF Corp., who
    unequivocally testified that he had reviewed the manufacturer’s marketing
    materials prior to the sale, and that the materials stated that the shingles
    provided “a 25-year roof,” the plaintiffs’ interrogatory responses and affidavit
    were equivocal, establishing only that they had a “belief” that the shingles were
    either “30-year shingles” or “35-year shingles” based upon discussions with
    third parties, that they had conducted “internet searches” to confirm their
    belief, and that there was a “30 or 35 year guarantee . . . set forth in marketing
    materials.” Finally, the defendant produced almost 17,000 pages of documents
    in this case, and of those pages, the marketing materials that the plaintiffs
    provided on summary judgment containing representations of the defendant
    represented that the shingles were protected by the limited warranty.
    We conclude that, even when considered in the light most favorable to
    the plaintiffs, the summary judgment record fails to establish that the
    defendant made any guarantee concerning the longevity of the shingles beyond
    the representation that they came with the protections of the thirty-year limited
    warranty. Because the plaintiffs do not otherwise contend that they were
    entitled to relief under the limited warranty, we conclude that the trial court
    did not err by granting the defendant summary judgment.
    Affirmed.
    Dalianis, C.J., and Hicks, Lynn, and Hantz Marconi, JJ., concurred.
    Eileen Fox,
    Clerk
    10
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 2017-0325

Filed Date: 1/26/2018

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 11/12/2024