Warranty of Specifications
Definition
If the government provides a contractor with detailed, specific plans with which the contractor must comply, then the government is responsible for any consequences arising from defects in those plans and warrants that the plans will produce an achievable, acceptable result. More recent cases have limited warranty of specifications liability to contract damages, not tort damages. The Spearin doctrine, United States v. Spearin, 248 U.S. 132 (1918), established a cause of action for breaching the warranty of specifications.