402.105 History
History: 1983 a. 189.
402.106
402.106
Definitions: "contract"; "agreement"; "contract for sale"; "sale"; "present sale"; "conforming" to contract; "termination"; "cancellation". In this chapter unless the context otherwise requires:
402.106(1)
(1) "Cancellation" occurs when either party puts an end to the contract for breach by the other and its effect is the same as that of "termination" except that the canceling party also retains any remedy for breach of the whole contract or any unperformed balance.
402.106(2)
(2) Goods or conduct including any part of a performance are "conforming" or conform to the contract when they are in accordance with the obligations under the contract.
402.106(3)
(3) "Contract" and "agreement" are limited to those relating to the present or future sale of goods.
402.106(4)
(4) "Contract for sale" includes both a present sale of goods and a contract to sell goods at a future time.
402.106(5)
(5) A "present sale" means a sale which is accomplished by the making of the contract.
402.106(6)
(6) A "sale" consists in the passing of title from the seller to the buyer for a price (
s. 402.401).
402.106(7)
(7) "Termination" occurs when either party pursuant to a power created by agreement or law puts an end to the contract otherwise than for its breach. On "termination" all obligations which are still executory on both sides are discharged but any right based on prior breach or performance survives.
402.106 History
History: 1983 a. 189.
402.107
402.107
Goods to be severed from realty: recording. 402.107(1)(1) A contract for the sale of minerals or the like (including oil and gas) or a structure or its materials to be removed from realty is a contract for the sale of goods within this chapter if they are to be severed by the seller but until severance a purported present sale thereof which is not effective as a transfer of an interest in land is effective only as a contract to sell.
402.107(2)
(2) A contract for the sale apart from the land of growing crops or other things attached to realty and capable of severance without material harm thereto but not described in
sub. (1) or of timber to be cut is a contract for the sale of goods within this chapter whether the subject matter is to be severed by the buyer or by the seller even though it forms part of the realty at the time of contracting, and the parties can by identification effect a present sale before severance.
402.107(3)
(3) The provisions of this section are subject to any third party rights provided by the law relating to realty records, and the contract for sale may be executed and recorded as a document transferring an interest in land and shall then constitute notice to third parties of the buyer's rights under the contract for sale.
402.107 History
History: 1973 c. 215.
FORM, FORMATION AND READJUSTMENT
OF CONTRACT.
402.201
402.201
Formal requirements; statute of frauds. 402.201(1)(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section a contract for the sale of goods for the price of $500 or more is not enforceable by way of action or defense unless there is some writing sufficient to indicate that a contract for sale has been made between the parties and signed by the party against whom enforcement is sought or by the party's authorized agent or broker. A writing is not insufficient because it omits or incorrectly states a term agreed upon but the contract is not enforceable under this subsection beyond the quantity of goods shown in such writing.
402.201(2)
(2) Between merchants if within a reasonable time a writing in confirmation of the contract and sufficient against the sender is received and the party receiving it has reason to know its contents, it satisfies the requirements of
sub. (1) against such party unless written notice of objection to its contents is given within 10 days after it is received.
402.201(3)
(3) A contract which does not satisfy the requirements of
sub. (1) but which is valid in other respects is enforceable:
402.201(3)(a)
(a) If the goods are to be specially manufactured for the buyer and are not suitable for sale to others in the ordinary course of the seller's business and the seller, before notice of repudiation is received and under circumstances which reasonably indicate that the goods are for the buyer, has made either a substantial beginning of their manufacture or commitments for their procurement; or
402.201(3)(b)
(b) If the party against whom enforcement is sought admits in that party's pleading, testimony or otherwise in court that a contract for sale was made, but the contract is not enforceable under this paragraph beyond the quantity of goods admitted; or
402.201(3)(c)
(c) With respect to goods for which payment has been made and accepted or which have been received and accepted (
s. 402.606).
402.201 History
History: 1991 a. 316.
402.201 Annotation
Receipt and acceptance of goods consistent with oral contract is part performance sufficient to take oral contract out of statute of frauds even though such conduct is not inconsistent with some other dealings arguably had between the parties. Gerner v. Vasby, 75 W (2d) 660, 250 NW (2d) 319.
402.201 Annotation
The statute of frauds was not satisfied where the only indication of a purchase contract between the parties was the unexplained notation "purchase price" in a document prepared by one party in response to the other's request for an appraisal. First Bank v. H.K.A. Enterprises, Inc. 183 W (2d) 418, 515 NW (2d) 343 (Ct. App. 1994).
402.201 Annotation
Where letter confirming oral agreement under (2) confirmed subject to completion of formal memorializing document, bargain was enforceable even though document was not executed. Lambert Corp. v. Evans, 575 F (2d) 132 (1978).
402.201 Annotation
Statute of frauds is not applicable in an action based on promissory estoppel. Janke Construction Co., Inc. v. Vulcan Materials Co. 386 F Supp. 687.
402.201 Annotation
The statute of frauds of the UCC and the doctrine of estoppel. Edwards. 62 MLR 205 (1978).
402.202
402.202
Final written expression: parol or extrinsic evidence. Terms with respect to which the confirmatory memoranda of the parties agree or which are otherwise set forth in a writing intended by the parties as a final expression of their agreement with respect to such terms as are included therein may not be contradicted by evidence of any prior agreement or of a contemporaneous oral agreement but may be explained or supplemented:
402.202(2)
(2) By evidence of consistent additional terms unless the court finds the writing to have been intended also as a complete and exclusive statement of the terms of the agreement.
402.203
402.203
Seals inoperative. The affixing of a seal to a writing evidencing a contract for sale or an offer to buy or sell goods does not constitute the writing a sealed instrument and the law with respect to sealed instruments does not apply to such a contract or offer.
402.204
402.204
Formation in general. 402.204(1)
(1) A contract for sale of goods may be made in any manner sufficient to show agreement, including conduct by both parties which recognizes the existence of such a contract.
402.204(2)
(2) An agreement sufficient to constitute a contract for sale may be found even though the moment of its making is undetermined.
402.204(3)
(3) Even though one or more terms are left open a contract for sale does not fail for indefiniteness if the parties have intended to make a contract and there is a reasonably certain basis for giving an appropriate remedy.
402.204 Annotation
Even if the parties writings do not constitute a contract, a contract may be found through the parties' conduct. AMPI v. Meadow Gold Dairies, 27 F (3d) 268 (1994).
402.204 Annotation
Shrinkwrap license agreements contained in computer software packages are enforceable unless their terms are objectionable on general contract grounds. ProCD, Incorporated v. Zeidenberg, 86 F (3d) 1447 (1996).
402.204 Annotation
Contract formation under Article II of the Uniform Commercial Code. Edwards. 61 MLR 215.
402.205
402.205
Firm offers. An offer by a merchant to buy or sell goods in a signed writing which by its terms gives assurance that it will be held open is not revocable, for lack of consideration, during the time stated or if no time is stated for a reasonable time, but in no event may such period of irrevocability exceed 3 months; but any such term of assurance on a form supplied by the offeree must be separately signed by the offeror.
402.205 Annotation
Although the bid for the pipe did not meet the "firm offer" requirement, the facts pleaded and relied upon by the contractor to support its claim and to which the supplier responded in entering its defense gave rise to the doctrine of promissory estoppel. Janke Construction Co., Inc. v. Vulcan Materials Co. 386 F Supp. 687.
402.206
402.206
Offer and acceptance in formation of contract. 402.206(1)(1) Unless otherwise unambiguously indicated by the language or circumstances:
402.206(1)(a)
(a) An offer to make a contract shall be construed as inviting acceptance in any manner and by any medium reasonable in the circumstances;
402.206(1)(b)
(b) An order or other offer to buy goods for prompt or current shipment shall be construed as inviting acceptance either by a prompt promise to ship or by the prompt or current shipment of conforming or nonconforming goods, but such a shipment of nonconforming goods does not constitute an acceptance if the seller seasonably notifies the buyer that the shipment is offered only as an accommodation to the buyer.
402.206(2)
(2) Where the beginning of a requested performance is a reasonable mode of acceptance an offeror who is not notified of acceptance within a reasonable time may treat the offer as having lapsed before acceptance.
402.207
402.207
Additional terms in acceptance or confirmation. 402.207(1)(1) A definite and seasonable expression of acceptance or a written confirmation which is sent within a reasonable time operates as an acceptance even though it states terms additional to or different from those offered or agreed upon, unless acceptance is expressly made conditional on assent to the additional or different terms.
402.207(2)
(2) The additional terms are to be construed as proposals for addition to the contract. Between merchants such terms become part of the contract unless:
402.207(2)(a)
(a) The offer expressly limits acceptance to the terms of the offer;
402.207(2)(c)
(c) Notification of objection to them has already been given or is given within a reasonable time after notice of them is received.
402.207(3)
(3) Conduct by both parties which recognizes the existence of a contract is sufficient to establish a contract for sale although the writings of the parties do not otherwise establish a contract. In such case the terms of the particular contract consist of those terms on which the writings of the parties agree, together with any supplementary terms incorporated under any other provisions of
chs. 401 to
411.
402.207 History
History: 1979 c. 89;
1991 a. 148,
304,
315.
402.207 Annotation
A seller's "acknowledgment of order" which purported to deny liability for damages for defects becomes part of the contract only if assented to by the buyer. Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. v. Fairbanks, 58 W (2d) 193, 206 NW (2d) 414.
402.207 Annotation
Where offer to purchase contained delivery term "FOB, our truck, your plant, loaded" and offeree's response contained term "as is, where is", and where parties had no prior oral agreement, there is no valid contract between parties and court cannot properly reach issue of whether additional or different terms in response to offer destroy agreement between parties. Koehring Co. v. Glowacki, 77 W (2d) 497, 253 NW (2d) 64.
402.207 Annotation
What constitutes "supplementary terms" under (3) is not limited to provisions under ch. 402, but includes any terms arising under the U.C.C. and necessarily encompassing those sections relating to course of performance (402.208) and course of dealing and usage of trade (401.205). Dresser Industries v. Grandall Co., 965 F (2d) 1442 (1992).
402.207 Annotation
Where contract specified FAS terms, buyer's confirmation form containing inconsistent terms did not relieve buyer of liability for goods properly delivered FAS. Melrose Intern., Etc. v. Patrick Cudahy Inc. 482 F Supp. 1369 (1980).
402.207 Annotation
The UCC Battle of the Forms: Answers to Common Questions. Richardson. Wis. Law. March 1996.
402.208
402.208
Course of performance or practical construction. 402.208(1)(1) Where the contract for sale involves repeated occasions for performance by either party with knowledge of the nature of the performance and opportunity for objection to it by the other, any course of performance accepted or acquiesced in without objection shall be relevant to determine the meaning of the agreement.
402.208(2)
(2) The express terms of the agreement and any such course of performance, as well as any course of dealing and usage of trade, shall be construed whenever reasonable as consistent with each other; but when such construction is unreasonable, express terms shall control course of performance and course of performance shall control both course of dealing and usage of trade (
s. 401.205).
402.208(3)
(3) Subject to
s. 402.209 on modification and waiver, such course of performance is relevant to show a waiver or modification of any term inconsistent with such course of performance.
402.208 Annotation
Requirement of "conformity" does not subject the seller to performing contract to the satisfaction of the buyer, but only to the terms of the contract. H.B. Fuller Co. v. Kinetic Systems, Inc. 932 F 2d 681 (1991).
402.209
402.209
Modification, rescission and waiver. 402.209(1)
(1) An agreement modifying a contract within this chapter needs no consideration to be binding.
402.209(2)
(2) A signed agreement which excludes modification or rescission except by a signed writing cannot be otherwise modified or rescinded, but except as between merchants such a requirement on a form supplied by the merchant must be separately signed by the other party.
402.209(3)
(3) The requirements of
s. 402.201 must be satisfied if the contract as modified is within its provisions.
402.209(4)
(4) Although an attempt at modification or rescission does not satisfy the requirements of
sub. (2) or
(3) it can operate as a waiver.
402.209(5)
(5) A party who has made a waiver affecting an executory portion of the contract may retract the waiver by reasonable notification received by the other party that strict performance will be required of any term waived, unless the retraction would be unjust in view of a material change of position in reliance on the waiver.
402.209 Annotation
A dealership agreement is primarily for the sale of goods, making this section applicable. American Suzuki Motor Corp. v. Bill Kummer, Inc. 65 F (3d) 1381 (1995).
402.210
402.210
Delegation of performance; assignment of rights. 402.210(1)(1) A party may perform that party's duty through a delegate unless otherwise agreed or unless the other party has a substantial interest in having his or her original promisor perform or control the acts required by the contract. No delegation of performance relieves the party delegating of any duty to perform or any liability for breach.
402.210(2)
(2) Unless otherwise agreed all rights of either seller or buyer can be assigned except where the assignment would materially change the duty of the other party, or increase materially the burden or risk imposed on the other party by the contract, or impair materially the other party's chance of obtaining return performance. A right to damages for breach of the whole contract or a right arising out of the assignor's due performance of the assignor's entire obligation can be assigned despite agreement otherwise.
402.210(3)
(3) Unless the circumstances indicate the contrary a prohibition of assignment of "the contract" is to be construed as barring only the delegation to the assignee of the assignor's performance.
402.210(4)
(4) An assignment of "the contract" or of "all my rights under the contract" or an assignment in similar general terms is an assignment of rights and unless the language or the circumstances (as in an assignment for security) indicate the contrary, it is a delegation of performance of the duties of the assignor and its acceptance by the assignee constitutes a promise by the assignee to perform those duties. This promise is enforceable by either the assignor or the other party to the original contract.
402.210(5)
(5) The other party may treat any assignment which delegates performance as creating reasonable grounds for insecurity and may without prejudice to his or her rights against the assignor demand assurances from the assignee (
s. 402.609).
402.210 History
History: 1991 a. 316.
GENERAL OBLIGATION AND CONSTRUCTION
OF CONTRACT.
402.301
402.301
General obligations of parties. The obligation of the seller is to transfer and deliver and that of the buyer is to accept and pay in accordance with the contract.
402.302
402.302
Unconscionable contract or clause. 402.302(1)
(1) If the court as a matter of law finds the contract or any clause of the contract to have been unconscionable at the time it was made the court may refuse to enforce the contract, or it may enforce the remainder of the contract without the unconscionable clause, or it may so limit the application of any unconscionable clause as to avoid any unconscionable result.
402.302(2)
(2) When it is claimed or appears to the court that the contract or any clause thereof may be unconscionable the parties shall be afforded a reasonable opportunity to present evidence as to its commercial setting, purpose and effect to aid the court in making the determination.
402.302 Annotation
Conspicuousness necessary for effective warranty disclaimer discussed. H.B. Fuller Co. v. Kinetic Systems, Inc.
932 F. 2d 681 (1991).
402.303
402.303
Allocation or division of risks. Where this chapter allocates a risk or a burden as between the parties "unless otherwise agreed", the agreement may not only shift the allocation but may also divide the risk or burden.
402.304
402.304
Price payable in money, goods, realty, or otherwise. 402.304(1)(1) The price can be made payable in money or otherwise. If it is payable in whole or in part in goods each party is a seller of the goods which that party is to transfer.
402.304(2)
(2) Even though all or part of the price is payable in an interest in realty the transfer of the goods and the seller's obligations with reference to them are subject to this chapter, but not the transfer of the interest in realty or the transferor's obligations in connection therewith.
