Illinois Commercial Code for warranties Lawyer Manual

Illinois Commercial Code

Remedies for breach of warranty

Notice

Where the buyer discovers a breach of warranty, he or she must, within a reasonable time, notify the seller of the breach or be barred from any remedy. 810 ILCS 5/2-607(3).

Actual damages

If the seller fails to correct the breach, the buyer may recover actual damages, measured as the difference between the value of the vehicle when accepted and the value as warranted, absent special circumstances. An acceptable measurement of this difference is the cost to repair the vehicle to attain the quality warranted.  810 ILCS 5/2-714.

Incidental and consequential damages

These may also be recovered, including injury to person or property proximately resulting from the breach of warranty.  810 ILCS 5/2-715.

Proximate cause

The buyer must show that the breach of warranty was the proximate cause of the loss sustained.

Liquidated damages clauses

Under 810 ILCS 5/2-718, damages for breach by either party may be co-opted by a liquidated damages clause in the agreement but only at an amount which is reasonable in light of the anticipated or actual harm caused by the breach, the difficulties of proof of loss, and the inconvenience or non-feasibility of otherwise obtaining an adequate remedy.  A term fixing unreasonably large liquidated damages is void.

Additional remedies

Under 810 ILCS 5/2-719, the contract may provide for remedies in addition to or in substitution for those provided in the UCC and may limit the buyer's remedies, unless the limitation is unconscionable.