Lawyers need not compensate for qualified products? Court: If the duty of warning is not fulfilled,

Lawyers need not compensate for qualified products? Court: If the duty of warning is not fulfilled, you should also lose money!

Basic Case

On January 10, 2016, Mr. Chen bought a set of "3M pre backwash filter and 3M water purifier" from New Hongda, and then New Hongda sent someone to install it in Mr. Chen's house. On January 29, 2016, due to the damage of the water purifier, faucet, shower, etc. in the house involved in the case, which led to water leakage, resulting in the damage of the floor and other items in Chen's home. As the negotiation on compensation for losses failed, Chen appealed to the court to claim compensation for various losses of 80972 yuan.

In the first instance, the assessment organization assessed the loss of Chen due to water leakage, and the assessed loss amount was 45772 yuan. The court comprehensively determined that the total loss caused by the house leakage was 51772 yuan.

New Hongda also applied for the qualification of "3M pre backwash filter and 3M water purifier". The appraisal opinion is that the burst 3M pre backwash filter and 3M water purifier meet the product requirements and quality requirements. The reason for water leakage is that the water inside the water purifier becomes ice due to low temperature. Due to the increase of volume, pressure is exerted on the shell of the water purifier, causing the shell of the water purifier to crack.

[Court Judgment]

The court of first instance held that the existing evidence could not rule out that the water leakage of the water purification equipment sold by Xinhongda was caused by a defect. Xinhongda did not fulfill the obligation to prompt and explain the low temperature use of the water purifier, and Chen himself might have improper use and other reasons. Xinhongda should bear 30% of the responsibility. It was judged that Xinhongda Company would compensate Chen for 15531.6 yuan.

New Hongda Company appealed against the judgment.

The court of second instance held that part of the facts in the judgment of first instance were improperly determined, but the judgment was correct. The judgment rejected the appeal and upheld the original judgment.

Case Analysis

The focus of dispute in this case is that the 3M water purifier of New Hongda Company has been identified as qualified, and how to identify the loss caused to Mr. Chen?

（1） The water purifier is not provided with warning signs or warning instructions in Chinese

Article 27, paragraph 1 of the Product Quality Law stipulates that "for the use methods that may endanger the safety of human life and property, warning signs or warning instructions in Chinese shall be placed on the products or packages." In this case, the special use methods of 3M water purifier with respect to "the working water temperature is 4.4-38 ℃" and "the water purifier should be drained when the room temperature is lower than 0.6 ℃" are only described in the installation precautions on page 2 of the installation and operation manual of the 3M water purifier product, and no obvious warning signs or Chinese warning instructions are set on the outsourcing or product.

（2） New Hongda Company shall be liable for damages if it fails to make clear the obligation of warning statement

Article 18 of the Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Consumers stipulates that "business operators shall ensure that the goods or services they provide meet the requirements for safeguarding the safety of persons and property. For goods and services that may endanger the safety of persons and property, they shall give consumers true explanations and clear warnings, and explain and indicate the correct methods for using goods or receiving services and the methods for preventing harm from occurring." Although the installation manual of the 3M water purifier states that "the water purifier can only be installed on the cold water pipeline, and the operating temperature of this water purifier is 4.4-38 degrees Celsius", "it is prohibited to install this product in areas where there is a risk of icing, the water purifier cannot freeze, and the water purifier should be drained when the room temperature is lower than 0.6 degrees Celsius", the font of this note is the same as that of other parts, and no special reminder is given in the form of bold and black, If it fails to inform the possible consequences of improper use, and the description is unclear and does not serve as a warning, it shall be liable for compensation.

（3） Chen fails to fulfill reasonable safety care obligations

As a consumer, when purchasing and using the 3M water purifier, Mr. Chen did not carefully read the product instruction manual to master the correct use method, and did not empty the water in the water purifier in the continuous low temperature environment, resulting in the shell cracking and water leakage. His own fault should reduce the compensation liability of Xinhongda Company. In view of the loss caused by multiple leaks in Chen's family, other companies have undertaken part of the liability for compensation, and Chen himself is also at fault, the court decided that Xinhongda should bear 30% of the liability for compensation.

To sum up, operators have the obligation to warn and explain the special use methods of products that may endanger personal or property safety. Even if the product quality is qualified, the operator shall be liable for compensation if the consumer does not master the correct use method and causes losses due to the operator's failure to fulfill the obligation of warning. If the consumer improperly uses the product due to failing to carefully read the product manual and has its own fault, the operator's liability for compensation should be reduced.