Medway logger awarded $18,187 Jury finds warranty on delimber applies

BANGOR – After a little more than two hours of deliberation, a federal jury Wednesday awarded a Medway logger $18,187 in damages in a breach-of-warranty case tried at U.S. District Court.

Jay R. McLaughlin claimed he had suffered economic damage after a delimbing machine he had bought for $220,000 malfunctioned 13 months after its purchase. A delimber strips a felled tree of its branches in preparation for hauling it out of the woods.

McLaughlin claimed he put about $40,000 in repairs into the delimber to keep it going at minimum capacity while the manufacturer, Denharco Inc. of Quebec, and the Fort Kent dealer where he bought the machine deliberated about fixing it. He sought $285,000 in what he claimed was lost revenue as a result of the delimber not operating at full capacity for many months.

The eight-member, all-male jury appeared to believe Denharco’s $2,500 repair estimate for the machine. Jurors did not speak about their decision, but they may have added in about three months of lost revenue for “down time” McLaughlin experienced because of the delimber’s failure, according to legal experts.

Reacting to the verdict, attorney Patrick Hunt of Island Falls, who represented McLaughlin, said his client was “mildly pleased” with the verdict. A few minutes later, Hunt said the decision was a “victory for all woodsmen in Maine.”

“It’s very difficult for the woodsman to stand up against multinationals,” Hunt said.

Bangor attorney Paul Chaiken, who represented Denharco, said his clients were “disappointed” with the verdict. “We’re convinced Mr. McLaughlin knew what the warranty was all about,” Chaiken said.

“We’re pleased the jury saw through Mr. McLaughlin’s damage claims,” Chaiken added.

The jury decided that McLaughlin did not receive Denharco written warranty materials that guaranteed one-year coverage though the company claimed he did. They also decided Denharco breached an implied warranty provision which, according to Maine law, dictates goods sold for profit must be in stable, operable condition and have the quality of “merchantability.”

McLaughlin bought the machine in December 1997. The 20,000-pound delimber was mounted on a John Deere chassis. The machine balked from the start and many repairs were made. The major collapse occurred when a metal plate supporting the boom pivot fractured, causing the delimber boom to collapse toward the right side.

It was a John Deere part that fractured, according to court information. Despite its role in the matter, John Deere was dismissed as a defendant Wednesday.

Six witnesses testified for the plaintiffs.

The defense presented close to a dozen witnesses.

In closing arguments, attorney Hunt claimed Denharco delimbers had a 28 percent failure rate in North America.

Chaiken said forgery allegations regarding the warranty were a “red herring.” He accused the plaintiffs of giving inconsistent numbers.

“When you evaluate the testimony, think, ‘If it was my life decision would I rely on this information?'” Chaiken said.