Street Law Ch. 24: Warranties

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Street Law Ch. 24Warranties
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Ch. 24 Warranties

• Key Terms
• Warranty
• Breached
• Express Warranty
• Puffing
• Implied Warranty
• Disclaimer
• As Is/With All Faults

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Why Do I Need To Know This?

• Because warranties are a part of every contract.
• Because if a warranty is broken, the contract is
  broken.
• Because it can save you plenty of money over your
  lifetime to know what is and what is not covered
  by a warranty.

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Key Sections Ch. 24

• Warranties
• Express Warranties
• Implied Warranties
• Disclaimers

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Warranties

• A warranty is a promise or guarantee about the
  product made by the seller about the product
  being sold or the service being performed.
• A warranty may include statements about what the
  seller will do to fix the problem if the promise
  or guarantee is broken.
• A warranty may be express or implied.

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Express Warranties

• An express warranty is a statement about the
  quality or performance of a product by the
  seller.
• An express warranty may be in writing, it may be
  oral, or it may be by demonstration.
• Not everything the seller says becomes an express
  warranty. Statements of opinion, such as its
  the best! are considered puffing--or just
  attempts to sell a product.
• One important thing about express warranties
  words or actions at the end of a contract mean
  more than words or actions at the beginning of
  the contract.

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Full Warranties vs. Limited Warranties

• All warranties are either Full Warranties or
  Limited Warranties.
• A Full Warranty must state that
• A defective product will be fixed or replaced at
  no cost (including removal and installation)
• The consumer will not have to do anything
  unreasonable to get the warranty
• The product will be fixed within a reasonable
  amount of time
• If the product cannot be fixed after a reasonable
  number of attempts, the consumer can get a full
  refund or replacement
• The warranty applies to anyone who owns the
  product during the warranty period.
• Anything less than that is considered a Limited
  Warranty.

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Implied Warranties

• Implied warranties are warranties created by law.
• Implied warranties only apply to bona fide
  sellers of the product (people who usually sell
  that product).
• There are 3 types of Implied Warranties
• Warranty of Merchantability
• Warranty of Fitness For a Particular Purpose
• Warranty of Title

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Warranty of Merchantability

• The warranty of merchantability is an unwritten
  promise that the product sold to the consumer
  will be at least as good as the average quality
  for that type of item.
• The warranty of merchantability can be disclaimed
  by a bona fide seller by using the magic legal
  words as is or with all faults or final
  sale.

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Warranty of Fitness For a Particular Purpose

• A Warranty of Fitness For a Particular Purpose
  applies when the seller knows that product will
  be used in a particular way.
• An example is a consumer who buys a waterproof
  watch and the watch leaks underwater.

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Warranty of Title

• The Warranty of Title is the promise that the
  seller actually legally owns or has the legal
  right to sell the property.

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Disclaimers

• A disclaimer is an attempt by the seller to limit
  his/her responsibilities if something goes wrong
  with the product.
• Disclaimers are typically used when the seller is
  selling a used item or wants to limit the risk of
  getting sued
• To disclaim the implied warranty of
  merchantability, the disclaimer must
• Be in writing
• Be displayed prominently on the product
• Use words such as as is with all faults or
  final sale.
• Once they are in place, warranties cannot be
  disclaimed or modified without additional
  consideration.