Common use of Warranty/Defects Clause in Contracts

Warranty/Defects. 1. The condition of the article of sale must correspond to that which has been agreed between the parties, in particular the agreed specifications and drawings. The decisive factor here is the time of transfer of risk. If the article of sale is based on drawings provided by the client, the client retains responsibility for the drawing, particularly in cases where the content of the drawing is unclear or can be understood from an expert perspective in a manner other than that intended by the client. 2. The warranty period is one year from the date of delivery or, if acceptance is required, from the date of acceptance, unless the law provides for a shorter warranty period or no warranty period. Notwithstanding this, the statutory warranty periods are applied to claims for culpable injury to life, body or health and, where there is no evidence of ordinary negligence, to fault-based claims for compensation for property damage or financial loss. The client must provide the seller with an opportunity to inspect the rejected articles of sale. 3. The delivered goods must be carefully inspected by the client or a third party appointed by him immediately upon delivery. They are deemed approved if the seller is not in receipt of a written notice of defects regarding obvious defects or other defects detected in the course of an immediate, thorough inspection within five working days of delivery of the article of sale, or otherwise within five working days of the discovery of the defect or any earlier period in which the defect was apparent to the client during normal use of the article of sale without any further inspection. At the request of the seller, the rejected article of sale must be returned carriage paid to the seller. In the event that the complaint is justified, the seller reimburses the cost of the shipping route with the most favourable terms. However, this does not apply if the costs increase because the article of sale is located at a place other than the place of intended use. 4. If acceptance of the goods or an initial sample inspection has been agreed, the notification of any defects that could have been detected by the client as part of careful acceptance testing or the initial sample inspection is excluded. 5. In cases of material defects of the goods supplied, the seller is entitled and obliged to make an initial choice between repair or replacement within a reasonable period. In the event of failure, i.e. impossibility, unacceptability, refusal or undue delay in repair or replacement, the client may withdraw from the contract or reduce the purchase price accordingly. 6. If a defect is the fault of the seller, the client may demand compensation in accordance with the conditions laid out in section IX. 7. In the event of defects in components made by other manufacturers that cannot be eliminated by the seller for licensing or practical reasons, the seller may, at his own discretion, assert his warranty claims against the manufacturers and suppliers on behalf of the client or assign them to the client. Warranty claims against the seller for such defects under other conditions and in accordance with these general terms and conditions of sale and delivery only apply if legal enforcement of the above-mentioned claims against the manufacturers and suppliers was unsuccessful or has no prospect of success, for example due to insolvency. The period of limitation for the warranty claims of the client against the seller shall be suspended for the duration of the legal dispute. 8. The warranty is void if the client modifies the article of sale or has it modified by a third party without the consent of the seller, thereby rendering the defects impossible or unreasonably difficult to rectify. In all cases, the client bears any additional costs for correction of the defect resulting from the modification. 9. Any deliveries of used goods agreed on a case-by-case basis with the client are subject to the exclusion of any liability for material defects. 10. Legal rights of recourse by the client against the seller exist only insofar as the client has not made any agreements with customers which go beyond the scope of statutory claims for defects.