Legal Question in Consumer Law in New York

Unbrella Question

We are a manufactuer of Umbrellas and we have a plant in Mexico. We have a Rep who has a customer that we made umbrellas for and when they came from Mexico they were defective and now the customer wants to cancel the whole order. We want to have them redone and show them we can do the job. We have already been paid. Do we have any obligation to give the money back when we want to do the umbrellas right this time.

We have been in business a long time and want to do it right.


Asked on 10/07/05, 5:26 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Lawrence Silverman Law Firm of Lawrence Silverman

Re: Unbrella Question

In general: New York's Uniform Commercial Code would generally, (subject to some exceptional circumstances)p4rovide as follows: Your buyer is entitled to a refund under these circumstances. However, if the agreed upon delivery date has not yet passed, you would also be allowed the opportunity to deliver non-defective umbrellas before the agreed upon delivery date passes and the buyer would be legally bound to accept and pay for that delivery of umbrellas.

New York's "Perfect Tender Rule", as set forth in section 2-601 of New York's Uniform Commercial Code, allows the buyer the option of rejecting the entire shipment when the seller provides "non-conforming goods", for example defective umbrellas as in this case.

Moreover, when the buyer was within his rights to reject what are admittedly defective goods as in this case, section 2-711 of New York's Uniform Commercial Code allows the buyer to recover a refund of price already paid for these goods.

Nevertheless, if the contractually agreed upon time of delivery for the umbrellas has not already past, you are entitled to provide a replacement contractually conforming

non-defective umbrellas before the contractually agreed upon delivery time lapses, and the buyer would be obligated to accept these and pay you any part of the price that had been refunded.

Note however, that all of the above depends upon the nature of the sales agreement between you and the buyer, that these above cited Uniform Commercial Code rules may be inapplicable to you if they were modified or waived in that sales agreement since sections 2-718 and 2-719 of New York's Uniform Commercial Code allow for "contractual modification or limitation of remedy."

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Answered on 10/11/05, 11:39 pm


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