Chapter 15 Personal Law Vocabulary Terms

Caveat Venditor

"Let the seller beware"

Warranty of Merchantability

. Basically, a warranty of merchantability is an assurance that the goods are fit for the ordinary purposes for which such goods are used.

Disclaimer

A disclaimer is a repudiation or renunciation of a right or power typically or legally vested in a person. To exclude or modify any implied warranty of fitness, the disclaimer must be in writing and be easily noticed.

Bait and Switch

A store practices another form of improper advertising when it uses an understocked, abnormally low-priced "come on" to lure prospective buyers into the store. Once there, the vast majority of would-be buyers find that the advertised item has been sold out and the customers are then redirected to a product with a greater profit margin. This practice is referred to as bait and switch.

Consent Order

A voluntary, court enforceable agreement to stop an illegal or questionable practice.

Warranty

A warranty is an assurance given by one party to an agreement to the other of a fact upon which the latter may rely. In the context of a sale, it is an assurance that the seller makes about the product's qualities or performance.

Class Actions

Allows one or several persons to sue not only on behalf of themselves, but also on behalf of many others similarily wronged.

Encumbrances

Also implicit in the act of selling is the seller's warranty that the goods shall be delivered free of all encumbrances (claims by third parties enforceable against the goods) of which the buyer is not aware at the time of contracting. This warranty does not ensure that the goods are free of encumbrances at the time of the sale, but rather that they will be free at the time of delivery. Th is distinction enables the seller to comply with the warranty by paying off any third-party claimants before transferring ownership.

Restitution

An agency also may fine a violator and/or order restitution, which permits a party to a contract to recover money or property (or the value there of) given to the other party.

Express Warranty

An explicitly made assurance of quality, description, or performance included in the written or oral terms of the sales agreement by the seller is an express warranty . An example is, "Use our brand of oil and you won't need to change your engine oil for 10,000 miles."

Full Warranty

An express warranty that obligates the seller to repair or to replace a defective product without cost to the buyer and within a reasonable time after given notice of the problem is a full warranty .

Implied Warranty

An implicit warranty obligation imposed by law on all sellers is called an implied warranty .

Consumer

An individual who acquires goods that are intended primarily for personal, family, or household use.

Cease-and-desist order

An investigation because the government agency acts on behalf of an injured consumer to a company.

Unfair Method of Competition

An unfair method of competition is any method of doing business that is characterized by bad faith, deception, fraud or a tendency to inhibit competition or monopolize.

Limited Warranty

Any warranty that provides less protection than a full warranty is a limited warranty, and the seller must identify it as such.

Puffing

Making statements such as "superb quality," or "best on the market," is exaggerated sales talk called puffing. Such words are not warranties or statements of fact. They are merely personal opinions. Buyers should not—and generally do not—accept such opinions at face value.

Caveat Emptor

Means "let the buyer beware". Consumers were thought to be adequately protected by their own ability judge a product's safety and utility.

Privity of Contract

Privity of contract is the relationship that exists between or among contracting parties.

Product Liability

Product liability is a legal obligation stemming from the affixing of responsibility to compensate buyers, users, and even those standing nearby for injuries caused by a defective product. A product liability suit may be based on the torts of fraud, negligence, or strict liability.