Step-Saver Data Systems, Inc. V. Wyse Technology - Court Opinions

Court Opinions

Step-Saver initiated this case in an effort to hold Wyse and TSL liable in their customer lawsuits. Step-Saver argued, that any liability that it had to its customers should be shared by both Wyse and TSL since they were the original providers of the allegedly defective software and hardware. Step-Saver also argued that an implied contract existed between Step-Saver and these merchants at the time of purchase. They claimed that such an implied contract required the merchants to become co-defendants in the customer lawsuits.

TSL subsequently argued that the implied contract was not enforceable, but rather, that the Limited Use License Agreement (LULA) written on the software package was. Step-Saver sought a declaratory judgement on the matter and complained that it incurred more than $75,000 in direct damages as a result of the customer lawsuits resulting from the incompatibilities experienced between the terminals bought from Wyse and the software purchased from TSL. Five court cases and three years later the case was finally decided on the July 29th, 1991. All district cases were heard by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and all appeals were heard in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit . A history and summary of each case is provided in the subsequent sections.