An express warranty is a statement by the seller relating to the goods, which statement is part of the basis of the bargain. This means that the buyer has purchased the goods on the reasonable assumption that they were as stated by the seller. Thus, a statement by the seller with respect to the quality, capacity, or other characteristic of the goods is an express warranty. For example, “This shirt is 100% cotton.”
No particular form of words is necessary to constitute an express warranty. A sale does not need to state that a warranty is being made or that one is intended. It is sufficient that the seller assert a fact that becomes a part or term of the bargain or transaction between the parties. An express warranty may even be demonstrated by conduct. If the buyer asks to purchase a light blue shirt that is 100% cotton, and the seller hands over a light blue shirt, the seller’s conduct expresses a warranty that the shirt is 100% cotton. The words on the label of a can for Florida orange juice is an express warranty that the orange juice comes from Florida.
“Sales talk” or “puffery” by a seller such as “this is the best used car money can buy” cannot ordinarily treat as a warranty. However, if the buyer has reason to believe that the seller has expert knowledge of the conditions of the market and the buyer requests the seller’s opinion as an expert, the buyer would be entitled to accept as a fact the seller’s statement as to whether a given article was the best obtainable, The statement could be reasonably regarded as forming part of the basis of the bargain.
When the contract is based in part on the understanding that the seller will supply goods according to a particular description or that the goods will be the same as the sample or a model, the seller is bound by an express warranty that the goods shall conform to the description, sample, or model.
If the express warranty is false, there is a breach of the warranty. The warrantor is then liable just as though the truth of the warranty had been guaranteed. It is no defense that the defendant honestly believed that the warranty was true, had exercised due care in manufacturing or handling the product, or had no reason to believe that the warranty was false.