Ruminations on Blueberries and the Code

As some of you know, I am visiting this year at University of Oregon School of Law in Eugene, Oregon. Classes start next week, but today my two young sons and I were out at the Greene Hill Aire Blueberry Farms picking locally grown blueberries. My youngest son ate more than he contributed, but we did mange to fill up a bucket. At the bottom of the hill, we gave the farm owners $15.00 in exchange for the blueberries (now in a plastic bag). So, I spent some time today baking blueberry muffins, blueberry crisp and a blueberry pie is now in the oven! Being the contract and UCC nerd that I am, though, my thoughts went happily to the code. Well, class does start next week after all! There are sure to be hypotheticals about the blueberries in my student's future.

Of course, blueberries are a good in that they are movable. While I am sure the farmer-owners never thought about Article 2, it applies nevertheless. That is, after all, why I like it so much. The simplicity of something that fills in for all that would never be said in on a u-pick blueberry farm. No contracts, no receipts, and no paper at all. Sure, there will be a student who might suggest that I took my sons there for entertainment, rather than for the purchase of blueberries. But, I did do all this baking and some freezing (and fully intended to at the time of purchase). Some students might also inquire about whether the farmers are merchants and whether it matters. Of course, Article 2 applies anyway, but students sometimes get caught up on the merchant nuance in terms of deciding which law applies. The merchant classification does matter when it comes to warranties on the blueberries (i.e. merchantability).

Happy thoughts to all UCCers contemplating new hypos for Fall 2009. Time to pull the pie out of the oven!

-JSM