RACHEL E. HEBRON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. AMERICAN ISUZU MOTORS, INCORPORATED, Defendant-Appellee, and JANE DOE, Defendant., 60 F.3d 1095

Summary

Plaintiff injured person was permanently injured when her truck rolled over. Two years later, after disposing of the truck, she brought an action against defendant manufacturer. That was the first time that the manufacturer learned of the accident. The trial court dismissed the person's complaint by granting the manufacturer a summary judgment because the person failed to provide reasonable notice of her claim, as required by Va. Code Ann. § 8.2-607(3)(a), and the manufacturer was deprived of an opportunity to inspect the truck to prepare its defense. The person argued that the Va. Code Ann. § 8.2-607(3)(a) notice provision did not apply to a personal injury plaintiff. The court affirmed, and held that Va. Code Ann. § 8.2-607(3)(a) applied to all buyers of goods, including retail consumers. The court reasoned that Va. Code Ann. § 8.2-607(3)(a), cmt. 4 stated that a "reasonable time" for notification from a retail consumer was to be judged by different standards than that of a ...