Sixty-Five-Year-Old Man Takes Bar Exam

I’ve noted on Facebook that for the past few months my wife and I have been renovating our former home to which we will return. She’s actually done some of the work, such as removing wallpaper. Most of the rest is being done by various contractors. Since I am still several hundred miles away, most of my work has been arranging for the contractors and purchasing appliances and fixtures to be delivered.

Last week our plumbers told us one of the toilets needed to be replaced, and we know that the other one is pretty old, so we decided to purchase two new toilets. When Lowe’s delivered the toilets this past Monday, it was plain that despite the fact the store’s website noted nearly a dozen were in stock, they chose to deliver one that had been put back into its package and resealed.

I’d previously written that in law school my contracts course covered common law, but that the law of sales was a separate course that I did not take. My bar review has made me well aware of at least the basics of UCC Article 2, and the box pictured above is an example of a nonconforming good. The toilets, along with all the other products listed on Lowe’s website, are at least implicitly new merchandise and include all parts shipped by the manufacturer. Why the Lowe’s staff chose to send this one, when the website had shown they had nearly a dozen in stock, is beyond my understanding. The condition of the box was a telltale sign that the toilet inside likely is not pristine, and that indeed turned out to be true. When the plumber opened it, the toilet was covered with a melted wax ring from a failed installation attempt and was missing the bolts for attaching the seat.

Under the UCC, we had two options with regard to the nonconforming good. We could have rejected it, under which Lowe’s would have had the option of seasonably delivering a replacement or a refund, or we could have accepted it. Since replacing it would take days and we’d incur the cost of another plumber’s visit, we opted to accept it and the plumber furnished a new wax ring and bolts. The cost of a second plumber’s visit is called consequential damages, and arguably would not have been foreseeable by Lowe’s. You may wish to argue that point, but with my wife and son moving back into the house tomorrow, time is of the essence. We’ll see how the company responds to my letter of complaint.

As to my bar exam prep, the work continues apace.