Warranty Law

Every business should be sufficiently familiar with federal, state, and common law warranty rules. A warranty is generally a seller’s promise to correct a problem, or replace a product, when the product fails. Most broadly speaking, there are two types of warranties:

Common law infers implied warranties—unspoken and unwritten—that the seller provides to the customer. Where consumer product transactions occur, courts generally imply two warranties:

• Implied Warranty of Merchantability
  A seller’s implied promise that the goods sold will do what they are supposed to do consistent with their ordinary purpose.
• Implied Warranty of Fitness for a Particular Purpose
  An implied promise that a customer can rely on the advice of a seller with regard to the use of a good for some specific purpose.

Warranties voluntarily offered by sellers to customers during a sale, explicitly making them, either orally or in writing, regarding a product or a remedy for a defective product.

Written warranties made for consumer products are also governed by the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act is federal law and requires manufacturers and sellers of consumer products to provide consumers with certain information about warranty coverage and the rights and obligations of the parties. The Act requires written warranties on goods over a certain price to have a title that says the warranty is either “full” or “limited.” Generally, a warranty is “full” if the manufacturer or seller:

• Does not limit the length of time for implied warranties
• Warranty service is provided to anyone who owns the good or product during the warranty period, not limiting the warranty to the original purchaser only
• Warranty service is provided free of charge, including costs associated with shipping or replacing the good or product
• If the manufacturer or seller cannot repair the product after a reasonable number of attempts, they must offer the consumer a replacement or refund.
• The consumer must only notify the manufacturer or seller that warranty service is needed and does not have to take any further action unless it is reasonable to do so.

If any of these conditions do not apply, the warranty is generally considered “limited.”

Importantly, an warranty does not have to be entirely “full” or “limited”  the above items are true about warranty coverage on only some parts of the product, or if the times are true during only part of the warranty period, then the warranty is part “full” and part “limited.”

Most state jurisdiction also have statutory laws governing warranties and guarantees.