Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Re: Boat repair contract

Thanks for your email. The answer, as with much of law, DEPENDS.

Did you have a written contract? Was there a date by which the service was to be performed? Did the service company know that you were going to sell the boat or that it was up for sale?

Sounds to me, on the face of it, that the service company might have breached their agreement to have the work done by a certain time. If it was foreseeable that the lost sale could have happened due to their lack of work, then they are responsible for your damages. You, however, are responsible to continue to list the boat for sale, and if you can sell it, you have to do so, thus limiting your damages.`

Re: Boat repair contract

Certainly you may sue. A starter shouldn't be that expensive. The repair shop knows that it's probably peanuts compared to the potential damages of a lost boat sale. However, I put two new starters on a car, and then found out it was some small switch in the starter circuit. So much for being a shade tree mechanic. I took the car to Pep Boys for a diagnostic check (paid for it too), and was told that the first starter was bad. Although it checked OK on the machine at the shop I purchased it from. They gave me a new starter, and when that didn't work I then took the car to a competent mechanic, and he found the true problem. All this to say it may not be the starter. Although they do sometimes come out of the box, and don't work. Lots of luck. And don't worry about the 4 to 5 month alleged warranty.