CACI 3205 Failure to Begin Repairs Within Reasonable Time or to Complete Repairs Within 30 Days—Essential Factual Elements (Civ. Code, § 1793.2(b))
California Civil Jury Instructions CACI
3205 Failure to Begin Repairs Within Reasonable Time or to Complete Repairs Within 30 Days—Essential Factual Elements (Civ. Code, § 1793.2(b))
[Name of plaintiff] claims that [he/she/nonbinary pronoun] was harmed because [name of defendant] failed to [begin repairs on the [consumer good/new motor vehicle] in a reasonable time/ [or] repair the [consumer good/new motor vehicle] within 30 days]. To establish this claim, [name of plaintiff] must prove all of the following:
1.That [name of plaintiff] [bought/leased] [a/an] [consumer good/new motor vehicle] [from/distributed by/manufactured by] [name of defendant];
2.That [name of defendant] gave [name of plaintiff] a written warranty that [describe alleged express warranty];
3.That the [consumer good/new motor vehicle] had [a] defect[s] that [was/were] covered by the warranty;
4.That [name of defendant] or its authorized repair facility failed to [begin repairs within a reasonable time/ [or] complete repairs within 30 days so as to conform to the applicable warranties].
New December 2011; Revised December 2012
https://crowdsourcelawyers.com/judicial-council-california-civil-jury-instructions-caci
Directions for Use
Give this instruction for the defendant’s alleged breach of Civil Code section 1793.2(b), which requires that repairs be commenced within a reasonable time and finished within 30 days unless the buyer otherwise agrees in writing. This instruction assumes that the statute contains two separate requirements, one for starting repairs and one for finishing them, either of which would be a violation.
The damages recoverable for unreasonable delay in repairs are uncertain. A violation of Civil Code section 1793.2(b) would not entitle the consumer to the remedies of restitution or replacement for a consumer good or new motor vehicle as provided in section 1793.2(d). Before those remedies are available, the manufacturer is entitled to a reasonable number of repair opportunities. (Gavaldon v. DaimlerChrysler Corp. (2004) 32 Cal.4th 1246, 1262 [13 Cal.Rptr.3d 793, 90 P.3d 752]; see Civ. Code, §§ 1793.2(d), 1793.22.) California Uniform Commercial Code remedies that are generally available under Song-Beverly permit the buyer to cancel the sale and recover the price paid, or to accept the goods and recover diminution in value. (See Civ. Code, § 1794(b); Cal. U. Com. Code, §§ 2711–2715.) It seems questionable, however, that a buyer could cancel the sale and get the purchase price back solely for delay in completing repairs, particularly if the repairs were ultimately successful.
Delay caused by conditions beyond the control of the defendant extends the 30-day requirement. (Civ. Code, § 1793.2(b).) It would most likely be the defendant’s burden to prove that conditions beyond its control caused the delay.
Sources and Authority
•Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act: Right of Action. Civil Code section 1794(a).
•Repairs to Start Within Reasonable Time. Civil Code section 1793.2(b).
•“[T]he fifth cause of action in each complaint clearly stated a cause of action under Civil Code section 1794 … . Plaintiff had pleaded that he was such a buyer who was injured by a ‘willful’ violation of Civil Code section 1793.2, subdivision (b) which in pertinent part requires that with respect to consumer goods sold in this state for which the manufacturer has made an express warranty and service and repair facilities are maintained in this state (undisputed herein) and ‘repair of the goods is necessary because they do not conform with the applicable express warranties, service and repair shall be commenced within a reasonable time by the manufacturer or its representative.’ ” (Gomez v. Volkswagen of Am. (1985) 169 Cal.App.3d 921, 925 [215 Cal.Rptr. 507], footnote omitted.)