User:JD Caselaw/Seixas v. Woods

Seixas v. Woods

Summary
The following summary comes from an open source published in 1884:
 * In Seixas v. Woods' (1804), a contract was made for the delivery of "braziletto wood," and it was so advertised and described in the invoice. A delivery was made of an article known as "peachum wood," much inferior in quality. There was no evidence of fraud or an express warranty, and it was held that an action on the case would not lie, "for selling one wood for the other." Kent, Chancellor, said : "If upon a sale there be neither warranty nor deceit, the purchaser purchases at his peril. . . . The mentioning the wood as braziletto wood in the bill of parcels, and in the advertisement some days previous to the sale, did not amount to a warranty to the plaintiffs. To make an affirmation at the time of the sale a warranty, it must appear by the evidence to be so intended, and not to have been a mere matter of judgment or opinion, and of which the defendant had no particular knowledge. Here it is admitted the defendant was equally ignorant with the plaintiffs, and could have had no such intention."

Significance
Seixas v. Wood is the American counterpart to Chandelor in developing the rule "caveat emptor." The court relies heavily on Chandelor. Laidlaw v. Organ, an 1817 decision by Chief Justice John Marshall, is believed to have been the first U.S. Supreme Court case which laid down the rule of caveat emptor.