Palm Harbor, FL Breach of Warranty Lawyers

A warranty represents a formal written agreement issued to a consumer who purchased a product. Manufacturers typically create warranties to give consumers peace of mind that if something goes wrong with a product, the manufacturer promises to repair or replace the product.

Breach of warranty occurs when a seller, distributor, or manufacturer does not fulfill the promise to sell a product of a certain quality. The period extended for the warranty is the amount of time a product is covered by the legally binding warranty document. Warranties can extend as long as several years for high-ticket consumer goods such as furniture and automobiles.

Before 1975, consumers had no guarantees that a product or service sold to them would meet the minimum standards of quality as promised by a business. That all changed with the passage of the Magnuson-Moss Act, which is a landmark federal law protecting consumers that have purchased defective products. The federal consumer protection law covers a wide variety of products, with a focus on high-price products such as appliances and motor vehicles. Magnuson-Moss covers products that cost more than $10 and come with a written warranty. The groundbreaking federal consumer protection law mandates all companies to provide consumers with detailed descriptions concerning the specifications of a warranty.

The introduction of the written warranty represented the first time consumers had enough information to make the right choices when shopping for consumer goods.

According to the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), the federal government enforces two types of warranties: Express and implied.

Express Warranty

Whether it is written or spoken, an express warranty promises that a product meets a certain standard of quality. An express warranty can be a statement made during negotiations over the purchase of a product, as well as a tag on a product or language written into a sales agreement. Manufacturers of products create express warranties to ensure the quality of their products for a specified period. Many express warranties are written directly on a product package or come inside a product package in the form of a pamphlet.

Implied Warranty

A majority of products purchased by consumers receive guarantees under an implied warranty, which is a promise made that everyone expects to be made. For example, if you buy a vacuum and the vacuum produces insufficient suction, the manufacturer is required to repair the problem or send you another vacuum of the same style and year of production. Another example involves the sale of a refrigerator. The manufacturer of the refrigerator produces each unit to comply with the proper standard functions, such as keeping foods cooled at the correct temperature. 

If a seller, distributor, or manufacturer committed a breach of warranty, you might have enough evidence to file a persuasive lawsuit that seeks monetary damages. When a consumer faces a breach of warranty, the consumer might be able to file a civil lawsuit under the guidelines established by the Universal Commercial Code (UCC). Administered by the Uniform Law Commission, the UCC represents a wide range of laws that set the legal requirements for every commercial transaction completed in the United States.

The UCC allows both consumers and businesses to enter into contracts knowing the federal government enforces the legal guidelines established by the UCC. When you meet for a free case evaluation with an experienced Morgan and Morgan attorney, you can expect to learn more about the influence the UCC has over breach of warranty cases.

If a seller, distributor, or manufacturer committed a breach of warranty, you should know what steps to take to remedy the frustrating breach. The type of action that you take depends on the type of transaction. For lower-price items such as toiletries and kitchen accessories, you can approach the seller, distributor, or manufacturer and ask for a new product. Larger transactions require a more formal approach that involves hiring one of the best breach of warranty lawyers in Palm Harbor, Florida.

Filing a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages should be viewed as a legal action of last resort. Your goal should be to have a product repaired or replaced, without having to litigate a civil lawsuit. If your Morgan and Morgan breach of warranty lawyer recommends filing a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages, your legal counsel must prove several points for your case to end in your favor.

You Purchased the Product from the Seller

The first element to prove a breach of warranty case is showing you bought the product in question from the seller. This means you must present a copy of the sales receipt. If for some reason you cannot find the sales receipt, your breach of warranty attorney from Morgan & Morgan will ask you to hand over the credit card statement that demonstrates when and where you purchased the defective product.

Seller Provided an Express Warranty

A copy of or the original content written into an express warranty demonstrates the seller promised to sell you a product of a certain quality to last for a specified period. Because many manufacturers print express warranties onto packages, you might not be able to come up with the express warranty because you threw out the package the manufacturer used to ship the product or sell the product in a retail environment.

Product Failed to Meet Quality Standards

For larger, costlier consumer products, proving a seller failed to deliver on its promise of quality is relatively easy to do. For example, you can take a vehicle into a repair shop and receive a document that lists the operational issues with the car. The document includes a date to verify the product is still covered under the express warranty created by the seller. For more commonly purchased products, proving a product failed to meet certain quality standards requires you to present evidence, such as photographs depicting what is wrong with the product that you purchased from a seller.

You Suffered Damages

Once again, proving this element is easier for larger, costlier consumer products. For example, a refrigerator that does not properly keep foods cool might lead to the development of a foodborne illness. To prove you suffered damages, your Morgan and Morgan breach of warranty attorney submits copies of medical records, as well the copy of an invoice that shows how much the defective refrigerator costs. In addition to tangible economic damages, you also might have suffered from intangible damages like pain and suffering.

What factors should you consider when reviewing the credentials of Palm Harbor, FL breach of warranty lawyers? The first step is to ensure every attorney under consideration has a license to practice law in the State of Florida. Second, you should hire a breach of warranty attorney who charges on a contingency fee basis. This means you pay no upfront legal fees and your lawyer gets paid when you receive monetary damages.

Experience Handling Breach of Warranty Cases

Hiring an experienced product liability attorney is not enough to build a compelling civil lawsuit. You want to work with an experienced product liability lawyer who specializes in litigating breach of warranty cases. At Morgan and Morgan, we have offices located across the United States that are staffed with attorneys who specialize in breach of warranty cases. Experience litigating breach of warranty cases in Palm Harbor, Florida only matters if the experience has resulted in an overwhelming number of favorable outcomes for clients.

Tries to Negotiate a Settlement

The Palm Harbor, FL breach of warranty lawyers at Morgan and Morgan try to negotiate a favorable settlement for our clients before taking a case before a judge overseeing a civil lawsuit. Negotiating a settlement to your breach of warranty case allows you to avoid participating in the costly and time-consuming litigation process. Your attorney submits a reasonable offer to kick off negotiations that the seller’s lawyer can either accept or submit a counteroffer. Negotiations can go back and forth several times until both parties agree to a settlement or they reach an impasse that moves the case to the trial phase of the litigation process.

Responsive Communicator

A breach of warranty case can take several sudden turns, which means you want to work with one of the Palm Harbor FL breach of warranty lawyers at Morgan and Morgan. We keep our clients informed in real-time by making phone calls and sending text messages. Our law firm offers support 24 hours a day, and our attorneys return emails, text messages, and phone calls within 24 hours of receiving them. You can discover how responsive an attorney is through the communications sent before the free case evaluation.

Handles Your Case for the Entire Time

Your breach of warranty case is too important to delegate legal responsibilities to a paralegal and/or less experienced litigator. Unfortunately, far too many breach of warranty lawyers hand off cases to subordinates, which means you do not receive the same level of representation throughout the entire litigation process. Morgan and Morgan's breach of warranty attorneys represent our clients from the day of the free case evaluation to the day we resolve their cases.

Positive Online Client Reviews

Positive online client reviews, such as the ones left on sites such as Yelp and Google, should provide you with insight into the reputation of every attorney on your shortlist of candidates. Morgan & Morgan has received hundreds of positive client reviews across multiple online platforms. When you read our client reviews, you should notice common themes such as integrity, transparency, and the ability to negotiate settlements. We also have received the highest reputation rating of A+ from the Better Business Bureau (BBB).

Known as the preeminent personal injury law firm in the United States, Morgan and Morgan also has earned the reputation for recruiting and developing the best breach of warranty lawyers in Palm Harbor, Florida. Because of its proximity to numerous waterways, many of our cases involve a breach of warranty that is associated with a marine vessel. Our Palm Harbor breach of warranty lawyers have a deep understanding of what should be the quality standards for a wide variety of boats.

Do not allow a seller, distributor, or manufacturer to walk over you by violating the terms of a product warranty. Schedule a free case evaluation today with one of the Palm Harbor, FL breach of warranty lawyers from Morgan and Morgan to learn more about your rights under state and federal warranty laws.