Brief Fact Summary. J.W.C.J.R. Corp., (Defendant), appeals a trial court ruling in favor of Colonial Pacific Leasing Corp. (Plaintiff) that Defendant breached a lease agreement by failing to pay the required lease payments.
Synopsis of Rule of Law. Whether a buyer has had a reasonable opportunity to inspect goods and thus whether those goods have been accepted is a factual determination.
This court has held that we will not imply any missing finding where there is a matrix of possible factual findings and we cannot ascertain the trial court's actual findings.
View Full Point of LawIssue. Whether the failure to make adequate factual findings can be viewed as harmless error.
Held. No. The failure to make adequate factual findings can not be viewed as harmless error and therefore the case is remanded to the trial court to make the necessary findings of fact.
Discussion. Taking possession of goods, making lease payments, and/or signing a form of acceptance before the receipt of goods is not dispositive as to the issue of whether a buyer has had a reasonable opportunity to inspect and whether an acceptance has occurred. A factual determination as to whether Defendant had a reasonable opportunity to inspect the goods must be made before the question of whether Defendant properly rejected the goods can be answered. In addition, the issue of whether Plaintiff consented to end the lease agreement is a question of fact. Lastly, the failure to make the missing findings can is not harmless error. Therefore the case is remanded to trial court to make these factual findings.