Does anybody know what the legal liability is for a constructor who sells his aircraft? Is it indefinite or does buyer beware apply? I would be grateful to hear others opinions.
SJG
constructors liability afte sale
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Ian Melville
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Re: constructors liability afte sale
Did I just hear a can of worms being opened 
Ian Melville
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Daniel Scott
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Re: constructors liability afte sale
Amateur construction sold privately, there ought to be some clues there. It seems to me that if you want a warranty buy a Cessna.
Daniel Scott
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macconnacher
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Re: constructors liability afte sale
For details of the Sale of Goods Act try the SOGA website http://www.oft.gov.uk/business-advice/t ... /sogahome/ but this is essentially retailer to customer information.
Whatever you sell has to be fit for the purpose for which it has been sold.
i.e. You sell say an old Luton Minor that has not flown for years and therefore has no Permit, as a pile of parts, then that is what it is. If it is a flying aircraft and you sell it as such then whether it has a permit or not it must be capable of flight and capable of getting a permit. Essentially you have to tell the truth about what you sell.
Guarantees are different and you are not obliged to give one. The statutory rights are as above; that it must be fit for purpose at the time of sale. The mythical rights for 6 years relates to if the product was faulty at the time of sale and it was discovered 4 years later for example, then the customer has some redress.
In my industry, home appliances, some people believe that if the product fails after 3 years they have a right to a new product. This is not so under EU law; they have a right to have it replaced by another product 3 years old, but this is almost impossible. So we will fix it, if under a guarantee at our cost or if not at your cost. If in those cases where it is impossible to repair due to parts no longer being available then we would normally consider that you have had X years of service and give you a discount off a replacement product. But since failure normally occurs due to wear then this allowance is for goodwill and not a right unless you can prove that it was faulty on delivery.
None of this has much bearing on selling a homebuilt aircraft which in the UK has been accepted by the CAA based on an LAA Permit. In all things if you can be shown to be negligent then you can be sued.
I suspect we are talking Product liability then read http://www.bis.gov.uk/files/file22866.pdf
See page 7 which says
the product was not supplied in the course of a business, for
example, the donation of homemade toys for sale at the occasional
church bazaar or sales by private individuals of second-hand goods;
Whatever you sell has to be fit for the purpose for which it has been sold.
i.e. You sell say an old Luton Minor that has not flown for years and therefore has no Permit, as a pile of parts, then that is what it is. If it is a flying aircraft and you sell it as such then whether it has a permit or not it must be capable of flight and capable of getting a permit. Essentially you have to tell the truth about what you sell.
Guarantees are different and you are not obliged to give one. The statutory rights are as above; that it must be fit for purpose at the time of sale. The mythical rights for 6 years relates to if the product was faulty at the time of sale and it was discovered 4 years later for example, then the customer has some redress.
In my industry, home appliances, some people believe that if the product fails after 3 years they have a right to a new product. This is not so under EU law; they have a right to have it replaced by another product 3 years old, but this is almost impossible. So we will fix it, if under a guarantee at our cost or if not at your cost. If in those cases where it is impossible to repair due to parts no longer being available then we would normally consider that you have had X years of service and give you a discount off a replacement product. But since failure normally occurs due to wear then this allowance is for goodwill and not a right unless you can prove that it was faulty on delivery.
None of this has much bearing on selling a homebuilt aircraft which in the UK has been accepted by the CAA based on an LAA Permit. In all things if you can be shown to be negligent then you can be sued.
I suspect we are talking Product liability then read http://www.bis.gov.uk/files/file22866.pdf
See page 7 which says
the product was not supplied in the course of a business, for
example, the donation of homemade toys for sale at the occasional
church bazaar or sales by private individuals of second-hand goods;
Stuart Macconnacher
002353
002353