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Consumer Warranty Law: 1.8.2.2 Privity of Contract

An important restriction on consumer warranty rights is the outdated concept of privity, that a consumer can enforce a warranty remedy against the manufacturer or other seller only if the consumer has a direct contractual relationship with the seller. A consumer is said to lack vertical privity when the consumer attempts to sue a manufacturer or other party in the distribution chain with whom the consumer has not dealt directly.

Consumer Warranty Law: 1.8.2.3 Contractual Limitations on Buyer’s Remedies

Limitations on remedies are different from disclaimers of warranties. The disclaimer of warranty attempts to prevent a warranty right from being created. A contractual limitation on remedies attempts to limit the recovery a consumer can seek when an existing warranty has been breached. Common limitation of remedies clauses limit the consumer’s remedy to repair or replacement, and waive any right to consequential or even direct damages.

Consumer Warranty Law: 1.8.2.4 Notice of Breach

In most cases the consumer must provide prompt notice to the seller of any breach of warranty, as a condition of recovering damages because of that breach.462 The notice need not be formal. The buyer need only communicate to the seller that the transaction is troublesome.

Consumer Warranty Law: 1.8.3 Proving Breach of Warranty

If the buyer has accepted the goods, the buyer has the burden of proving a warranty breach. If the buyer rightfully rejects the goods before legally accepting the goods, then the seller has the burden of proving that the goods conformed to all warranties.465

Repossessions: 1.5.1 Overview

This section provides a list of notable subjects which may arise in automobile sales and finance transactions, pinpointing the subsections where such topics are discussed in this and other NCLC treatises. It is recommended that users view this checklist in the treatise’s digital version, which provides live weblinks to these related subsections.