The High Court has found Massey Ferguson (Ireland) Limited and Thomas Flynn and Sons Limited jointly and severally liable after ruling that a tractor supplied to farmer Patrick Kane was not fit for its purpose and was not of merchantable quality. The court has not yet assessed damages or costs.
In a judgment delivered on 20 December 2007, Ms Justice Irvine accepted evidence that the tractor had suffered an ongoing loss of power from early 1998. Mr Kane, an experienced farmer and part-time mechanic, said it lost power under load and on inclines. An automotive engineer who road-tested it also reported a substantial loss of power on an incline. The judge preferred that evidence, along with evidence from another farmer and machinery operator, to the defendants’ position that the tractor met its specifications.
The defendants had argued that any loss of power resulted from inadequate servicing, contaminated fuel or a failure to change the oil filter. The judge rejected those explanations, finding the allegations unsatisfactory and noting that no satisfactory evidence of contaminated fuel had been produced. The court also found no contractual requirement that Mr Kane have the tractor serviced by an approved Massey Ferguson dealer at specified intervals.
The tractor was acquired as a demonstration model through a leasing arrangement with Agri Credit Limited. Mr Kane admitted that he bought it in the course of his farming business. The court held that the lease was not a “consumer hire agreement” under the Consumer Credit Act 1995 because the tractor was hired for business use. It therefore dismissed his claim against Agri Credit.
The court did not determine compensation. Evidence at trial indicated that Mr Kane had missed some lease payments, and the judge said the court needed to hear the parties’ positions on ownership of the tractor and any outstanding liability under the lease. It also required evidence of the tractor’s location and current value, and the present-day cost of the most similar model. The parties were asked to try to agree those matters before the damages issue is heard. Costs were also reserved until damages are resolved.