Most if not all states have adopted, with certain amendments, the Uniform Commercial Code. Section 2715 allows a buyer to recover (1) "expenses incurred in inspection, receipt, transportation and care of goods rightfully rejected, any commercially reasonable charges, expenses or commissions in connection with cover and any other reasonable expense incident to the delay or other breach", (2) "any loss resulting from general or particular requirements and needs of which the seller at the time of contracting had reason to know and which could not be reasonably prevented by cover or otherwise", and (3) "injury to person or property proximately resulting from any breach of warranty." Suppose, for example, a board manufacturer contracts to deliver certain quantities of a board with certain specifications for installation in a computer, doesn't, and the computer manufacturer cannot find a substitute supplier in time to meet its order. As a result, it goes out of business. The board manufacturer can be sued for the value of the computer manufacturer. There may be other laws and facts that impact the situation, but in case you have not noticed, there is a surplus of lawyers in the United States ready to assert any kind of claim at the drop of a hat. Therefore, it is very important that a seller have a contract with its customers that limits the scope of its responsibilities and liabilities. There are other provisions that a lawyer may recommend: a liquidated damages provision, arbitration where the seller does business, an attorney's fee provision. Many companies survive forever without such contracts and without any problems, yet there are many companies that have gone out of business simply because they could not afford to defend a lawsuit against them. For these reasons, it is also a good idea to review your liability insurance policy. ############################################################## TechNet Mail List provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8c ############################################################## To subscribe/unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the body: To subscribe: SUBSCRIBE TECHNET <your full name> To unsubscribe: SIGNOFF TECHNET ############################################################## Please visit IPC web site (http://www.ipc.org/html/forum.htm) for additional information. For the technical support contact Dmitriy Sklyar at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.311 ##############################################################