Legal Definitions - affirmative warranty

An affirmative warranty is a specific statement of fact made by one party to another, typically within a contract, asserting that a particular condition or state of affairs is true at the time the contract is formed. It is a positive declaration about an existing situation, rather than a promise about future performance. If this statement turns out to be false, the party who made the warranty may be considered in breach of contract, potentially leading to legal remedies for the other party.

• Example 1 (Real Estate Transaction):

  A homeowner selling their property includes a clause in the sales agreement stating, "The property's roof was fully replaced two years ago and has no known leaks." This is an affirmative warranty because it is a direct statement of an existing fact about the property's condition at the time the contract is signed. If, after the sale, the buyer discovers that the roof is actually ten years old and has multiple active leaks, the seller may have breached this warranty.

• Example 2 (Business Acquisition):

  During the sale of a manufacturing company, the seller provides a written warranty to the buyer asserting, "All machinery and equipment are in good working order and have been regularly maintained according to manufacturer specifications." This constitutes an affirmative warranty. The seller is making a definitive statement about the current operational status and maintenance history of the company's assets. Should the buyer later discover that critical machinery was severely neglected and non-functional at the time of the sale, the seller would be in breach of this warranty.

• Example 3 (Insurance Policy):

  When applying for a new car insurance policy, an individual states on the application form, "I have not received any traffic citations or been involved in any accidents in the past three years." This is an affirmative warranty. The applicant is attesting to a current and past factual driving record. If it is later discovered that the applicant had, in fact, received multiple speeding tickets within that timeframe, the insurance company might argue a breach of warranty, potentially affecting the policy's validity or premium.