Breach of Warranty Demand Letter - Alabama

DEMAND LETTER - BREACH OF WARRANTY

State of Alabama

[LAW FIRM NAME]
Attorneys at Law
[FIRM ADDRESS LINE 1]
[CITY], Alabama [ZIP]
Tel: [TELEPHONE]
Fax: [FAX]
Email: [EMAIL]
Alabama State Bar No. [BAR NUMBER]

SENT VIA CERTIFIED MAIL, RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED

[DATE]

[RECIPIENT NAME]
[RECIPIENT TITLE]
[COMPANY NAME]
[ADDRESS LINE 1]
[CITY, STATE ZIP]

Re: FORMAL DEMAND - BREACH OF EXPRESS AND IMPLIED WARRANTIES
Our Client: [CLIENT NAME]
Product/Goods: [DESCRIPTION]
Date of Purchase: [DATE]
Invoice/Order Number: [NUMBER]
Demand Amount: $[TOTAL]

Dear [RECIPIENT NAME]:

This firm represents [CLIENT NAME] ("our Client") regarding the [PRODUCT DESCRIPTION] (the "Product") purchased from [SELLER NAME] ("you") on or about [DATE]. The Product has failed to conform to express and implied warranties under Alabama law. This letter constitutes formal demand for cure and/or compensation.

THIS IS A FORMAL WARRANTY NOTICE AND DEMAND. The Magnuson-Moss provisions below apply only if the completed federal-law screening establishes coverage.

Before sending, counsel should confirm:

• ☐ The correct seller, supplier, warrantor, and service contractor have been identified.
• ☐ The complete sales contract, warranty, service contract, disclaimers, remedy limitations, and dispute procedure have been reviewed.
• ☐ The claimant's buyer, consumer, or third-party status is supported by the transaction facts.
• ☐ Every requested damage is documented and tied to an available remedy.
• ☐ The limitations worksheet in Section VI is complete; this letter does not toll or extend a filing deadline.

I. TRANSACTION BACKGROUND

On or about [DATE], our Client purchased the following:

Purchase Order/Invoice: [NUMBER]
Delivery Date: [DATE]

II. WARRANTIES UNDER ALABAMA LAW

A. Express Warranties - Ala. Code section 7-2-313

Under Alabama Code § 7-2-313, an affirmation of fact or promise, description, sample, or model creates an express warranty only when it becomes part of the basis of the bargain. A mere opinion, commendation, or affirmation of value does not create a warranty.

You made the following express warranties:

☐ Written Warranty: [QUOTE WARRANTY LANGUAGE]
☐ Advertising/Marketing Claims: [DESCRIBE]
☐ Oral Representations by Sales Personnel: [DESCRIBE]
☐ Product Specifications: [DESCRIBE]

B. Implied Warranty of Merchantability - Ala. Code section 7-2-314

If you were a merchant with respect to goods of this kind and the warranty was not effectively excluded or modified, Alabama Code §§ 7-2-314 and 7-2-316 supplied an implied warranty of merchantability. Merchantable goods must at least:

• Fit for the ordinary purposes for which such goods are used;
• Of fair average quality within the description;
• Adequately contained, packaged, and labeled;
• Conforming to any promises or affirmations on the container or label.

The Product fails to meet merchantability standards because: [DESCRIBE HOW PRODUCT FAILS]

C. Implied Warranty of Fitness for Particular Purpose - Ala. Code section 7-2-315

If, at contracting, you had reason to know both the particular purpose and the buyer's reliance on your skill or judgment to select or furnish suitable goods, and the warranty was not effectively excluded or modified, Alabama Code §§ 7-2-315 and 7-2-316 supplied an implied warranty of fitness for that purpose.

Our Client communicated to you that the Product was needed for: [DESCRIBE PARTICULAR PURPOSE]

The Product has failed this warranty because: [DESCRIBE FAILURE]

D. Claimant Status - Ala. Code § 7-2-318

[USE ONLY FOR A NATURAL PERSON CLAIMING PERSONAL INJURY:] Alabama Code § 7-2-318 extends a seller's warranty to a natural person whom it was reasonable to expect might use, consume, or be affected by the goods and who was injured in person by the breach.

Facts supporting application: [IDENTIFY THE NATURAL PERSON, EXPECTED USE OR EXPOSURE, PERSONAL INJURY, AND CAUSAL LINK]

[FOR ECONOMIC-LOSS CLAIMS BY A NONBUYER: Do not rely on § 7-2-318. Counsel must identify and support a separate basis to enforce the warranty.]

III. BREACH OF WARRANTIES

A. The Defects

The Product has the following defects:

Defect #1:

• Description: [DESCRIBE THE DEFECT]
• When Discovered: [DATE]
• Warranty Violated: [EXPRESS/IMPLIED]

Defect #2:

• [CONTINUE AS NEEDED]

B. Notice of Breach

Our Client notified the seller within a reasonable time after discovering or when the buyer should have discovered the breach, as required by Alabama Code § 7-2-607(3)(a):

C. Your Failure to Cure

☐ You refused to honor the warranty
☐ Repair attempts were unsuccessful
☐ You failed to respond to warranty claims
☐ The agreement made [REPAIR/REPLACEMENT/OTHER] the exclusive remedy, and the following circumstances caused that remedy to fail of its essential purpose under Ala. Code § 7-2-719(2): [FACTS]

IV. MAGNUSON-MOSS SCREENING AND NOTICE

[DELETE THIS SECTION UNLESS EVERY APPLICABLE BOX IS COMPLETED.]

• ☐ The Product is tangible personal property normally used for personal, family, or household purposes and was distributed in commerce. See 15 U.S.C. § 2301(1).
• ☐ Our Client is a statutory consumer and acquired the Product for a purpose other than resale. See 15 U.S.C. § 2301(3).
• ☐ [NAME] is the supplier, warrantor, or service contractor responsible for the obligation identified below.
• ☐ The written warranty, implied warranty, or service-contract obligation is attached and identified precisely.
• ☐ Any informal dispute settlement procedure incorporated into the written warranty has been reviewed and, if § 2310(a)(3) requires initial resort to it, completed: [DETAILS].

Covered failure: [QUOTE THE OBLIGATION AND DESCRIBE THE FAILURE]

☐ Section 2308 issue: The supplier gave a written warranty or entered a qualifying service contract at sale or within 90 days afterward, yet attempted to disclaim or modify an implied warranty contrary to 15 U.S.C. § 2308. The relevant documents and dates are: [DETAILS].

This notice is intended to afford the person obligated under the warranty or service contract a reasonable opportunity to cure as contemplated by 15 U.S.C. § 2310(e). It does not concede that any additional contractual or statutory precondition applies.

If our Client finally prevails in an action under § 2310(d), the court may allow reasonably incurred costs and expenses, including attorneys' fees based on actual time expended, unless the court determines in its discretion that an award would be inappropriate. No fee award is automatic.

V. DAMAGES UNDER ALABAMA LAW

A. Accepted-Goods Warranty Measure - Ala. Code § 7-2-714

The ordinary measure is the difference, at the time and place of acceptance, between the value of the goods accepted and the value they would have had as warranted. A different amount requires special circumstances showing proximate damages. Do not combine overlapping measures.

B. Incidental Damages - Ala. Code § 7-2-715(1)

C. Consequential Damages - Ala. Code § 7-2-715(2)

For a requirements-or-needs loss, identify what the seller had reason to know at contracting and why cover or another reasonable step could not prevent the loss. For injury to person or property, identify proximate causation. Review any contractual exclusion or limitation under § 7-2-719 before demanding these amounts.

D. Price Recovery After Justifiable Revocation - Ala. Code §§ 7-2-608 and 7-2-711

[USE ONLY IF THE REVOCATION REQUIREMENTS IN SECTION VII ARE MET.] Price paid and sought: $[AMOUNT]. Identify any offset, retained benefit, or overlapping damage to avoid double recovery: [DETAILS].

E. Potential Magnuson-Moss Costs and Fees

[IF SECTION IV APPLIES:] Costs and fees are not included as an automatic fixed entitlement. Current amount reasonably incurred: $[AMOUNT]. Any award remains subject to 15 U.S.C. § 2310(d)(2) and the court's discretion.

F. TOTAL NONDUPLICATIVE AMOUNT DEMANDED: $[TOTAL]

VI. STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS

Do not state that the claim is timely until this worksheet is complete. Under Alabama Code § 7-2-725, an action for breach of a contract for sale generally must begin within four years after accrual, but the original agreement may reduce that period to no less than one year.

This demand does not commence an action, toll a period, or extend the calculated filing date.

VII. DEMAND

Within [30] calendar days of your receipt of this letter:

☐ Option A - Monetary Compensation: Pay $[TOTAL] to our Client

☐ Option B - Cure: Provide [REPLACEMENT/REPAIR] and pay the supported, nonduplicative damages of $[AMOUNT]

☐ Option C - Revocation of Acceptance: Our Client gives notice of revocation under Ala. Code § 7-2-608 because the nonconformity substantially impairs the Product's value to the Client and:

• ☐ acceptance rested on a reasonable assumption of seasonable cure, but cure did not occur; or
• ☐ acceptance without discovery was reasonably induced by difficulty of discovery or the seller's assurances.

The revocation is within a reasonable time after discovery or when discovery should have occurred, and before any substantial nondefect-caused change in the Product's condition. The Client demands relief available for a justifiable revocation under § 7-2-711, including:

• Full refund of purchase price: $[AMOUNT]
• Supported incidental and consequential damages: $[AMOUNT]
• Written return instructions and a commercially reasonable return arrangement

VIII. CONSEQUENCES OF NON-COMPLIANCE

If this demand is not satisfied, our Client will file suit in Alabama seeking:

1. Direct, incidental, and consequential damages supported by the agreement, applicable law, and proof
2. Price recovery or other relief if revocation is justifiable
3. Costs and expenses, including attorneys' fees, only if allowed under 15 U.S.C. § 2310(d)(2) or another identified authority
4. Court costs where recoverable
5. Any other relief supported by the pleaded claims and proof

IX. DOCUMENT PRESERVATION

Preserve all records relating to the Product, including design, manufacturing, quality control, and other customer complaints.

Govern yourself accordingly.

Very truly yours,

[LAW FIRM NAME]

By: _______________________________
[ATTORNEY NAME]
Alabama State Bar No. [BAR NUMBER]

Enclosures:
☐ Exhibit A - Written Warranty
☐ Exhibit B - Purchase Documents
☐ Exhibit C - Prior Correspondence/Warranty Claims
☐ Exhibit D - Documentation of Defects
☐ Exhibit E - Damage Calculations

cc: [CLIENT NAME]
[MANUFACTURER, if different from seller]