Printable Format84-2a-216. Third-party beneficiaries of express and implied warranties. A warranty to or for the benefit of a lessee under this article, whether express or implied, extends to any person who may reasonably be expected to use, consume, or be affected by the goods and who is injured by breach of the warranty. The operation of this section may not be excluded, modified, or limited with respect to injury to the person of an individual to whom the warranty extends, but an exclusion, modification, or limitation of the warranty, including any with respect to rights and remedies, effective against the lessee is also effective against the beneficiary designated under this section.
History: L. 1991, ch. 295, ยง 25; February 1, 1992.
KANSAS COMMENT, 1996
1. This section is alternative C of the 1990 official text, and is analogous to section 84-2-318. There are two main differences between this section and its Article 2 analogue. First, this section extends to the third party not only warranties made to the lessee, but also warranties made for the benefit of the lessee. Thus, in the case of a finance lease, a warranty made by a supplier or manufacturer in the supply contract that extends to the lessee under section 84-2a-209 also extends to third parties under this section. Second, the section adds the substance of Official Comment 1 to section 84-2-318, concerning the effect of exclusions, modifications, or limitations of warranties, to the text of the section.
2. The importance of this section is limited, however, because the Kansas Consumer Protection Act (KCPA), K.S.A. 50-623 et seq., abolishes both horizontal and vertical privity in all consumer warranty cases, including cases involving only economic loss. K.S.A. 50-639(b). The KCPA defines "consumer" broadly to include any individual or sole proprietor acting for personal, family, household, business, or agricultural purposes. K.S.A. 50-624(b). Privity thus remains a defense only in cases in which one corporation or organization seeks to recover for economic loss suffered from breach of an implied warranty by another corporation or organization. See 1996 Kansas Comment 2 to 84-2-318 for further discussion.
CASE ANNOTATIONS
1. Section does not apply retroactively. Stewart v. Nationalease of Kansas City, Inc., 920 F. Supp. 1188, 1196 (1996).