Contract Law 101 from a non attorney's perspective

[Blueface]

My wife was ticked at me last week.
I ruined three rooms' Pergo floors with water damage.
All the years of filling up my 225 aquarium with no mishaps came to an end.
The hose connected to the tank to fill it broke off in the process, while I was in the garage for a brief moment (at least to me it seemed brief).
When I got back in the house, water all over my family room, leading to the three bedrooms on that side of the house.
A couple of wet vacs later and some help from dad and all was cleaned up.

The next day, I noticed the bubbling Pergo floors at the entry area to all three rooms.
CRAP!!!
I went online and read their warranty - my loss is not covered.
Then I remembered reading it when I originally got it and recall that type of loss was in fact covered.
I dug up my paperwork (anal as I am I keep it all in files). Found my purchase receipt (required for a claim) and found my original expressed, written warranty.
Guess what? It is covered under my original warranty. I have 30 days from the date of loss to report it to the retailer where I bought it (Home Depot). It also has to be installed by an "approved" installer (I had Home Depot do it and they are an "approved" installer).

So....this morning I head out to Home Depot to initiate the process.
First person I meet says it is not covered. I show them my warranty.
Second person comes over and says it is not covered. I show them my warranty.
Third person comes over, same thing.
Fourth person comes over, same thing.
Finally, the last person, who is really the one in charge, comes over. She too tells me it is not covered. I show her my warranty. She goes on to tell me that water damage caused by the customer is not covered. I patiently waited for her to read the warranty and read the only two paragraphs that allude to water coverage and address the specified exclusions.
Here is where all the years of interpreting contracts and being involved in litigation came in handy.

Under my warranty, Pergo covers any water damage except:
water damage caused by hydrostatic pressure
water damage caused by a natural disaster or natural cause element

Although my loss was somewhat of a disaster, clearly not a natural one. Nothing else is expressed as an exclusion. Other than that, it says it covers household water damage, period. So I nicely said to them, no problem. $100 and a small claims suit against both Home Depot and Pergo should yield fine results. They changed their tune and proceeded to file a filed the claim for me with Pergo so they can inspect it. Round two will be later this week.

The moral of the story from a non attorney, which can hopefully be validated by the numerous attorneys on the board, when it comes to contract law, read the contract.
Any ambiguity will always be interpreted in your favor.
Contracts of this form are considered unilateral I believe. Meaning you did not have a choice in the language provided. As such, courts will determine any ambiguity in the favor of the person who had nothing to do with the writing of the contract.
Any subsequent changes in their policy will not affect your existing contract. Mine happens to specifically stipulate no changes will be recognized unless approved and signed and provided to me by Pergo, which they never did.

So......hopefully the Pergo rep sees it this way too or in court we shall be.
Read the print!

[JordanWexler]

best of luck! interesting interpretation.

[ResIpsa]

That's not actually what a unilateral contract is Carlos, but Kudos to you, you are right in that they are (read should be) bound by the warranty in effect when you bought the flooring.

[Blueface]

Originally Posted by ResIpsa

That's not actually what a unilateral contract is Carlos, but Kudos to you, you are right in that they are (read should be) bound by the warranty in effect when you bought the flooring.

Hey,
I made no warranties as I am not an attorney.
I am glad at least I know how to "read" what is actually written v. what they feel they want it to mean.
Heck if I will accept their interpretation.

Vic,
What is the correct term for this? I recall there is one for contracts or warranties that are of this type, where one party makes the rules.

[jagmqt]

Sounds like things should work in your favor...just make sure there isn't print somewhere else that may exempt them from "all damage by the customer" or some other garbage...but it sounds like you were pretty thorough...

Also, if you haven't filed in small claims before, be sure to ask how to include your costs in the claim...if you win, they'll cover your filing and service fees...(but you appear pretty knowledgable already...)

Good luck!

jag