Appeal, on the ground of inadequacy, from a judgment of the Justice Court of the Town of Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County (Paul L. Banner, J.), entered September 26, 2007. The judgment, after a nonjury trial, awarded plaintiff the principal sum of $100.

Judgment reversed without costs and matter remanded for a new trial limited to the issue of damages.

Plaintiff commenced this small claims action to recover the sum of $2,750 as damages incurred as a result of a defective freezer. After a nonjury trial, the Justice Court awarded judgment to plaintiff in the principal sum of $100. Plaintiff appeals on the ground of inadequacy.

The Justice Court found that the freezer, which damaged plaintiff's food stored therein, was defective. However, the record before us is unclear as to the value of
plaintiff's damaged food, and whether plaintiff received a refund of the purchase price of the freezer following the cancellation of the sale. The court awarded plaintiff the principal sum of $100 for the damaged food, which the court determined represented the limit of liability as set forth in a warranty for the freezer. Since neither the warranty itself nor the language contained therein is included in the record, it is unclear from the record whether consequential damages pursuant to UCC 2-715 (b) were limited under the terms of the warranty to $100 (see UCC 2-719 [1] [a], [3]). Consequently, substantial justice requires that the matter be remanded to the court below for a new trial limited to the issue of damages (see UJCA 1804, 1807) to determine whether plaintiff may be entitled to further damages. We note that, since the matter does not involve either services or repairs, the Justice Court erred in holding that plaintiff's proof of damages was deficient because he failed to produce, inter alia, two estimates (see UJCA 1804).

Rudolph, P.J., Molia and Scheinkman, JJ., concur.
Decision Date: January 08, 2009