meaning

[Hanka]

Hi,

Could you please tell me to whom does "at his own cost" refer in the following sentence:

In case the unit is ruined or destroyed, the buyer shall be entitled to request the seller to rebuild the unit at his own cost, on the same place and according to the same drawings and specifications.

Does it refer to the buyer or to the seller? Or is it not clear as the sentence stands and could it thus refer to both of them?

Thanks a lot!

Hanka

 

[euncu]

***neither a teacher nor a native-speaker***

The seller.

 

[billmcd]

As you have suspected, it's not clear to whom "at his own cost" refers but it would be unusual if the seller would assume the cost unless there were some written guarantee to that condition. So, if I have to make a guess I'll say the buyer is responsible.

 

[Barb_D]

Wow, what a poorly written contact segment! You certainly could argue that the way it's phrased, that if the buyer's unit was destroyed, the seller must build a new one as the seller's cost.

You need common sense to tell you that the buyer can request the exact same unit, built the same way and to the same specifications. In other words, that the seller will be able to replicate the original. However, the cost would be the buyer's.