What are our rights against a seller if we purchased damaged equipment andthey will not pay and honor its guaranty?
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What are our rights against a seller if we purchased damaged equipment andthey will not pay and honor its guaranty?
My wife and I bought equipment for our bakery from a supplier in SC. He had a return policy and when we called to tell him about missing parts for the equipment he said that he would make it right. We tracked down the parts and called to have him order them. However now he is asking us to pay for the parts and then bill him, or return the equipment and he will refund our money. I do not believe he will pay if we bill him. Can I take him to small claims court?
Asked on January 20, 2011 under Business Law, Georgia
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
You could sue the supplier for breach of contract for failure to comply with the terms of the contract. Your lawsuit should include additional causes of action (claims) for breach of express warranty (failure to comply with the terms of the written warranty) and breach of implied warranty of merchantability ( the goods you received were not of a quality acceptable in the trade) due to the missing parts.
Your damages (the amount you are seeking to recover in your lawsuit) would be the cost of repairs or the cost of obtaining replacement parts. You would have to mitigate (minimize) damages by obtaining replacement parts at a comparable market price and not the most expensive parts you can find. If you selected the most expensive parts as replacements your damages will be reduced accordingly.
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