WILKIE, C. J.
We reverse in part and affirm in part the order overruling the demurrer filed by the defendant-appellants, Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corporation and Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Sales, Inc., in this lawsuit commenced in 1974 by the plaintiff-respondent, city of La Crosse, against defendants Schubert, Schroeder & Associates, Inc.; Carl W. Schubert; Fowler & Hammer, Inc.; Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corporation; Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Sales, Inc.; Architectural Wall
In 1968 Fowler & Hammer, a general contractor, entered into a written agreement with the city of La Crosse to replace a roof on the Summit Elementary School. Carl Schubert and the firm of which he was a member, Schubert & Associates, had been the architects for the construction and installation of the first roof, which had begun to leak copiously in 1968. Schubert and his firm agreed to design the replacement roof without cost, and to pay part of the cost of the replacement roof.
Architectural Wall Systems was a roofing installation company and a subcontractor under the contract between the city and the general contractor. Kaiser Aluminum manufactured an aluminum roof, and its sales corporation, Kaiser Aluminum Sales, sold the roof to Architectural Wall Systems.
The replacement roof was installed in September of 1968, and soon began to leak abundantly. In November, 1970, a part of the roof blew off. In 1971 the entire roof had to be replaced.
The defendants did not demur or otherwise plead to the first cause of action, which sounds in express warranty against the general contractor, and it is therefore not at issue here. The city alleges three other causes of action—in implied warranty, in negligence, and in strict liability in tort.
The first issue on this appeal concerns the cause of action based on implied warranty. The precise questions are whether privity of contract is a requirement for maintenance of an action for breach of implied warranty (not an action for strict liability in tort), and, if so, whether the city has alleged privity of contract between it and the appellants.
Privity of contract "is the relation that exists between two ... contracting parties,"
In finding privity of contract, the trial court relied upon the allegation in the complaint that the architects
The second issue raised on this appeal is whether the city has alleged sufficient facts to constitute causes of action in negligence and in strict liability in tort. As the basis for its claim of negligence against the manufacturer and sales representative, the city alleges in paragraph 18 of its complaint as follows:
"(a) The aluminum roofing materials were too thin, resulting in deflection under normal foot traffic and under loads of snow and ice, resulting in strain on sealants, ruptures, and ponding.
"(b) The aluminum roofing material was such that it was not adaptable to variations in height, width and configuration, such as those on the school roof, and it was not made or could not be made weathertight. The expansion and contraction effects were of such magnitude as to create stresses that resulted in ruptures.
"(c) The roof was designed and installed with insufficient slope on roof and gutters.
"(d) Improper edge flashings were designed and installed.
"(e) The roof was designed and built with inadequate ventilation between the old and new roofs.
"(f) The roof was designed and built in such a way that ice dams were created over the eaves, resulting in leaks.
". . ."
In paragraph 29 of its complaint, the city also alleges the following as to the ultimate fact of negligence:
". . .
"(c) as to design, selection of materials and manufacture of materials by defendants, Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corporation and Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Sales, Inc."
Obviously, the complaint alleges negligent action on the part of Kaiser in designing, selecting materials, and manufacturing the roof. The allegations of paragraph 18 are not mere conclusions, but allege the specific factual aspects of the roof which are claimed to have been defectively designed and manufactured. We conclude that the complaint obviously alleges sufficient facts to constitute a cause of action in negligence.
As for the cause of action in strict liability in tort, Kaiser contends that the mere recitation in paragraph 33 that Kaiser, while engaged in the business of selling, sold an unreasonably dangerous and defective product to the city, which reached the city without substantial change, is a conclusory allegation which fails to allege sufficient facts for a cause of action in strict liability. This overlooks paragraph 32, which realleges the factual allegations of paragraph 18, quoted above. These allegations provide a factual basis for the ultimate allegations of defect and danger. The complaint states sufficient facts for a claim of strict liability in tort.
We are concerned with the city's complaint at the pleading stage and, of course, the city will still have to prove all of the specific elements of negligence and strict liability at trial.
The remaining issue raised by the defendants' demurrer is whether the plaintiff city can seek damages for the cost of repair of the roof eaves and for the cost of the replacement of the roof itself, absent an allegation of personal injury. Damages of $985 are alleged for the cost of repainting the eaves. The complaint also seeks
This issue does not arise in regard to the city's cause of action in negligence. In A. E. Investment Corp. v. Link Builders, Inc.,
Damages to other property and to the product itself are recoverable in a cause of action based on strict liability in tort. In the recent case of City of Franklin v. Badger Ford Truck Sales,
In the case at bar the damages to the product itself (the roof) are associated with damages to other property (the eaves). We are also of the opinion that a strict-liability claim for pure economic loss involving only the cost of repair or replacement of the product itself and loss of profits is likewise not demurrable. Other cases have so ruled. For example, in Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. v. Fairbanks Morse, Inc.,
"Be actionable against the manufacturer where the defectively-made product has caused personal injury, and not actionable when inadequate manufacture has put a worthless article in the hands of an innocent purchaser who has paid the required price for it."
The court further reasoned that the principles of products liability should be applied on the basis of whether the manufacturer was "the father of the transaction," and not on the basis of whether personal injury or simple economic loss had been incurred. While the court recognized that products liability had its origins "because of the greater appeal of the personal injury claim," it concluded that, once in existence, "the field of operation of the remedy should not be fenced in by such a factor."
Comment
User Comments