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H.B. 90

             1     

EQUIPMENT DEALER WARRANTY

             2     
REIMBURSEMENT ACT

             3     
2003 GENERAL SESSION

             4     
STATE OF UTAH

             5     
Sponsor: Darin G. Peterson

             6      This act modifies provisions related to Commercial Trade by enacting the Uniform
             7      Equipment Dealers Warranty Reimbursement Act. The act defines terms and provides
             8      procedures for equipment dealers to submit warranty reimbursement claims to suppliers.
             9      The act provides for audits of a dealer's warranty claims records. The act provides civil
             10      relief for dealers against suppliers under certain circumstances related to warranty
             11      claims.
             12      This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
             13      ENACTS:
             14          13-14b-101, Utah Code Annotated 1953
             15          13-14b-102, Utah Code Annotated 1953
             16          13-14b-103, Utah Code Annotated 1953
             17          13-14b-104, Utah Code Annotated 1953
             18          13-14b-105, Utah Code Annotated 1953
             19      Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
             20          Section 1. Section 13-14b-101 is enacted to read:
             21     
CHAPTER 14b. UNIFORM EQUIPMENT DEALERS WARRANTY

             22     
REIMBURSEMENT ACT

             23          13-14b-101. Title.
             24          This chapter is known as the "Uniform Equipment Dealers Warranty Reimbursement
             25      Act."
             26          Section 2. Section 13-14b-102 is enacted to read:
             27          13-14b-102. Definitions.



             28          As used in this chapter:
             29          (1) "Audit" means a review by a supplier of a dealer's warranty claims records.
             30          (2) "Current net price" means the price charged to a dealer for repair parts as listed in
             31      the printed price list or catalog of the supplier in effect at the time a warranty claim is
             32      submitted.
             33          (3) "Dealer agreement" means an oral or written contract or an agreement of definite or
             34      indefinite duration, between a supplier and an equipment dealer that authorizes or requires the
             35      equipment dealer to perform services or supply parts under a warranty, or to do both.
             36          (4) "Equipment dealer" or "dealer" means a person or any other entity having a dealer
             37      agreement for selling and retailing:
             38          (a) agricultural equipment;
             39          (b) dairy and farmstead mechanization equipment;
             40          (c) construction, utility, and industrial equipment;
             41          (d) outdoor power equipment;
             42          (e) lawn and garden equipment; or
             43          (f) attachments or repair parts for equipment listed in Subsections (4)(a) through (e).
             44          (5) (a) "Supplier" means a person or any other entity engaged in the manufacturing,
             45      assembly, or wholesale distribution of an item listed in Subsections (4)(a) through (f).
             46          (b) "Supplier" includes:
             47          (i) any successor in interest, including a purchaser of assets or stock; and
             48          (ii) a surviving corporation resulting from a merger, liquidation, or reorganization of
             49      the original supplier that issued the warranty.
             50          (6) "Warranty claim" means a claim for payment submitted by an equipment dealer to a
             51      supplier for service or parts, or both, provided to a customer under a:
             52          (a) warranty issued by the supplier; or
             53          (b) recall or modification order issued by the supplier.
             54          Section 3. Section 13-14b-103 is enacted to read:
             55          13-14b-103. Warranty claims.
             56          (1) An equipment dealer may submit a warranty claim to a supplier if a warranty defect
             57      is identified and documented prior to the expiration of a supplier's warranty:
             58          (a) while a dealer agreement is in effect; or



             59          (b) after the termination of a dealer agreement if the claim is for work performed while
             60      the dealer agreement was in effect.
             61          (2) (a) A supplier shall accept or reject a warranty claim submitted under Subsection
             62      (1) within 30 days of the date the supplier received the claim.
             63          (b) A warranty claim not rejected within 30 days of the date the supplier received the
             64      claim is considered to be accepted by the supplier.
             65          (3) No later than 30 days after the date a warranty claim is accepted or rejected under
             66      Subsection (2), the supplier shall:
             67          (a) pay an accepted warranty claim; or
             68          (b) send the dealer written notice of the reason the warranty claim was rejected.
             69          (4) (a) A supplier shall compensate the dealer for the warranty claim as follows:
             70          (i) the dealer's established customer hourly retail labor rate multiplied by the
             71      reasonable and customary amount of time required to complete such work, including diagnostic
             72      time, expressed in hours and fractions of an hour; and
             73          (ii) the dealer's current net price plus 20% for parts, the 20% to reimburse the dealer for
             74      reasonable costs of doing business in performing the warranty service on the supplier's behalf,
             75      plus freight and handling costs.
             76          (b) (i) The supplier must give due consideration to any extraordinary expenses incurred
             77      by the dealer in performing necessary warranty repairs.
             78          (ii) If the repair work is for safety or mandatory modifications ordered by the supplier,
             79      the supplier shall reimburse the dealer for transportation costs incurred by the dealer.
             80          (5) After payment of a warranty claim, a supplier may not charge back, off-set, or
             81      otherwise attempt to recover from the dealer all or part of the amount of the claim unless:
             82          (a) the warranty claim was fraudulent;
             83          (b) the services for which the warranty claim was made were not properly performed or
             84      were unnecessary to comply with the warranty; or
             85          (c) the dealer did not substantiate the warranty claim according to the written
             86      requirements of the supplier that were in effect when the equipment was delivered to the dealer
             87      by the customer for warranty repairs.
             88          (6) If a supplier denies a warranty claim due to a particular item or part of the claim,
             89      the denial shall only affect the items or parts in question and not the complete warranty claim.


             90          (7) A supplier may not pass the cost of covering warranty claims under this chapter on
             91      to a dealer through any means including:
             92          (a) surcharges;
             93          (b) reduction of discounts; or
             94          (c) certification standards.
             95          (8) (a) The provisions of this section do not apply to a supplier or dealer where a
             96      written dealer agreement provides for compensation to a dealer for warranty labor and parts
             97      costs either as part of the pricing of the equipment to the dealer or in the form of a lump-sum
             98      payment.
             99          (b) The lump-sum payment under Subsection (8)(a) must be at least 5% of the
             100      suggested retail price of the equipment.
             101          Section 4. Section 13-14b-104 is enacted to read:
             102          13-14b-104. Audits.
             103          (1) A supplier may not audit a dealer's records concerning any paid warranty claim that
             104      was submitted to the supplier more than one year before the day on which the audit begins,
             105      except where an audit of records made within the one-year time period shows fraudulent
             106      claims, in which case this provision does not apply.
             107          (2) (a) After payment or rejection of a warranty claim under Subsection 13-14b-103 (2),
             108      a supplier may not audit a warranty claim more than once.
             109          (b) Subsection (2)(a) may not prevent a supplier from requiring additional information
             110      from a dealer if an initial audit finds potential errors, fraud, or inconsistencies.
             111          Section 5. Section 13-14b-105 is enacted to read:
             112          13-14b-105. Relief.
             113          (1) A dealer may bring an action in a court of competent jurisdiction to obtain payment
             114      of a warranty claim submitted under this chapter to a supplier if a supplier:
             115          (a) fails to make payment in accordance with the provisions of this chapter;
             116          (b) wrongfully rejects the dealer's warranty claim; or
             117          (c) violates any other provision of this chapter.
             118          (2) The court shall award the dealer costs and reasonable attorney's fees if it finds that
             119      the supplier has committed a violation under Subsection (1)(a), (b), or (c).





Legislative Review Note
    as of 1-7-03 9:12 AM


A limited legal review of this legislation raises no obvious constitutional or statutory concerns.

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel


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