Guthrie

Plaintiff Barbara J. Guthrie, doing business as Wehrman’s Jewelry, appeals from the judgment of the trial court, sitting without a jury, awarding her $250 in damages for losses by theft which occurred at a time when a burglar alarm system, installed and operated by defendant American Protection Industries (API), failed to function as represented. We affirm.

The essential facts are not in dispute and may be briefly summarized as follows. On March 8, 1973, Harvey Wehrman, plaintiff’s predecessor, entered into an agreement with API to install and maintain a burglary alarm system at his jewelry store in Long Beach, California. Some five years later, Mr. Wehrman died and plaintiff purchased his interest in the business from his estate. Both before and after the change of ownership, the contract with API remained in effect.

On October 24, 1979, plaintiff noticed an inappropriate clicking sound in the alarm system and notified API of a possible malfunction. The following day, service representatives from API visited the store and worked on the system for approximately 30 minutes. They advised plaintiff that the alarm had been repaired and that the system was now in good…