律师Samina Kapadia写道:“建筑项目中的承包商和业主必须理解明示和暗示的保修条款。避免保修问题的关键包括审查施工合同;口头或书面解释;当地法律。”
什么是你的保修责任?避免与保修相关的意外的指南
保修旨在保护购买者免遭购买的商品或服务中的任何故障或缺陷。但是保修与他们所保护的产品和服务不同。而且,由于法院以各种不同的方式解释保修 -无论是侵权行为、合同还是两者兼有 - 都没有“一刀切”的方法。因此,业主和承包商必须知道他们正在接受或宣布的保修责任是否值得?或哪些是和不是包括在条款内的?保修中可能导致未来争议的空白有哪些?
在典型的建设项目中有两种通用类别的保修: 明示和暗示
明示保修
明示保修是合同文件中明确规定的承诺,例如承包商保证工作没有缺陷并且符合合同文件的要求。制造商和供应商的明示保修是在实际竣工之日向业主提供的,但大部分保修均受统一商业法规(UCC)的约束。
暗示保修
暗示保修是根据当事人双方协议推定的承诺。例如,如果业主雇用了一个设计师,法院倾向于为了设计的适当性而对业主适用暗示保修。暗示保修可能是“事实暗示”或“法定暗示” - 不同之处在于暗示协议是源于想法上的一致还是由单独的法律责任产生的。
避免保修相关问题的关键
以下是在建筑环境中避免保修相关问题的三条建议:
01 审查施工合同
确保您的施工合同中包含明示保修。阅读施工合同,以确定有关工作、材料、设备和任何其他特殊的保修。大多数标准的行业协议都包含明示保修条款 - 例如,AIA 201 2007的第3.5部分和ConsensusDOCS 240的第3.8部分。
对于业主而言,重要的是要考虑承包商宣布的明示或暗示保修是否包含任何承保空白。同样,对承包商而言,重要的是要考虑其分包商和供应商对其宣布的保修是否在业主提出索赔时提供了足够的保障。例如,分包商的保修期长度是否与承包商的保修期长度一致?
此外,确认哪些法律管辖保修纠纷非常重要 - 是否有法律规定的选择?依据您的项目所在地的管辖权是否要求适用该州的法律?例如,爱荷华州要求所有州内建筑合同都受爱荷华州法律的约束 - 优先于任何法律选择条款。这将帮助您评估适用于您的保修索赔的法律。
02 审查任何口头或书面陈述
保修被商品或服务的销售者用作营销工具。商品或服务的接受者不仅有阅读合同的责任,也要对商品或服务作出任何其他陈述。所做的任何陈述是否会产生暗示保修 - 事实上的或法律上的?与保修相对,是否将任何陈述解释为认证(例如经由某位设计专业人士)?
03 在您的管辖地内审查法律
由于存在各种各样的明示和暗示的保修,各个辖区内有关这些保修的法律在建筑项目的规划、执行和结果中起着至关重要的作用。更重要的是,相同的商品或服务可能会适用不同的明示和暗示的保修,并且保修之间也可能存在差距。请记住问自己一些关键问题:
您的管辖地法院如何处理明示或暗示的保修 - 即基于严格责任、疏忽、合同种类还是侵权或合同的变种?
可能的保修相关索赔适用的法定时效是什么?
与保修相关的索赔可能产生的损害的性质是什么?
UCC是否约束您的任何保修索赔?
如果是,有哪些?您的损害是否会导致任何国家消费者保护法?
早些提出这些重要问题有助于避免发生保修索赔时出现令人不满的意外状况。此外,重要的是不能只专注于对保修进行分类,而是努力了解法院或其他事实发现者将如何解释这种保修类型。
有关保修和保修相关索赔的全面论述,请参见布鲁纳和奥康纳的建筑法。
原文:
Commentary: Owners, contractors must know warranty terms
Contractors and owners involved in construction projects must understand the terms of express and implied warranties, attorney Samina Kapadia writes. Keys to avoiding warranty issues include reviewing the construction contract; oral or written interpretations; and local laws.
What's in Your Warranty? A Guide to Avoiding Warranty-Related Surprises
A warranty is meant to protect a purchaser from any faults or defects in goods or services purchased. But warranties are as different as the products and services that they protect. What’s more, because courts interpret warranties in widely different ways — as either a creature of tort, contract or a mixture of both ― there exists no “one size fits all” approach1. As such, it’s important for both owners and contractors to know what the warranty they are receiving or issuing is worth. What is and is not covered? What are the gaps in coverage that could lead to future disputes?
There are two general categories of warranties issued in typical construction projects: express and implied.
Express Warranties
Express warranties are promises expressly set forth in contract documents, such as a contractor’s warranty the work will be free from defects and will conform to the contract documents. Manufacturers’ and suppliers’ express warranties are provided to owners upon substantial completion, but most of those warranties are governed by the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). Also, an owner’s rejection of the goods or revocation of acceptance is not a prerequisite to a successful express warranty claim.1
Implied Warranties
Implied warranties are promises inferred from the parties’ agreement. For example, where an owner hires a designer, courts tend to impose an implied warranty by the owner for the adequacy of those designs. Implied warranties may be “implied-in-fact” or “implied-in-law” — the difference being whether the implied agreement originated upon a meeting of the minds or whether the implied agreement arises from a separate legal duty.2
Keys to Avoiding Warranty-Related Issues
Here are three suggestions for avoiding warranty-related issues in the construction context:
Review the Construction Contract
Recognize the express warranties included in your construction contract. Read the construction contract to identify warranties concerning the work, materials, equipment and any other special warranties. Most standard industry agreements contain express warranty provisions — for example, Section 3.5 of the AIA 201 2007 and Section 3.8 of the ConsensusDOCS 240.
For owners, it is important to consider whether the express or implied warranties issued by a contractor include any gaps in coverage. Similarly, for contractors, it is important to consider whether the warranties issued to it by its subcontractors and suppliers provide enough coverage in the event of a claim made by the owner. For example, does the length of the subcontractor’s warranty align with the length of the contractor’s warranty to the owner?
Also, it’s important to confirm what law governs any warranty disputes — is there a choice of law provision? Does the jurisdiction where your project is located require you to apply that state’s laws? For example, Iowa requires all in-state construction contracts to be governed by Iowa law — taking precedence over any choice-of-law provision.3 This will help you evaluate the applicable law to your warranty claims, as discussed further below.
Review Any Oral or Written Representations
Warranties are used as a marketing tool by sellers of good or services. It’s incumbent upon the recipient of those goods or services to not just read the contract but also any other representations made about those goods or services. Do any statements made give rise to an implied warranty — either in-fact or in-law? Would any statements be construed as certifications (by a design professional, for example) versus a warranty?4
Review the Law in Your Jurisdiction
Since there exists a wide variety of express and implied warranties, the laws in each jurisdiction with respect to these warranties plays a crucial role in the planning, execution and outcome of a construction project.5 What’s more, the same goods or services may be subject to different express and implied warranties, and gaps may also exist between warranties.6 Remember to ask yourself some key questions:
How do courts in your jurisdiction treat express and implied warranties — i.e., on the basis of strict liability, negligence, as a species of contract, or as a subspecies of tort or contract?7
What is the applicable statute of limitations for potential warranty-related claims?
What is the nature of damages that may flow from potential warranty-related claims?
Does the UCC govern any of your warranty claims? If so, which ones?
Do your injuries give rise to any state consumer protection laws?8
Asking these essential questions earlier on can help avoid unpleasant surprises when a warranty claim develops. Also, it’s important not to just focus on categorizing your warranty, but to work to understand how that type of warranty will be interpreted by a court or other fact-finder.
For a comprehensive discussion about warranties and warranty-related claims, see Sections § 9.3-9.9 of Bruner & O’Connor on Construction Law.