Do legal disclaimers on work orders hold up in court?

[stephen4785]

Iv been thinking that I need to add a disclaimer to my work orders but Iv always heard gossip queen mechanics say that they dont hold up in court anyway?

[stephen4785]

Also, can I write up my own disclamier or should I hire a lawyer?

[diablo rojo]

Always have a lawyer draw it up.

[LANTIRN]

Anything may or may not hold up in court. Depends on who wrote it, who challenges it, lawyers on both sides, the judge, and stupid luck. I would do it, and have a lawyer write it. It is worth it to try and in theory should hold up in court but these days it is a coin toss. Worth a shot at protecting yourself, though.

[mardyn]

We had a disclaimer on certain (race) boat hulls that were sold through my dealership...

Never had the disclaimer tested in court, but the problem is generally not your customer...
it's when ever your customer gets involved in an accident with someone else.

The opposing side is gonna sue anybody and everybody (especially those with deep pockets) involved, particularly if there is negligence on anyone's part.

It's better to have the disclaimer on file, than not to have anything protecting yourself, but it can't be relied on to fully protect you from litigation.

mardyn

[helosailor]

When I worked at Super Shops maaaany moons ago, we had the wheel/tire work orders where people had to initial and sign saying that they understood that lug nuts needed to be torque checked after a certain number of miles (100, I think), and that they had to do it, or that they could bring it back to SS to do. Well, many (most) times, people would blow it off. Naturally, some people would have lug nuts loosen and/or come off. We never had anyone at my location sue, but the company had quite a few people try to sue, and based on the customer signing & initialing the work order, the company won 100% of those suits.

[Gear_Jammer]

***NOTHING CONTAINED HEREIN SHOULD BE CONSTRUED AS LEGAL ADVICE AND/OR CREATING ANY TYPE OF ATTORNEY/CLIENT RELATIONSHIP***

The short answer is that it depends on exactly what it is you're trying to disclaim. Disclaimers are/can be enforceable for some, but not all, potential claims that might be brought against a party. I'll put it this way, it's better to have a disclaimer that may/may not be enforceable than to not have one at all. At least you have a chance if it's there.

[mstng86]

***NOTHING CONTAINED HEREIN SHOULD BE CONSTRUED AS LEGAL ADVICE AND/OR CREATING ANY TYPE OF ATTORNEY/CLIENT RELATIONSHIP***

The short answer is that it depends on exactly what it is you're trying to disclaim. Disclaimers are/can be enforceable for some, but not all, potential claims that might be brought against a party. I'll put it this way, it's better to have a disclaimer that may/may not be enforceable than to not have one at all. At least you have a chance if it's there.

you could have just said hedge your bets and get one

pssssh lawyers

[bcoop]

We had a disclaimer on certain (race) boat hulls that were sold through my dealership...

Never had the disclaimer tested in court, but the problem is generally not your customer...
it's when ever your customer gets involved in an accident with someone else.

The opposing side is gonna sue anybody and everybody (especially those with deep pockets) involved, particularly if there is negligence on anyone's part.

It's better to have the disclaimer on file, than not to have anything protecting yourself, but it can't be relied on to fully protect you from litigation.

mardyn

***NOTHING CONTAINED HEREIN SHOULD BE CONSTRUED AS LEGAL ADVICE AND/OR CREATING ANY TYPE OF ATTORNEY/CLIENT RELATIONSHIP***

The short answer is that it depends on exactly what it is you're trying to disclaim. Disclaimers are/can be enforceable for some, but not all, potential claims that might be brought against a party. I'll put it this way, it's better to have a disclaimer that may/may not be enforceable than to not have one at all. At least you have a chance if it's there.

I agree with these. It won't keep anyone from trying to sue, but it could potentially save your ass depending on what is being disclaimed, how it is written, etc. I would think hiring an attorney to write it would be cheap insurance.

[ceyko]

Always a lawyer to write it up.

The biggest part is making sure your clients are told all about it as well. You don't ever want it to go to court and it's just good business to go over any disclaimers/etc that you may have.