WARRANTY, in English law, is a promise or covenant to warrant or secure, against all men, a certain person the enjoying of the thing granted or sold to him. As applied to ordinary sales of things personal, it is used to secure the truth of certain representa tions which the purchaser has no means, or has imperfect means, of ascertaining for himself, and yet, the knowledge of which is material to the contract. The law does not imply on the part of the seller of an article in its natural state, who has no better means of information than the purchaser, and who does not affirm that the article is fit for any particular purpose, any warranty or undertaking beyond the ordinary promise that he makes no false representation calculated to deceive the purchaser, and practices no deceit or fraudulent concealment, and that he is not cognizant of any latent defect materially affecting the marketable value of the goods. In the ordinary sale of a horse, the seller only warrants it to be an anima] of the description it appears to be, and nothing more; and if the purchaser makes no inquiries as to its soundness or qualities, and it turns out to be unsound and restive, or unfit for use, he cannot recover as against the seller, as it must be assumed that he purchased the animal at a cheaper rate. And on the sale or transfer of wares and merchandises, if nothing is said as to the character or quality of the thing sold, the buyer takes the risk of all latent defects unknown to the seller at the time of the execution of the contract of sale; all that the seller answers for being that the article is, as far as he knows, what it appears to be. Whenever a man sells goods
as owner, he impliedly undertakes and promises that the goods are his own goods, and that he has a right to make the sale and transfer which he professes to make; and if he was not the owner, he is responsible in damages if the real owner claims them from the purchaser. .If the purchaser does not himself inspect and select the subject-matter of sale, the.seller impliedly warrants the article he sells to be the very article the pur chaser has agreed to buy, and is responsible in damages if he furnishes a different arti cle. If the vender is told the articlp is wanted for a specific purpose, then he is taken to warrant impliedly that the article he furnishes is sufficient for that purpose. Every victualer or dealer in provisions impliedly warrants them to be wholesome and fit for food. But a private person who does not trade in provisions is not responsible for selling an unwholesome article of food without fraud and in ignorance that it is unfit to eat. Where buyer and seller have equal means of knowledge, then the vender is not liable for any representation which he makes without fraud: but if, from the nature of the case, the vender has the exclusive means of knowledge, then lie impliedly warrants that what he says is true. Warranty is also to be distinguished from mere matter of opinion or belief. When a servant sells a horse. he has no right to give a warranty, unless his master expressly authorized him to do so. In the law of Scot land, the doctrine of warranty of goods does not substantially differ from the above.