1st Sub.
S.B.
143
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE STANDARDS
House
Floor
Amendments
Representative Fox-Finlinson proposes the following amendments:
1. Page 1, Line 11: After line 11 insert:
" 13-14-201, as last amended by Chapter 162, Laws of Utah 1997"
2. Page 3, Line 29: After line 29 insert:
"Section 2. Section 13-14-201 is amended to read:
13-14-201 . Prohibited acts by franchisors -- Disclosures.
(1) A franchisor may not in this state:
(a) require a franchisee to order or accept delivery of any new motor vehicle, part, accessory, equipment, or other item not otherwise required by law that is not voluntarily ordered by the franchisee;
(b) require a franchisee to participate monetarily in any advertising campaign or contest, or purchase any promotional materials, display devices, or display decorations or materials;
(c) require a franchisee to change the capital structure of the franchisee's dealership or the means by or through which the franchisee finances the operation of the franchisee's dealership, if the dealership at all times meets reasonable capital standards determined by and applied in a nondiscriminatory manner by the franchisor;
(d) require a franchisee to refrain from participating in the management of, investment in, or acquisition of any other line of new motor vehicles or related products, if:
(i) the franchisee maintains a reasonable line of credit for each make or line of vehicles; and
(ii) complies with reasonable capital and facilities requirements of the franchisor;
(e) require a franchisee to prospectively agree to a release, assignment, novation, waiver, or estoppel that would:
(i) relieve a franchisor from any liability imposed by this chapter; or
(ii) require any controversy between the franchisee and a franchisor to be referred to a third party if the decision by the third party would be binding;
(f) require a franchisee to change the location of the principal place of business of the franchisee's dealership or make any substantial alterations to the dealership premises, if the change or alterations would be unreasonable;
(g) coerce or attempt to coerce a franchisee to join, contribute to, or affiliate with an advertising association;
(h) require, coerce, or attempt to coerce a franchisee to enter into an agreement with the franchisor or do any other act that is unfair or prejudicial to the franchisee, by threatening to cancel a franchise agreement or other contractual agreement or understanding existing between the franchisor and franchisee;
(i) adopt, change, establish, modify, or implement a plan or system for the allocation, scheduling, or delivery of new motor vehicles, parts, or accessories to its franchisees so that the plan or system is not fair, reasonable, and equitable;
(j) increase the price of any new motor vehicle that the franchisee has ordered from the franchisor and for which there exists at the time of the order a bona fide sale to a retail purchaser if the order was made prior to the franchisee's receipt of an official written price increase notification;
(k) fail to indemnify and hold harmless its franchisee against any judgment for damages or settlement approved in writing by the franchisor:
(i) including court costs and attorneys' fees arising out of actions, claims, or proceedings including those based on:
(A) strict liability;
(B) negligence;
(C) misrepresentation;
(D) express or implied warranty;
(E) revocation as described in Section 70A-2-608 ; or
(F) rejection as described in Section 70A-2-602 ; and
(ii) to the extent the judgment or settlement relates to alleged defective or negligent actions by the franchisor;
(l) threaten or coerce a franchisee to waive or forbear its right to protest the establishment or relocation of a same line-make franchisee in the relevant market area of the affected franchisee;
(m) fail to ship monthly to a franchisee, if ordered by the franchisee, the number of new motor vehicles of each make, series, and model
needed by the franchisee to achieve a percentage of total new vehicle
sales of each make, series, and model equitably related to the total
new vehicle production or importation being achieved nationally at
the time of the order by each make, series, and model covered under
the franchise agreement;
(n)
require or otherwise coerce a franchisee to under-utilize the
franchisee's existing facilities;
(o)
fail to include in any franchise agreement the following language
or language to the effect that: "If any provision in this agreement
contravenes the laws or regulations of any state or other jurisdiction
where this agreement is to be performed, or provided for by such
laws or regulations, the provision is considered to be modified to
conform to such laws or regulations, and all other terms and
provisions shall remain in full force.";
(p)
engage in the distribution, sale, offer for sale, or lease of a new
motor vehicle to purchasers who acquire the vehicle in this state
except through a franchisee with whom the franchisor has
established a written franchise agreement, if the franchisor's trade
name, trademark, service mark, or related characteristic is an integral
element in the distribution, sale, offer for sale, or lease;
(q)
engage in the distribution or sale of a recreational vehicle which
is manufactured, rented, sold, or offered for sale in this state without
being constructed in accordance with the standards set by the
American National Standards Institute for recreational vehicles and
evidenced by a seal or plate attached to the vehicle;
[
or
]
(r)
authorize or permit a person to perform warranty service repairs
on motor vehicles, except warranty service repairs:
(i)
by a franchisee with whom the franchisor has entered into a
franchise agreement for the sale and service of the franchisor's
motor vehicles; or
(ii)
on owned motor vehicles by a person or government entity who
has purchased new motor vehicles pursuant to a franchisor's or
manufacturer's fleet discount program
[
.
]
;
(s)
fail to provide a franchisee with a written franchise agreement; or
(t)
notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, unreasonably fail or refuse to offer to its same line make franchised
dealers all models manufactured for that line make, or unreasonably
require a dealer to pay any extra fee, remodel, renovate, recondition
the dealer's existing facilities, or purchase unreasonable advertising
displays or other materials as a prerequisite to receiving a model or
series of vehicles, except that a recreational vehicle manufacturer
may split a line make between motor home and travel trailer
products.
(2)
Notwithstanding Subsection (1)(r), a franchisor may authorize or
permit a person to perform warranty service repairs on motor
vehicles if the warranty services is for a franchisor of recreational
vehicles.
(3)
Subsection (1)(a) does not prevent the franchisor from requiring
that a franchisee carry a reasonable inventory of:
(a)
new motor vehicle models offered for sale by the franchisor; and
(b)
parts to service the repair of the new motor vehicles.
(4)
Subsection (1)(d) does not prevent a franchisor from:
(a)
requiring that a franchisee maintain separate sales personnel or
display space; or
(b)
refusing to permit a combination of new motor vehicle lines, if
justified by reasonable business considerations.
(5)
Upon the written request of any franchisee, a franchisor shall
disclose in writing to the franchisee the basis on which new motor
vehicles, parts, and accessories are allocated, scheduled, and
delivered among the franchisor's dealers of the same line-make.
"
Renumber remaining sections accordingly.