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Cal. Civil Code § 1791 (2026)

✓ current as of May 2026
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As used in this chapter:

(a)“Consumer goods” means any new product or part thereof that is used, bought, or leased for use primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, except for clothing and consumables. “Consumer goods” shall include new and used assistive devices sold at retail.

(b)“Buyer” or “retail buyer” means any individual who buys consumer goods from a person engaged in the business of manufacturing, distributing, or selling consumer goods at retail. As used in this subdivision, “person” means any individual, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, association, or other legal entity that engages in any of these businesses.

(c)“Clothing” means any wearing apparel, worn for any purpose, including under and outer garments, shoes, and accessories composed primarily of woven material, natural or synthetic yarn, fiber, or leather or similar fabric.

(d)“Consumables” means any product that is intended for consumption by individuals, or use by individuals for purposes of personal care or in the performance of services ordinarily rendered within the household, and that usually is consumed or expended in the course of consumption or use.

(e)“Distributor” means any individual, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal relationship that stands between the manufacturer and the retail seller in purchases, consignments, or contracts for sale of consumer goods.

(f)“Independent repair or service facility” or “independent service dealer” means any individual, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity, not an employee or subsidiary of a manufacturer or distributor, that engages in the business of servicing and repairing consumer goods.

(g)“Lease” means any contract for the lease or bailment for the use of consumer goods by an individual, for a term exceeding four months, primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, whether or not it is agreed that the lessee bears the risk of the consumer goods’ depreciation.

(h)“Lessee” means an individual who leases consumer goods under a lease.

(i)“Lessor” means a person who regularly leases consumer goods under a lease.

(j)“Manufacturer” means any individual, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal relationship that manufactures, assembles, or produces consumer goods.

(k)“Place of business” means, for the purposes of any retail seller that sells consumer goods by catalog or mail order, the distribution point for consumer goods.

(l)“Retail seller,” “seller,” or “retailer” means any individual, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal relationship that engages in the business of selling or leasing consumer goods to retail buyers.

(m)“Return to the retail seller” means, for the purposes of any retail seller that sells consumer goods by catalog or mail order, the retail seller’s place of business, as defined in subdivision (k).

(n)“Sale” means either of the following:

(1)The passing of title from the seller to the buyer for a price.

(2)A consignment for sale.

(o)“Service contract” means a contract in writing to perform, over a fixed period of time or for a specified duration, services relating to the maintenance or repair of a consumer product, except that this term does not include a policy of automobile insurance, as defined in Section 116 of the Insurance Code.

(p)“Assistive device” means any instrument, apparatus, or contrivance, including any component or part thereof or accessory thereto, that is used or intended to be used, to assist an individual with a disability in the mitigation or treatment of an injury or disease or to assist or affect or replace the structure or any function of the body of an individual with a disability, except that this term does not include prescriptive lenses and other ophthalmic goods unless they are sold or dispensed to a blind person, as defined in Section 19153 of the Welfare and Institutions Code and unless they are intended to assist the limited vision of the person so disabled.

(q)“Catalog or similar sale” means a sale in which neither the seller nor any employee or agent of the seller nor any person related to the seller nor any person with a financial interest in the sale participates in the diagnosis of the buyer’s condition or in the selection or fitting of the device.

(r)“Home appliance” means any refrigerator, freezer, range, microwave oven, washer, dryer, dishwasher, garbage disposal, trash compactor, or room air-conditioner normally used or sold for personal, family, or household purposes.

(s)“Home electronic product” means any television, radio, antenna rotator, audio or video recorder or playback equipment, video camera, video game, video monitor, computer equipment, telephone, telecommunications equipment, electronic alarm system, electronic appliance control system, or other kind of electronic product, if it is normally used or sold for personal, family, or household purposes. The term includes any electronic accessory that is normally used or sold with a home electronic product for one of those purposes. The term excludes any single product with a wholesale price to the retail seller of less than fifty dollars ($50).

(t)“Member of the Armed Forces” means a person on full-time active duty in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, National Guard, Space Force, or Coast Guard. Full-time active duty shall also include active military service at a military service school designated by law or the Adjutant General of the Military Department concerned.

(u)“Clear and conspicuous” and “clearly and conspicuously” means a larger type than the surrounding text, or in a contrasting type, font, or color to the surrounding text of the same size, or set off from the surrounding text of the same size by symbols or other marks, in a manner that clearly calls attention to the language. For an audio disclosure, “clear and conspicuous” and “clearly and conspicuously” means in a volume and cadence sufficient to be readily audible and understandable.

(v)“Motor home” has the same meaning as defined in Section 1793.22.

(w)“Mobilehome” means a vehicle as defined in Section 18008 of the Health and Safety Code.

(x)“Travel trailer” means a vehicular unit without motive power that is designed to be towed or carried by a motor vehicle. “Travel trailer” does not include a mobilehome.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 102 cases (52 in the last 5 years), 1954–2025 · leading case: In re Nexus 6P Prods. Liab. Litig., 293 F. Supp. 3d 888 (N.D. Cal. 2018).
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In re Nexus 6P Prods. Liab. Litig., 293 F. Supp. 3d 888 (N.D. Cal. 2018). · cites it 3× “" Cal. Civ. Code § 1791 (j). At multiple places in the CAC (including the section asserting the Song-Beverly Act claim), the CAC labels Huawei as the "manufacturer" of the Nexus 6P.”
Atkinson v. Elk Corp., 2003 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 5066 (Cal. Ct. App. 2003). · cites it 5× “First, is Atkinson a “buyer” of consumer goods? Second, are roof shingles consumer goods within the meaning of Song-Beverly? Civil Code section 1791 provides definitions pertinent to Song Beverly.”
Park City Servs., Inc. v. Ford Motor Co., 2006 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 10043 (Cal. Ct. App. 2006). · cites it 6× “” (Civ. Code, § 1791, subd. (b).) It defines a “manufacturer” as “any individual, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal relationship that manufactures, assembles, or produces consumer goods.”
Von Grabe v. Sprint PCS, 312 F. Supp. 2d 1285 (S.D. Cal. 2003). · cites it 3× “” Cal. Civ.Code § 1791(a). A service contract is “a contract in writing to perform, for additional cost, over a fixed period of time or for a specified duration, services relating to the maintenance, replacement, or repair of a consumer product.”
Keegan v. Am. Honda Motor Co., 838 F. Supp. 2d 929 (C.D. Cal. 2012). · cites it 2× “(Complaint, ¶ 60); see also Cal. Civ Code § 1791 (a) (defining "consumer goods" as "any new product or part thereof that is used, bought or leased for use primarily for personal, family or household purposes").”
Gusse v. Damon Corp., 470 F. Supp. 2d 1110 (C.D. Cal. 2007). · cites it 3× “See Cal. Civ. Code § 1791 (n). 5 . The instant case is distinguishable from Davis v.”
Birdsong v. Apple, Inc., 590 F.3d 955 (9th Cir. 2009). “Cal. Civ.Code §§ 1791, et seq.; 15 U.S.C.”
Mexia v. Rinker Boat Co., Inc., 174 Cal. App. 4th 1297 (Cal. Ct. App. 2009). “” (Civ. Code, § 1791, subd. (a).) 5 The duration provision was enacted one year after the enactment of the Song-Beverly Act as part of a bill “designed to clarify and refine the [Song-Beverly Act].”
In re Myford Touch Consum. Litig., 291 F. Supp. 3d 936 (N.D. Cal. 2018). “" Cal. Civ. Code § 1791 (a) (emphasis added).”
In re FCA US LLC Monostable Elec. Gearshift Litig., 280 F. Supp. 3d 975 (E.D. Mich. 2017). ““The Song-Beverly Act’s implied warranty of merchantability applies to new goods ( Cal. Civ. Code § 1791 (a)), and also used goods, so long as the used goods are purchased ‘in a sale in which an express warranty is given.”
Mills v. Forestex Co., 2003 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 3966 (Cal. Ct. App. 2003). “” (Civ. Code, § 1791, subd. (a).) “Any buyer of consumer goods who is damaged by a failure to comply with any obligation under this chapter or under an implied or express warranty or service contract may bring an action for the recovery of damages and other legal and equitable…”
Cummins, Inc. v. Superior Court, 115 P.3d 98 (Cal. 2005). “The Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act (hereafter sometimes referred to as the Act), Civil Code section 1791 et seq., 1 provides that if a manufacturer or its representative in this state fails to repair a new motor vehicle to conform to any express warranty after a reasonable…”
Show all 102 citing cases →
— Cal. Civil Code § 1791(a) — 9 cases
Cholakyan v. Mercedes-benz USA, LLC, 796 F. Supp. 2d 1220 (C.D. Cal. 2011).
Keegan v. Am. Honda Motor Co., 838 F. Supp. 2d 929 (C.D. Cal. 2012). “(Complaint, ¶ 60); see also Cal. Civ Code § 1791 (a) (defining "consumer goods" as "any new product or part thereof that is used, bought or leased for use primarily for personal, family or household purposes").”
Asghari v. Volkswagen Grp. of Am., Inc., 42 F. Supp. 3d 1306 (C.D. Cal. 2013).
Montich v. Miele USA, Inc., 849 F. Supp. 2d 439 (D.N.J. 2012).
Von Grabe v. Sprint PCS, 312 F. Supp. 2d 1285 (S.D. Cal. 2003). “” Cal. Civ.Code § 1791(a). A service contract is “a contract in writing to perform, for additional cost, over a fixed period of time or for a specified duration, services relating to the maintenance, replacement, or repair of a consumer product.”
— Cal. Civil Code § 1791(b) — 1 case
Von Grabe v. Sprint PCS, 312 F. Supp. 2d 1285 (S.D. Cal. 2003). “” Cal. Civ.Code § 1791(a). A service contract is “a contract in writing to perform, for additional cost, over a fixed period of time or for a specified duration, services relating to the maintenance, replacement, or repair of a consumer product.”
— Cal. Civil Code § 1791(d) — 1 case
Jones v. Conagra Foods, Inc., 912 F. Supp. 2d 889 (N.D. Cal. 2012).
— Cal. Civil Code § 1791(f) — 1 case
Forty-Niner Sierra Resources, Inc. v. Subaru of Am., Inc., 416 F. Supp. 2d 861 (E.D. Cal. 2004).
— Cal. Civil Code § 1791(l) — 1 case
Sarah Boldt v. Caesarstone USA Inc. (C.D. Cal. 2024).
— Cal. Civil Code § 1791(n) — 6 cases
Gusse v. Damon Corp., 470 F. Supp. 2d 1110 (C.D. Cal. 2007). “See Cal. Civ. Code § 1791 (n). 5 . The instant case is distinguishable from Davis v.”
Gaynor v. W. Recreational Vehs. Inc., 473 F. Supp. 2d 1060 (C.D. Cal. 2007).
Galicia v. Country Coach, Inc., 324 F. App'x 687 (9th Cir. 2009).
Carlson v. Monaco Coach Corp., 486 F. Supp. 2d 1127 (E.D. Cal. 2007).
Frengel v. McLaren Auto., Inc. (S.D. Cal. 2022).
— Cal. Civil Code § 1791(o) — 1 case
Von Grabe v. Sprint PCS, 312 F. Supp. 2d 1285 (S.D. Cal. 2003). “” Cal. Civ.Code § 1791(a). A service contract is “a contract in writing to perform, for additional cost, over a fixed period of time or for a specified duration, services relating to the maintenance, replacement, or repair of a consumer product.”
— Cal. Civil Code § 1791(p) — 1 case
Fender v. Medtronic, Inc., 887 F. Supp. 1326 (E.D. Cal. 1995).
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