Have you ever wondered why so many manufacturers include the word “limited” in the title of their warranty? Thanks go to the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, a federal statutory scheme that requires warranties for consumer goods to be designated as either “full” or “limited.” It is more common to see a “limited” warranty in the window industry because a warranty is “full” only if each of the following is true:

1. Duration of implied warranties are not limited. This means that with a “full” warranty the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose cannot be disclaimed or limited in duration. On the other hand, with a “limited” warranty, a warrantor can shorten the period in which a claim can be brought for breach of implied warranties.

2. Warranty service is provided to anyone owning the product during the warranty period. One way to manage potential liability if a “full” warranty is desired is to restrict coverage to a specific number of years (e.g. Full 10-Year Warranty) or restrict it to the period in which the product is owned by the original purchaser (e.g. “for as long as the original purchaser owns the home”).

3. Warranty service is provided free of charge. “Without charge” includes installation without charge if the product only has utility when installed, even if the consumer did not originally pay for installation by the warrantor. This is likely the biggest reason why window manufacturer warranties are generally “limited,” because window products do not have utility unless they are installed in a structure and a window manufacturer who did not perform the original install is unlikely to assume this potential liability.

4. Option for replacement product or refund. If, after a reasonable number of tries, the warrantor is unable to repair a defective product, the consumer can choose to either receive a replacement product or a refund.

5. To receive warranty service, the consumer only has to notify you that service is needed. The warrantor cannot require that the consumer do anything other than request service unless it can be demonstrated that the duty is reasonable. For example, it has been found that requiring the submission of a warranty registration card is an unreasonable requirement.

Given these requirements of a “full” warranty, it is likely that we will continue to see more “limited” warranties in the window industry. The key is to make sure that the warranty is titled either “full” or “limited” if consumer goods are sold.