New Jersey Consumer Protection Lawyer Jonathan Rudnick Home
Breach of Warranty Lawsuits for Defective Cars and Boats
Breach of Warranty
Breach of Car Warranty
Breach of Boat Warranty
Lawsuits
A warranty is a written contract between the purchaser of the boat were car and the seller, distributor, or manufacturer of the boat for the car. The underlying concept of a warranty is that the good that you are purchasing whether it be boat, car or other mechanical good most work as promised. If the boat or car does not work as promised, then the warranty court has the obligation to fix it in a reasonable amount of time. If the good, boat, car cannot be fixed in a reasonable amount of time that the written work implied warranty is breached. The breach of the written or implied warranty creates remedies for those who purchased goods. The remedies can vary from rescission of the contract to consequential damages.
There are various warranties that can be reached: express warranties and implied warranties. There is a difference between commercial and noncommercial transaction. There are warranties that are created under the law such as the New Jersey used car lemon Law warranty work warranty of merchantability which is created under the Uniform Commercial Code. These are all subsets of the warranty universe which in essence requires goods to work as promised. If goods do not work as promised, then there is a method to provide money damages to those who are in possession of the breached warranties.
Owning a boat can be the most rewarding BUT expensive experience of your entire life.
Consumer boat litigation, whether it is personal injury or breach of warranty, is a complicated litigation. Frequently, boats that are purchased by consumers are both very expensive and very complicated in the context of the issuance of warranties and the manufacturers of the boat. Those boat owners are aware that there are separate warranties for various portions of the boat including the whole, electronics, engines, and other interior appliances on the boat. Therefore, any problems with boats become difficult for litigation since there are overlapping warranties, personal injury issues and negligence issues. When analyzing any issue with your boat, it is important to acquire each warranty as well as your contract for purchase and identify all relevant parties selling the boat, distributing the boat, and manufacturing the boat and its relevant sections. Therefore, before any initial consultation, it is important to acquire the separate warranties on each portion of the boat, piece of equipment or appliance.
Then, it is necessary to read the specific portion of the warranty to determine the nature and extent of the warranty in the claim provisions. Frequently, the manufacturer, supplier or seller of boats vary the warranty provisions which come with the boat. Sometimes, the statute of limitation is shortened for the time of filing an action, sometimes there are limitations on types of damages and sometimes there are forum selection clauses. In essence, the issue of boat litigation is a complex one needing an experienced attorney. It is important to aggregate the specific issues, the specific warranties, and the consumer complaints about each portion of the boat.
This does not cancel the consumer fraud aspects in each transaction. It is not uncommon that boats have various problems that were known or should have been known to the seller of the boat. Then there are issues with the servicing or the docking of a boat in the local marina. There are a host of issues which make owning a boat a significant legal headache for the owner of the boat and the need for experienced legal representation is parallel. Many boat owners bemoan the continued expenses on their beloved boat.
Almost all the consumer laws that apply to car owners apply to boat purchasers, such as the breach of warranty laws and the consumer fraud law. In fact, there is significantly more regulation on boats at the Federal level.
Boat owners have the same complaint that car owners have regarding the repair of their boat, with the marinas in which they are docked and less-than-honest boat repairmen.
There are a host of tickets that can be issued to boat owners as if they were driving a car.
The same breaches of warranty laws that apply to cars apply to boats, but there is not a lemon law for new boats or used boats; there is a general breach of warranty law for boats. The boat and the engines must work as promised according to the specific warranty. If there is an express-written-warranty and the boat cannot be fixed as promised you can sue for damages. You can sue for breach of warranty and if it takes them too long to fix the boat you can sue for damages. You can recover attorney's fees under certain circumstances with the cost of the lawsuit.
Key
Questions on breach of warranty claims
1. Is there a warranty, written or implied?o No signed authorization for repairs.
2. What does it cover?
3. Can the boat be fixed in a reasonable time?
4. What are your damages slip rental, boat payments, etc.?
5. The consumer fraud laws apply to the sale and servicing of boats.
6. Servicing: All the rules that apply to car salesman apply to boat repairs.
7. Consumer fraud in boat repairs:
o Charging more than the promised amount or higher than the written estimate.
o Not advising if a new engine is rebuilt or new.
New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act
Under what circumstances can you file a lawsuit aver a breach of warranty?
o If the seller lies about a material fact (e.g., tells you the boat never sunk).
o If the seller omits an important fact (e.g., never tells you the boat sunk).
o If the seller engages in deceptive conduct (e.g., pays off the surveyor).
