Legal Question in Business Law in California

Re: Who is ''color-blind''?

If you did not sign a contract or agreement and the shop made an oral representation that the car would have the exact same color as the color you chose in their color swatch then you could have a claim for breach of contract.

If you signed a written agreement it probably contains a merger clause that all oral representations or agreement that were made contemporaneous with the written agreement are merged with the written agreement and chances are that the written agreement states that they cannot guarantee that the color will be painted a specific color or something along those lines.

If you have a written contract read it carefully.

Re: Who is ''color-blind''?

I would say that you are entitled, legally, to exactly the color you selected. In the law of the sale of goods (Uniform Commecial Code) there is a so-called "perfect tender rule" which says, to paraphrase from memory, that the purchaser of goods is entitled to receive goods that conform in all respects to the order, specification or sample, and may refuse to accept and pay for nonconforming goods.

Painting a car involves sale of paint, but the labor content is much greater, so the law of sale of goods wouldn't apply (I think) and the law applicable to services would apply instead.

In the law applicable to providing of services, the law isn't quiute so tough; in many instances "substantial compliance" with the contract is sufficient to entitle the contractor to receive payment. However, even here, the contractor is very often held obliged to carry out explicit requirements of the contract to the letter. For example, if the specifications call for steel with a yield strength of 90,000 p.s.i., then using 85,000 p.s.i. steel isn't acceptable. Similarly, I'd say missing the correct shade of color by one square on a palette of 500 slightly different shades of green would not be a breach of contract (since it wouldn't be detectible to anyone but a trained artist), but missing by 10 or 20 color chips would be a breach.

So, what are the damages? In court, you would probably be awarded the cost to have it re-done properly (whether you had it repainted or not), but not anything for additional out-of-service time, etc. -- in other words, no consequential damages. You would not be required to accept the previous painter's re-doing it if you didn't want that. However, unless you sue, your best bet is to convince this painter he has to do it over using the right color.

I bet they either made a mistake or possibly were trying to foist off some surplus paint.