First, I am NOT an attorney. But in the world of commerce, there is a legal term/concept called merchantability. In short, it means that an item is supposed to do what is says it will do. Here is the definition from West's Dictionary of American Law :
Merchantability: A promise, arising by operation of law, that something that is sold will be merchantable and
fit for the purpose for which it is sold.
Every time goods are bought and sold, a sales contract is created: the buyer agrees to pay, and the seller agrees to accept, a certain price in exchange for a certain item or number of items. Sales contracts are frequently oral, unwritten agreements. The purchase of items like a candy bar hardly seems worth the trouble of drafting an agreement spelling out the buyer's expectation that the candy bar will be fresh and edible.
Implied warranties protect the buyer whether or not a written sales contract exists.
Implied Warranty of Merchantability
Implied warranties come in two general types: merchantability and fitness. An implied warranty of merchantability is an
unwritten and unspoken guarantee to the buyer that goods purchased conform to ordinary standards of care and that they are of the same average grade, quality, and value as similar goods sold under similar circumstances. In other words, merchantable goods are goods fit for the ordinary purposes for which they are to be used. The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), adopted by most states, provides that courts may imply a warranty of merchantability when (1) the seller is the merchant of such goods, and (2) the buyer uses the goods for the
ordinary purposes for which such goods are sold (§ 2-314). Thus, a buyer
can sue a seller for breaching the implied warranty by selling goods unfit for their ordinary purpose.
Read more:
Implied warranty: West's Encyclopedia of American Law (Full Article) from Answers.com
When you put new tires on your bike, other than the OEM model, do you expect is to burst while you're doing 70 mph? If you put a new windscreen on, do you expect it to shatter into dangerous shards when a stone hits it?
Now I'm not suggesting you sue Soupy but your life was put at risk by an item he (presumably) produces and sells for the exact purpose you used it for. It should not have done what it did.
In my earlier post, I included a link to the Consumer Protection Division of the Michigan Attorney General. A friend of mine used to head this division and I filed a complaint several years ago. The AG's office sends a copy of your complaint and requests a response. If nothing else happens, this creates a record that a potentially defective and dangerous item is being sold to the public. It takes all of 10 minutes to (electronically) complete and file such a complaint. Effectively, it puts Soupy's on notice and just might save the next guy/gal who buys/uses on of his lowering links from buying the farm.
FWIW this is the same process/concept by which the US Consumer Product Safety Commission works. They rely on consumer complaints to make them aware of defective goods like baby strollers that collapse, childrens' toys with lead paint and toasters that overheat and catch your house on fire.
Filing a complaint with the Michigan AG lets Soupy know he needs to stop selling these items OR redesign the piece OR use a better grade of material.
I see Soupy's links widely advertised, so there have to be hundreds, if not thousands of other bikes out there with his link on them. Maybe those folks at least deserve a letter from Soupy advising them that the link can fail and result in injury...... or worse?
Wow! Bro you're one lucky SOB. Glad you made it home safely.
One a side note, all this lawyer talk is ridiculous. When a person choses to modify their vehicle with parts other than that made for the vehicle then he/she assumes the risk of failure/malfunction.
You've done the right thing by contacting them by email to inform them of the failure, so maybe, they can look into making a stronger product. GL
