Implied conditions; when a breach of condition is treated as a breach of warranty

Implied conditions are presumed by law in every contract of sale of goods unless the circumstances show a different intention, and may be negated by express agreement (ss. 14-17, Sale of Goods Act, 1930):

1. Title (s. 14(a)): the seller has the right to sell the goods.
2. Description (s. 15): the goods correspond with the description.
3. Sample: the bulk corresponds with the sample in quality; the buyer has a reasonable opportunity to compare them; the goods are free from hidden defects making them unmerchantable.
4. Sample as well as description: correspondence with both.
5. Quality or fitness: where the buyer, expressly or by implication, tells the seller the particular purpose for which he needs the goods, in a way that shows he is relying on the seller's skill or judgment, and supplying goods of that kind is part of the seller's business, the goods must be reasonably fit for that purpose.
6. Merchantable quality: where a buyer buys goods by description from a seller who deals in goods of that kind, they must be of merchantable quality, that is, fit to be sold in the market under that description; if the buyer has examined them, there is no implied condition as to defects which that examination ought to have revealed.
7. Wholesomeness: eatables and provisions must be wholesome, that is, fit for human consumption.

When a breach of condition is treated as a breach of warranty (s. 13). A breach of condition normally lets the buyer reject the goods. But it is treated as a breach of warranty, giving only a claim for damages, in these cases:

1. Voluntary waiver: the buyer may waive the condition altogether.
2. Election: the buyer may elect to treat the breach of condition as a breach of warranty, and claim damages instead of rejecting the goods.
3. Acceptance of the goods: where the contract is not severable and the buyer has accepted the goods or any part of them, he can treat the breach only as a breach of warranty, unless the contract provides otherwise.
4. Excused by law (s. 13(3)): section 13 does not affect a condition or warranty whose fulfilment is excused by law by reason of impossibility or otherwise; there the seller is not in breach at all, so neither rejection nor damages follows.

For example, a buyer of a car who finds after months of use that a part does not match the agreed specification, and who has accepted the car, may claim damages but can no longer reject it.