M Civ JI 140.51 Contract Action - UCC: Warranty of Title (Ownership)

In every contract for the sale of goods the law implies a warranty that at the time for delivery the seller will own the goods outright, free of all other claims, or that the seller will have the right to transfer complete ownership of the goods to the buyer.

This warranty can be changed or eliminated by specific language. This warranty is also changed or eliminated if the buyer knows or has reason to know that the seller does not own the goods outright, or is selling only a limited interest which the seller or someone else may have in the goods.

Comment

MCL 440.2312.

The specific language required to exclude the implied warranty of title must be “very precise and unambiguous.” Jones v Linebaugh, 34 Mich App 305, 309; 191 NW2d 142, 144 (1971).

History

M Civ JI 140.51 was added January 1987.