The Vermont Statutes Online
The Statutes below include the actions of the 2025 session of the General Assembly.
NOTE: The Vermont Statutes Online is an unofficial copy of the Vermont Statutes Annotated that is provided as a convenience.
(Cite as: 9A V.S.A. § 2-316)
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§ 2—316. Exclusion or modification of warranties
(1) Words or conduct relevant to the creation of an express warranty and words or conduct tending to negate or limit warranty shall be construed wherever reasonable as consistent with each other; but subject to the provisions of this article on parol or extrinsic evidence (§ 2—202) negation or limitation is inoperative to the extent that such construction is unreasonable.
(2) Subject to subsection (3) of this section, to exclude or modify the implied warranty
or merchantability or any part of it the language must mention merchantability and
in case of a writing must be conspicuous, and to exclude or modify any implied warranty
of fitness the exclusion must be by a writing and conspicuous. Language to exclude
all implied warranties of fitness is sufficient if it states, for example, that “There
are no warranties which extend beyond the description on the face hereof.”
(3) Notwithstanding subsection (2) of this section:
(a) unless the circumstances indicate otherwise, all implied warranties of fitness may
be excluded by expressions like “as is”, “with all faults” or other language which
in common understanding calls the buyer’s attention to the exclusion of warranties
and makes plain that there is no implied warranty; and
(b) when the buyer before entering into the contract has examined the goods or the sample
or model as fully as he or she desired or has refused to examine the goods there is
no implied warranty with regard to defects which an examination ought in the circumstances
to have revealed to him or her; and
(c) an implied warranty can also be excluded or modified by course of dealing or course
of performance or usage of trade.
(4) Remedies for breach of warranty can be limited in accordance with the provisions of this article on liquidation or limitation of damages and on contractual modification of remedy (§§ 2—718 and 2—719).
(5) The provisions of subsections (2), (3) and (4) of this section shall not apply to
sales of new or unused consumer goods or services. Any language, oral or written,
used by a seller or manufacturer of consumer goods and services, which attempts to
exclude or modify any implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular
purpose or to exclude or modify the consumer’s remedies for breach of those warranties,
shall be unenforceable. For the purposes of this section, “consumer” means consumer
as defined in 9 V.S.A. chapter 63. (Amended 1971, No. 235 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. July 1, 1972.)