warranties

Warranties are terms of contracts that, when breached, allow an innocent party to sue for damages but not terminate the contract for repudiation. As such, warranties contrast with contractual conditions.

A warranty may be described as a term of a contract that is collateral to the main purpose of the contract, otherwise it would be characterised as a condition of the contract. Collateral warranties are warranties given in respect to another contract and not forming part of the contract in dispute. These are also known as collateral contracts.

Usage: The term to pay the supplier within 14 days of the end of the month over the course of the 5 year contract was construed as a warranty rather than as a condition of the contract.

Related Words: conditions of contract; intermediate term; repudiation; breach of contract.