Warranty - "Representations and Warranties"

"Representations and Warranties"

In complex commercial transactions, buyers and sellers may make specific representations and warranties to each other. In common parlance, these are known as "reps and warranties." These are statements by which one party gives certain assurances to the other, and on which the other party may rely. In this context, a representation is commonly a declaration of a specific fact that can be verified to be true or not, e.g., "seller represents that it is a corporation duly organized and validly existing under the laws of the state of Delaware." Here, a warranty may be more of an assurance, e.g. "supplier warrants that all of its employees working on this project will be subject to confidentiality agreements that include the ability of supplier to seek injunctive relief for breach." Often there are specific remedies or consequences specified if the representations and warranties are not accurate or are not fulfilled. For example, a seller may represent and warrant that it has full ownership title in the item being sold, and that there is no legal impediment to the seller proceeding with the transaction. Should it turn out that the seller did not have complete title or was subject to another agreement that restricted the sale, and should these facts impact the buyer's ownership or cause it expense, the buyer would have remedies under the agreement to seek relief from the seller. Parties to these transactions typically seek representations and warranties to cover issues over which they are concerned. Because of the consequences of making representations and warranties, parties will typically try to limit the extent of any that they make. The tension between these two points of view will help to shape the negotiations between the parties as to the terms and conditions of the deal.