[Volokh] David Kopel: Advanced Topics in Warranty Law:

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Posted by David Kopel:
Advanced Topics in Warranty Law:
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2009_04_05-2009_04_11.shtml#1239246824


   A product is sold with printed warranties in three different
   languages. The consumer reads and understands each of them. The
   different languages offer different warranty terms. Which warranty
   controls?
   Factual background: Last week, Denver University law students
   organized a firearms safety field trip to Cherry Creek State Park. The
   day before, students were taught firearms safety by Colorado lawyer
   Anthony Fabian. At the state park, the students could rent firearms
   and buy ammunition, and practice responsible firearms use. The DU Law
   Republicans paid most of the costs for the rentals and ammunition.
   Several dozen students attended the event at Cherry Creek, and I
   joined them. At the event, I purchased (well, actually I obtained for
   free, thanks to the generous DU Law Republicans), a box of ammunition.
   The box was the least expensive .45 caliber ammunition that was
   available. It was manufactured by Aguila, a Mexican company.
   (Ironically, Mexican citizens are [1]generally forbidden from
   possessing .45 handgun ammunition.)
   Being an attorney, I of course carefully read the warranty on the box.
   The Spanish warranty states: "Garantizamos que fue fabricado con
   esmero." [We guarantee that it was made with great care.] In French:
   "Nous garantissons que ce produit a ete fabrique avec the plus grand
   soin." [We guarantee that this product has been made with the greatest
   care.] (Note for linguists: the box's printed text does not include
   accent marks in any language.) In English: "We guarantee the exercise
   of reasonable care in the manufacture."
   So we have three different levels of guarantee: greatest care
   (French), great care (Spanish), and reasonable care (English). If
   there were a product liability case in which the particular standard
   made a difference, which one would control?
   After the guarantee, there is a disclaimer. In Spanish: "pero no
   asumimos responsabilidad alguna." [But we assume no other
   responsibility.] In English: "but assume no further responsibility."
   In French: "Nous nous dechargeons du toute responsibilite en cas
   utislation non-conforme."[We disclaim all responsibility in case of
   non-conforming usage.]
   So the Spanish and English disclaimers are the same, and they disclaim
   all responsibility beyond some degree of care in manufacture. In
   contrast, the French disclaimer appears to be much narrower, and
   disclaims responsibility only for non-conforming uses. Other text on
   the box provides various safety rules (e.g., "Only use guns in good
   conditions. Treat every gun as if it was loaded.") But these rules too
   differ among the languages. In English: "Keep gun pointed in a safe
   direction." In French, "Ne jamais pointer l'arme en direction d'une
   personne." [Never point the arm in the direction of a person.] The
   English language version is better stated, since sometimes pointing
   the gun at a person (who is a violent attacker) is proper gun safety,
   and since there can be unsafe pointing even when not pointing at a
   person (e.g., shooting at a paper target without being sure that the
   backstop is safe).
   So, if there is a product liability case, does the near-total
   English/Spanish disclaimer apply? Or the much narrower French
   disclaimer, which appears to discharge liability only for violations
   of the safety rules? Can a plaintiff pick and choose languages--such
   as relying on the narrow French disclaimer, but then citing the
   English version of a safety rule to determine what is a non-conforming
   use?

References

   1. http://davekopel.org/Espanol/mexican-firearms-statutes.htm