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David Axt, AIA, CCS, CSI
Senior Member
Username: david_axt

Post Number: 839
Registered: 03-2002
Posted on Thursday, March 22, 2007 - 04:29 pm:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post

There has been some discussion at my office about warranty requirements in the specs actually limiting the owner's rights under the Uniform Commercial Code. For example if we say that the product must have a 2 year warranty we actually may be cutting the warranty period short by 4 years since UCC warranty requirements are 6 years.

Can someone please explain further.

Thanks!
Robert W. Johnson
Senior Member
Username: bob_johnson

Post Number: 141
Registered: 08-2004
Posted on Thursday, March 22, 2007 - 04:42 pm:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post

Look at PRM 5.16.3, 5.16.3.2, 5.18, 5.18.1-10.
John Bunzick, CCS, CCCA
Senior Member
Username: bunzick

Post Number: 685
Registered: 03-2002
Posted on Thursday, March 22, 2007 - 04:42 pm:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post

You very well may be limiting the owner's recourse by specifying a warranty clause, but not becaues of the UCC. The uniform commercial code will only affect transactions between the contractor and the manufacturer, not between the contractor and the owner, because construction is not considered a commercial transaction. The terms of the contract and the statute of repose in effect in your state would govern the overall warranty on a construction project. The Project Resource Manual has an extensive discussion on warranties in section 5.18.
Anne Whitacre, FCSI CCS
Senior Member
Username: awhitacre

Post Number: 492
Registered: 07-2002
Posted on Thursday, March 22, 2007 - 08:35 pm:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post

David: don't the people in your office have enough work? why are they talking about this stuff?
Wayne Yancey
Senior Member
Username: wyancey

Post Number: 327
Registered: 05-2005
Posted on Friday, March 23, 2007 - 11:15 am:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post

David,

I searched the UCC but could locate the 6 year period of which you spoke or any mention of warranties for that matter. Please send a link to the appropriate Article(s).

Anne is correct. Your co-workers have way to much time on their hands.

Thanks
George A. Everding, AIA, CSI, CCS, CCCA
Senior Member
Username: geverding

Post Number: 278
Registered: 11-2004
Posted on Friday, March 23, 2007 - 11:34 am:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post

Re: Time on hands...

Well, at least they realize such things exist. Most people where I've worked were not even remotely aware of the UCC, or what warranties mean. Maybe David needs to direct these folks to the PRM and to suggest they study for the CDT.

David, sounds like you have some future specwriters out there; if they become specwriters, they'll never have too much time on their hands.
John Bunzick, CCS, CCCA
Senior Member
Username: bunzick

Post Number: 686
Registered: 03-2002
Posted on Friday, March 23, 2007 - 12:19 pm:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post

The 6 year period you are looking for is most likely the statute of repose. It is 6 years in a number of states, but is not uniform across the country. Nothing to do with the UCC, under which warranties can be estabished simply by including information on them in sales literature, catalogs or invoices.
Phil Kabza
Senior Member
Username: phil_kabza

Post Number: 241
Registered: 12-2002
Posted on Saturday, March 24, 2007 - 02:18 pm:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post

Back to David's original question.

It is possible to unwittingly limit an owner's rights through inclusion of certain warranty requirements in construction specifications, though per the above comments, the limitation doesn't stem from the project state's commercial statutes based on the UCC. The unsought limitation stems from inclusion of terms and conditions in the published warranty.

The owner may be better served without reference to a specific warranty time period or specific failure characteristics, and especially if the language references a "manufacturer's standard warranty." The owner may be entitled to sue for damages unencumbered by the limitations of the warranty. When including warranty provisions in a section, it is common to include a "does not limit other Owner's rights" provision.

I've presented the warranty portion of the PRM to five CDT workshops this year. I look forward to a future edition of the PRM that moves the UCC and purchasing warranty discussion into a separate chapter so that it can be removed from CDT material; it's CCS level stuff, and even then, many of us don't run into it often in practice. I don't know a compelling argument to include it along with basic construction warranty education.
Robert W. Johnson
Senior Member
Username: bob_johnson

Post Number: 142
Registered: 08-2004
Posted on Saturday, March 24, 2007 - 02:55 pm:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post

I respectively disagree with Phil's opinion about the coverage of warranties in the PRM and in relation to CDT.

I think that warranties are an important consideration for all the participants in the design and construction process and are an important subject for all the participants to have a basic understanding of the warranty provisions of the UCC, of the AIA/EJCDC documents, government projects, and manufacturer's warranties and how they apply and don't apply in the various relationships of the various participants. This would include the Owner, A/E, contractor, subcontractors, and suppliers as well as lawyers, insurance advisors, etc.

It is important for all the participants to understand their roles, responsibilities, and rights under warranties. It would be my experience that many of the participants don't have that basic understanding and have major misconceptions about warranties. I believe that warranties is a much bigger issue beyond just specifications.
Anonymous
 
Posted on Tuesday, March 27, 2007 - 04:48 pm:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post

What purpose does UCC have in the context of the PRM and construction industry if, as one previous poster asserts:

"The uniform commercial code will only affect transactions between the contractor and the manufacturer, not between the contractor and the owner, because construction is not considered a commercial transaction."?

Why all the importance about the UCC in the PRM? Seems to me as though more attention should be spent on warranties that specifiers have to deal with, than on the UCC.

What am I missing here?
Robert W. Johnson
Senior Member
Username: bob_johnson

Post Number: 143
Registered: 08-2004
Posted on Tuesday, March 27, 2007 - 06:19 pm:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post

I think what you missing is what the PRM and the CDT program are about and who they are for.

From the PRM on its benefits (Page xxviii):
...the PRM is designed to be an accessible resource for all project participants, including owners, architects, engineers, design-builders, contractors, construction managers, product representatives, financial institutions, attorneys, regulatory authorities, and facility
managers. In this respect, it serves and reflects the need for mutually dependent processes of design, construction, and facility use."

CDT Description from CSI Website:
"The Construction Documents Technology (CDT) Program provides a comprehensive overview for anyone who writes, interprets, enforces, or manages construction documents. Project architects, contractors, contract administrators, material suppliers, and manufacturers’ representatives are all realizing the advantages of being Construction Documents Technologists.

By being able to understand and interpret written construction documents, CDTs perform their jobs more effectively. By understanding the roles and relationships of all partipants, CDTs improve communication among all members of the construction team.

CDT Exam Overview
CDT candidates must demonstrate their knowledge of CSI's recommended practices in the following subject areas:
The construction process
* Construction contract types
* Modifications and substitution procedures

Contractual relationships
* Rights, duties, and responsibilities
* Contract provisions
* Relationship and organization of construction documents

Use of construction documents
* Organizational formats
* Interpreting construction documents"

The PRM and the CDT program is for all the participants, about the total process, and includes the relationships among all the participants including the relationship between contractor and manufacturer.
Phil Kabza
Senior Member
Username: phil_kabza

Post Number: 243
Registered: 12-2002
Posted on Tuesday, March 27, 2007 - 09:06 pm:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post

I'm pretty hesitant to ignore Mr. Johnson's sage advice and promise a complete reread of the PRM warranty material after my last class tomorrow. CSI's broad intentions for the CDT are notable and significant, and I support them. But presenting the UCC-based warranty material intermixed with construction contract warranty material and traditional legal term definitions, as it is presented in the PRM, is unnecessarily painful. Students are completely overwhelmed by it. I've tried a couple of reorganizations of my own instructional material, and I'm not satisfied yet. I'll try for V.3.0 for next year.

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