Ark. Code Ann. § 4-2-318 (2026)
Third party beneficiaries of warranties express or implied
A seller's warranty whether express or implied extends to any natural person who is in the family or household of his buyer or who is a guest in his home if it is reasonable to expect that such person may use, consume or be affected by the goods and who is injured in person by breach of the warranty. A seller may not exclude or limit the operation of this section.
History. Acts 1961, No. 185, § 2-318; A.S.A. 1947, § 85-2-318.
Research References
ALR.
Third-party beneficiaries of warranties under UCC § 2-318. 50 A.L.R.5th 327.
Ark. L. Notes.
Copeland, The Implied Warranty of Habitability and the Use of the Uniform Commercial Code by Analogy, 1983 Ark. L. Notes 5.
Ark. L. Rev.
The Legal Kaleidoscope — Products Liability, 21 Ark. L. Rev. 301.
Torts — Strict Liability in Products Cases, 22 Ark. L. Rev. 796.
Products Liability — Assumption of Risk and Contributory Negligence as Defense, 23 Ark. L. Rev. 297.
The Personal Injury Action in Warranty — Has the Arkansas Strict Liability Statute Rendered It Obsolete? 28 Ark. L. Rev. 335.
Voucher to Products Liability: The Mechanics of U.C.C. § 2-607(5)(a), 29 Ark. L. Rev. 486.
Brill, Harvey v. Eastman Kodak Company: Faculty Note, 34 Ark. L. Rev. 722.
Case Notes
Privity.
By virtue of this section the legislature has abolished the defense of privity in a breach of warranty action to a natural person who is in the family or household of the buyer or is a guest in his household. Delta Oxygen Co. v. Scott, 238 Ark. 534, 383 S.W.2d 885 (1964).
In a breach of warranty action where the cylinder of oxygen sold by the vendor was being used by an employee of the buyer, who was injured in such use, the action by the employee was not barred by lack of privity. Delta Oxygen Co. v. Scott, 238 Ark. 534, 383 S.W.2d 885 (1964).
The employee of the original purchaser is not barred by the defense of privity from bringing an action for breach of warranty against the original vendor. Delta Oxygen Co. v. Scott, 238 Ark. 534, 383 S.W.2d 885 (1964).
Seller's Liability.
The evidence presented by plaintiff in her effort to assign liability to the manufacturer was not substantial enough to negate the existence of other possibilities of sources of contamination such as negligence on the part of the seller. Campbell Soup Co. v. Gates, 319 Ark. 54, 889 S.W.2d 750 (1994).
Cited: Myers v. Council Mfg. Corp., 276 F. Supp. 541 (W.D. Ark. 1967); Wawak v. Stewart, 247 Ark. 1093, 449 S.W.2d 922 (1970).