Coverdale v. Rickards & Watson

Citations

• 22 Del. 467
• 6 Penne. 467
• 69 A. 1065
• 1907 Del. LEXIS 54

Syllabus

<p>Appeal—Sale of Machine; To be Returned if Not Satisfactory; Must be Reasonably Adapted to Its Purpose; When to be Returned if Not Satisfactory—Reasonable Time— What to be Determined by the Court and What by the Jury.</p> <p>1. Where an action is brought for the price of a machine which was sold under an agreement that it might be returned if not satisfactory, it is incumbent on the defendant to show that the machine was so defective as not to be reasonably adapted to the uses for which it was sold; and also that he returned it within a reasonable time, unless the plaintiff induced delay by waiving the rule requiring a return within a reasonable time.</p> <p>2. When the facts are in dispute the question of reasonable time should be submitted to the jury. What constitutes a reasonable time may be determined by the nature of the article sold, the usual course of 'the particular business or trade, and other circumstances relevant to the time of the rescission of the sale or return of the articles sold. Reasonable time means without undue delay and with as much promptitude and despatch as the circumstances of the case will admit.</p>