At 02:32 PM 6/6/2006, Bill wrote:
<snip of excellent non-legal description of "merchantability etc." suitable
for us engineers>
> I had a case in Montana once where a piece of strapping cable was being
> used as an elevator rope. When it broke we were sued along with the
> store owner on the claim that the cable was defective because we had not
> warned the store owner not to use it as an elevator rope. The store
> owner paid and we received a verdict of not liable from the jury for a
> variety of very good reasons.
Of course, it's just as likely in this situation that the parties concerned
could mutually agree that it would be more expensive to go to trial (even
though you'd prevail, but perhaps there's no provision for costs and fees)
than just to settle. Such is life in the business world. More than once I
was involved in a business dispute with threats of litigation and everyone
settles and walks away moderately happy, without ever actually deciding who
was right and who was wrong. In my former job in the entertainment industry
(an industry noted for moral elasticity), lawsuits and threats of same are
just another negotiating tool to get the price lowered.. another flavor of
"you'll never work in this town again". Nobody ever expects to actually go
to court, and you're paying the attorneys with OPM (other people's money...
e.g. from the investors in the production).
Leaving this delightful, but glamorous, environment behind was a distinct
motivation in taking my current job at JPL, where all we worry about is
things like the relative positions of Mars and the Earth.
>So the bottom line is that failure to provide detailed instructions may
>avoid a claim of violation of a warranty but it does not avoid the claim
>that the product was defective for failure to tell the user how to use it
>properly or, more importantly, how not to use it improperly.
Jim
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