If your business sells goods to consumers, you probably deal regularly with warranties. After all, many manufacturers warranty their products to help consumers buy with confidence. If something goes wrong with a product during a specified timeframe, most manufacturers promise to repair or replace the item.
In Massachusetts, many sellers also have a legal duty to impliedly warranty the products they offer customers. Consequently, if your business sells to customers, you should know about the implied warranty of merchantability.
Not an express warranty
Some products come with detailed warranty information from the manufacturer. These warranties are express and not implied, though. That is, they stem from an explicit promise.
According to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the products you sell might also have an implied warranty of merchantability. This warranty guarantees to your customers that the products they buy will work as intended for a reasonable time period. The products also must be reasonably safe, efficient and easy to use.
A binding warranty for some sellers
While the implied warranty of merchantability applies to many sellers, it does not apply to everyone. If you are not a merchant under state law, you likely do not give your customers an implied warranty of merchantability. The same is probably true if you are a merchant but do not typically sell the sort of product your customer has purchased.
Ultimately, if something goes wrong with the products you sell, your business might be liable for damages pursuant to a breach of implied warranty claim.
