CA'VEAT EMP'TOR (Lat., let the buyer beware I. The common-law maxim signifying that the purchaser of land or goods takes his (glances as to the title or the quality of the property acquired by him. There is great dif ference of opinion as to the extent to which this maxim really represents the law. A learned English judge expressed the opinion, in ltittl. that. "the result of the older authorities is that there is by the law of England no warranty of title in the actual contract of sale. any more than there is of quality." A few years later an equally learned judge declared that "the only semblance of authority for this doctrine from the time of Noy and Lord Coke consists of mere dicta." The application of the doctrine to tide has been done away with in England by the Sale of Goods Act, 169:1 (36-57 Victoria. c. 71), by which the law relating to the sale of goods was codified. while in the United States this appli cation of the doctrine has never had any judicial sanction. so far a- the sale of personal property is concerned. The mere act of A's selling prop erty to B amounts to an undertaking on his part that the title was in him. II doe, not buy at his peril. it is the seller. not the buyer, who must take care of the title. However, the maxim 'Caveat emptor' does apply to sales of laud. In the absence of fraud or of covenant as to title by the vendor. the vendee buys at his peril.
With respect to the quality of chattels, the ma xim 'Ca veat still ap plies, although its scope has been narrowed greatly during the last hundred years. Indeed,
an eminent judge has declared that the excep tions have well nigh eaten up the rule. By the English Sale of Goods Act referred to above, the civil-law rule 'Caveat venditor' (let the seller be ware) i: in many cases substituted for 'Caveat emptor; For example. if the buyer notifies the seller that the goods for which he is treating are required for a special purpose, and that he re lies on the seller's skill or judgment. and the goods are of a description which it is in the course of the seller's business to supply. the seller impliedly engages that they shall be rea sonably fit for such purpose. Again a person who sells goods by description (as Manila hemp) impliedly engages that they shall correspond with the description and shall be of a merchanta ble quality. While neither legislation nor ju dicial decisions in the United States accord en tirely with the provisions of the English stat ute, their tendency is toward the same goal.
In Rome 'die rule of early law was. in effect, 'Caveat emptor.' With the growth of commerce, however, the inadequacy and injustice of this rule became apparent. and it was modified from time to time by :edilieian edicts and by the reasoning of jurists. until it. was transformed into 'Caveat venditor.' This maxim of primitive law has been undergoing a similar modification in England and in the United States during the last century. Consult the authorities referred to under sALEs: TITLE: and WARRANTY.