ARTICLES

Express Warranties

An express warranty is a warranty on a product or component of a product that occurs when a seller makes a promise or some sort of declaration of fact on which the buyer bases his or her purchasing decision. The original type of warranty available, express warranties are frequently negotiated between the seller and the buyer.

Prior to the development of implied warranties, unless a buyer negotiated an express warranty, the seller had no liability as to the quality or performance of the product he or she was selling. Karl Llewellyn, one of the most influential minds concerning contracts, feels the need for both express and implied warranties.

Express warranties can be oral, written, or even incorporated into an advertisement. When there is an oral express warranty or something in an advertisement that is taken to be some form of guarantee, there is a significant difference between an express warranty and sales talk or "puffery." Puffery is mainly things like slogans or other catchy phrases in advertising. In sales talk, things like "a car purrs like a kitten" or other things along the same lines are puffery.

An express warranty is something like "the car has six cylinders" or "this vehicle can plow 5 rows of field in 20 minutes." These are statements made about the performance or components of the vehicle or product that are being sold. These guarantees or statements are taken as truth by the buyer who may use the information in formulating his or her final decision.

Contact a Minneapolis Business Lawyer

To learn more about express warranties and other forms of business contracts, contact the Minneapolis business lawyers of Skjold ▪ Barthel at 612-746-2560.