[pianotech] Warranties

[Israel Stein]

Well, David, would you trust advice from a lawyer who has to tune pianos 
in order to pay his office rent?  ;-)

Anyway, my policy is that I don't let lawyers tune my piano, and I don't 
ask piano tuners for legal advice.

It's funny, don't you think, how we get all bent out of shape any time a 
client dares to to turn a screw or glue a keytop on a piano - but think 
nothing about seeking advice from piano tuners who like to play amateur 
lawyer? We offer professional services on pianos and turn our noses up 
at amateurs who "roll their own", yet we think nothing of playing 
amateur lawyer, accountant, tax expert etc. etc. etc.ourselves...

Ironic...

Israel Stein


>
> You mean we don’t have any contract law attorneys moonlighting as 
> piano technicians on the list!?  I hear work is hard to come by right 
> now for attorneys.
>
>  
>
> David Love
>
> www.davidlovepianos.com
>
>  
>
> *From:* pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] 
> *On Behalf Of *Israel Stein
> *Sent:* Thursday, October 01, 2009 3:24 PM
> *To:* pianotech at ptg.org
> *Subject:* [pianotech] Warranties
>
>  
>
> >David Love wrote:
> >
>
> >Can a dealer issue a warranty on a piano stipulating that the 
> warranty is only valid if their technician services >the  piano?  I 
> thought that was illegal under fair trade laws or something related. 
>
> >David Love
>
> Folks,
>
> An attorney with knowledge of contract law should be consulted. A 
> warranty is a contract, and in some states such a contract may be 
> illegal - and therefore unenforceable - and in others it might not be.
>
> Regardless of any contracts or warranties, in many jurisdictions the 
> doctrine of "implied warranty" is recognized, which may apply even if 
> the dealer's/rebuilder's warranty is legally void.  Which means that 
> the item being sold or item being delivered after rebuilding must be 
> capable of functioning as intended - otherwise the client has a valid 
> claim against the dealer or rebuilder. This is a complicated issue. I 
> was once involved in a small claims case here in California, as the 
> "other" technician who was called on to examine a "rebuilt" piano that 
> did not hold pitch at all over a year after delivery. (it was a botch 
> job - new pinblock with tuning pin torque between 20 and 50 lbs.) What 
> I found out from questions asked and statements made by the judge from 
> the bench is as follows (this of course applies only to California - 
> other states may have different standards):
>
> 1. . It is, up to the buyer to prove that a condition exists which 
> prevents the item from functioning as intended and that this condition 
> is the fault of the dealer or rebuilder.  The dealer or rebuilder 
> cannot prevent the customer from employing others to help ascertain 
> such a condition - implied warranty applies in all cases.
>
> 2. Under implied warranty, the dealer or rebuilder must be given an 
> opportunity to correct the defect. If the dealer or rebuilder refuses 
> or is unable to do so,  the client may hire someone else to do the 
> repair - and make a claim against the dealer or rebuilder. Of course, 
> it would probably involve going to court...
>
> 3. The dealer or rebuilder must be notified of the defect in a 
> reasonable amount of time. In my case the judge essentially punted - 
> he dismissed the case because the problem was not brought to the 
> "rebuilder's" attention in a reasonable amount of time. Never did find 
> out what "reasonable time" meant in California...
>
> In other words - this is an issue for a lawyer, and the rules may 
> differ from state to state.
>
> Israel  Stein
>
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