Dieker v. Case Corp.

Elliott, J.:

In this “battle of experts” revolving around the cause of a combine fire, defendant Case Corporation (Case) appeals the judgment, following a jury trial, in favor of Douglas and Thomas Dieker, plaintiffs, on their claim Case breached the implied warranty of merchantability.

We reverse.

Plaintiffs purchased a Case combine from an independent dealer of Case products in the fall of 1998; a month later, the combine caught fire and burned while plaintiffs were harvesting soybeans. After the fire, plaintiffs found a trail of oil about a quarter of a mile long from where the combine…