## Facts

- Betty Epstein went to a beauty parlor operated by Marie Giannattasio to receive a beauty treatment.
- During the treatment, Giannattasio used “Zotos 30-day Color” (made by Sales Affiliates, Inc.) and a prebleach (made by Clairol, Inc.).
- Epstein alleged she suffered acute dermatitis, hair loss, disfigurement, and related damages from the treatment.
- Epstein pleaded two counts against each defendant: negligence and breach of warranty.
- Each defendant demurred to the breach-of-warranty counts, arguing the salon transaction was not a sale of goods; Clairol also argued any warranties did not extend to Epstein.

## Issues

1. Whether a beauty-parlor “beauty treatment,” involving application of hair products, is a “transaction in goods” or “sale” under UCC Article 2 sufficient to support breach-of-warranty claims.
2. Whether a manufacturer’s warranties may extend to an injured consumer plaintiff at the pleading stage despite lack of direct privity.

## Decision

- The court held the pleaded salon transaction was primarily a service arrangement and did not constitute a UCC Article 2 sale or contract for sale of goods.
- The court sustained the demurrers insofar as the warranty counts depended on characterizing the beauty treatment as a sale of goods under Article 2.
- The court overruled Clairol’s additional demurrer ground that its warranties did not extend to the plaintiff, relying on controlling prior Connecticut authority.

## Legal Principles

- UCC Article 2 applies to transactions in goods and requires a sale or contract for sale, i.e., a transfer of title in goods for a price.
- When the pleaded agreement shows the plaintiff sought services rather than purchasing goods, incidental use of products in providing the service does not convert the transaction into an Article 2 sale.
- At the pleading stage, a manufacturer may not defeat warranty claims solely by asserting warranties cannot extend to the ultimate consumer where controlling state precedent permits such extension.

## Conclusion

The court treated a salon hair-color treatment as a service contract outside UCC Article 2’s sales warranties, sustaining demurrers to warranty counts premised on a “sale of goods,” while rejecting a manufacturer’s privity-based challenge to warranty coverage at the demurrer stage.


Epstein v. Giannattasio, 197 A.2d 342 (Conn. Ct. Com. Pl. 1963)