Hawaiian Pet Warranty Bill Sets No Cap for Reimbursement

A pet warranty bill recently introduced into the Hawaii Senate would allow some pet buyers to collect from pet sellers unlimited reimbursement for “reasonable veterinary fees for necessary services and treatments” for known health defects in cats and dogs, and other pet owners to seek reimbursement up to the animal’s price for defects detected up to two years after the animal’s purchase.

Senate Bill 2490, not to be confused with legislation in the Hawaii House that would establish a dog-specific warranty, could become the first “strict liability pet warranty” in the United States and is “completely unprecedented,” according to the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, which encouraged interested parties contact Hawaii’s Senate Commerce & Consumer Protection Committee and attend a hearing (Feb. 9, 2012, at 9 a.m.) to voice their concerns and questions.

“The legislature finds that there is a problem with pet dealers selling cats and dogs to the public without notifying them of the health issues and defects that the cat or dog may have,” S.B. 2490 begins. “The purpose of this Act is to require that all pet dealers be held responsible for all cats or dogs they sell by requiring them to guarantee in writing that the cat or dog being sold has no deformities or diseases and that if they do, the consumer shall be afforded certain rights.”

The proposal calls for pet dealers to provide animal buyers with a certificate of veterinary inspection that would certify the animal as fit for sale or unfit for sale due to illness, disease, parasites (excluding fleas and ticks), or congenital or hereditary disorder at the time of the examination.

Consumers that purchase dogs or cats deemed unfit for sale essentially waive their rights to warranty protection, unless they seek remedy within seven days of the initial purchase. At that point, if they can provide their own veterinarian’s confirmation that the animal was unfit for sale, they can return the animal to the pet seller for a full refund, exchange the animal for one of the consumer’s choice and equivalent value, or keep the animal and be reimbursed by the pet seller for “reasonable veterinary costs for necessary services and treatments related to the attempt to cure or curing of the cat or dog.”

The legislation sets no financial cap on potential reimbursement in cases where a consumer knowingly purchases an animal with known health defects.

Under the legislation, consumers that purchase an animal that was deemed fit for sale would be able to seek reimbursement for health defects for up to two years after the initial purchase, provided a veterinarian certifies that the animal was “unfit for sale” at the time of purchase due to pre-existing conditions.

These consumers would be able to return the unfit animal for a full refund or another animal of their choice and equivalent value, or keep the animal and be reimbursed for veterinary costs up to the original purchase price of the animal.

“Since it is inherently impossible for a veterinarian who first examines a dog or cat months after sale, not to mention two years later, to determine that an illness existed when the animal was first purchased, this amounts to a strict liability warranty,” PIJAC stated. “Pet dealers would be responsible for any covered condition that the animal contracts within two years of sale.”

The proposed legislation exempts humane organizations and would make violations of most provisions in the proposal misdemeanors.

Hawaii is currently considering several other proposals concerning pets, including several that limit collection of aquarium species from Hawaiian waters and a ban on the sale of unsterilized dogs and cats (click here).