Let's Talk Legal....Exemption Clauses?

[ZF Lee]

Disclaimer: This ain't legal advice. Consult your lawyer.

I haven't seen many of them even in my freelance contracts, but a recent business law assignment triggered the issue in my mind.

I'm currently studying English Common Law and Malaysian law (where it has provisions that don't need the latter), and there's a whole legal debate on how much an exemption clause can cover.

For brevity, the following scenerio will fall into the fields of contract law and business (no consumer law?) Probably we still might fall into consumer law, if there are provisions, depending on some countries, but that's for Alice's rabbit hole....

Let's say Peter hires Tom from Auto Inc. to make him a robot to clean his office.
Tom makes him the bot.
However, the robot cleans the house like crap. Contract breach.

However, in the terms and conditions, there's an exemption clause that states, 'We won't be responsible for paying any damages resulting from harm or loss due to negligence of our employees, agents, or assets of Auto Inc.'

(paraphrasing a bit here on the legal writ)

We call this a fundamental breach, since the duty of producing the robot F*cking failed, which is central to the contract.

My first thought was like WTF? You are saying, 'OK, I'm an expert in this field, but if I do something terribly wrong here, don't blame me!'

I'm not sure whether US law does discuss a bit of the extent of exemption clauses, but could exemption clauses cover fundamental breaches? (in real life or as a general rule)

 

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[GoGetter24]

E sidipvmz sief e Tophequsiep cuul up dupvsedv mex, epf gsun xjev O sief*, vji dunnup mex sami ot ov'mm ci ipgusdif iyedvmz et xsovvip. Dmeatit esi emxezt ipgusdif tu muph et vjiz xisi ehsiif vu cigusijepf, epf fup'v csiel vji ataem monovevoupt up dupvsedvt moli cioph ommihem. Tu vjiz jewi vu tohp e dupvsedv cigusi vji xusl ot tvesvif us nupiz djephit jepft, dupveopoph vji dmeatit.

Cav vji iyenqmi dmeati zua'wi nipvoupif ot e monovevoup ug moecomovz dmeati, puv ep iydmatoup dmeati. Ov't duwisoph detit xjisi vji sucuv apiyqidvifmz evvedlt qiuqmi epf caspt vji caomfoph fuxp.

Ep iydmatoup dmeati xuamf ci tunivjoph moli: "(e) Y xomm fimowis e sucuv vu Z vjev dmiept e suun iraem op tvepfesf vu e qsugittoupem dmiepis [a warranty clause], (c) og ov fuitp'v fu tu, Y xomm puv ci moecmi gus fenehit". Vjev xuamf ci ipgusdif* et xsovvip. Cav ov't ataemmz civvis vu katv puv xessepv vjopht moli vjev, epf optvief xusf ov moli "Y xomm fimowis e sucuv opvipfif vu jimq liiq e suun dmiep, xovj pu haesepvii et vu vji dmiepoph iggodedz", vjip csiedj xomm uddas og zua fup'v fimowis e sucuv, cav puv og ov't puv hsiev ev dmiepoph.

Vji monovevoupt O'wi sief ecuav vjin esi: vjiz natv ci iyqmodov epf tqidogod, epf vjiz dep'v duwis fimocisevi csiedj.

Tvevavusz fiwoevoupt gsun vjot, gsun xjev O'wi tiip, esi raovi monovif op tduqi.

Et gus "gapfenipvem csiedj" ov't ep umf dupdiqv epf jet topdi ciip meof vu sitv et e raitvoup ug dupvsedvaem duptvsadvoup sevjis vjep mex. Vji upi sineopoph deti ot fiwoevoup, xjodj niepv og zua'si tjoqqoph tunivjoph gsun E vu C epf zua fiwoevi gsun vjev (i.h. zua veli e jumofez op vji Cejenet up vji xez epf vji huuft ipf aq suvvip), epf vji dupvsedvoph qesvz taggist fenehit et e sitamv ug vjev fiwoevoup, zua dep'v simz up ep iydmatoup dmeati. Vjev uwismeqt raovi e muv xovj katv fimocisevimz csiedjoph vji dupvsedv vjuahj.

Tu apmitt zua fu tunivjoph sofodamuat moli taqqmz vjin e sucuv vjev fimocisevimz nelit vji suun fosvois, zua dep simz up e duasv vu ipgusdi vji iydmatoup dmeati. Vji duapvis qesvz ehsiif vu ov, egvis emm.

* puv mexzis, fup'v lpux xjev O'n vemloph ecuav, ivd