Warranty

In business law, a warranty is a promise that something sold is in good condition. A warranty may be express or implied. A breach of warranty occurs when the promise is broken, i.e., a product is defective or not as should be expected by a reasonable buyer. A warranty deed is a promise that the buyer's title to a parcel of land will be defended.

Implied warranty

The warranty of merchantability is implied, unless expressly disclaimed by name, or the sale is identified with the phrase "as is" or "with all faults." To be "merchantable", the goods must reasonably conform to an ordinary buyer's expectations, i.e., they are what they say they are. For example, a mislabeled package would violate the implied warranty of merchantability because it does not contain what the purchaser expects. In Massachusetts consumer protection law, it is illegal to disclaim this warranty on household goods sold to consumers.

Related Topics:
As is - Massachusetts - Consumer protection

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The warranty of fitness for a particular purpose is implied when a buyer relies upon the seller to select the goods to fit a specific request. For example, this warranty is violated when a buyer asks a mechanic to provide snow tires and receives tires that are unsafe to use in snow. This implied warranty can also be expressly disclaimed by name, thereby shifting the risk of unfitness back to the buyer.

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Another implied warranty is the warranty of title, which implies that the seller of goods has the right to sell them (e.g., they are not stolen, or patent infringements, or already sold to someone else). This theoretically saves a seller from having to "pay twice" for a product, if it is confiscated by the rightful owner, but only if the seller can be found and makes restitution.

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