A person buys garden vegetable seeds (not edible). He plants them and they fail to grow due to the seeds being defective. Who is responsible?
Non-edible garden seeds are presumed to be sold for planting. If they fail due to a problem with the seeds themselves (not weather or external factors), the seller bears liability and must refund the price.
Question 2
A buyer notifies the seller he is transporting the goods to another city. In transit, a defect is discovered and the goods are stolen. Who bears the loss?
Once the buyer notifies the seller of the intended transport, the goods are considered in the seller's domain. Even if they are lost or stolen after notification, the seller bears the responsibility — not the buyer.
Question 3
A butcher buys an animal for slaughter, slaughters it, and discovers it was trefah when purchased. What is the ruling?
Slaughtering the animal is the normal intended use (the buyer purchased it for that purpose). Performing a normal action before discovering a hidden defect does not make the buyer liable. He may return the slaughtered carcass and receive a full refund.
Question 4
A seller sells meat that turns out to be firstborn (bechor) meat — Biblically forbidden. The buyer ate most of it. What is the seller obligated to do?
Selling a Biblically prohibited item requires full restitution. What the buyer ate is treated as irrelevant to the seller's obligation to refund. The unconsumed remainder is returned and the money for consumed portions is refunded.
Question 5
A broker sells an ox with a hidden defect (no molars). The ox starves and dies. Is the broker liable?
A broker who does not hold the item takes an oath that he was unaware of the defect and is exempt. The buyer had the responsibility to independently check the animal and return it to the broker before it died. Failure to do so is the buyer's own loss.