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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5312
February Session, 2020
LCO No. 1979
Referred to Committee on PUBLIC SAFETY AND SECURITY
Introduced by:
(PS)
AN ACT CONCERNING WA RRANTIES APPLICABLE TO POLICE,
FIRE AND OTHER MUNIC IPAL VEHICLES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 42-179 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2020): 2
(a) As used in this chapter: 3
(1) "Consumer" means the purchaser, other than for purposes of 4
resale, of a motor vehicle, a lessee of a motor vehicle, any person to 5
whom such motor vehicle is transferred during the duration of an 6
express warranty applicable to such motor vehicle, and any person 7
entitled by the terms of such warranty to enforce the obligations of the 8
warranty. [; and] "Consumer" includes a municipality. 9
(2) ["motor vehicle"] "Motor vehicle" means (A) a passenger motor 10
vehicle, a passenger and commercial motor vehicle or a motorcycle, as 11
defined in section 14-1, (B) a police vehicle, or (C) an emergency vehicle, 12
as defined in section 42-355, which is sold or leased in this state. 13 Raised Bill No. 5312
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(b) If a new motor vehicle does not conform to all applicable express 14
warranties, and the consumer reports the nonconformity to the 15
manufacturer, its agent or its authorized dealer during the period of two 16
years following the date of original delivery of the motor vehicle to a 17
consumer or during the period of the first twenty-four thousand miles 18
of operation, whichever period ends first, the manufacturer, its agent or 19
its authorized dealer shall make such repairs as are necessary to 20
conform the motor vehicle to such express warranties, notwithstanding 21
the fact that such repairs are made after the expiration of the applicable 22
period. 23
(c) No consumer shall be required to notify the manufacturer of a 24
claim under this section and sections 42-181 to 42-184, inclusive, unless 25
the manufacturer has clearly and conspicuously disclosed to the 26
consumer, in the warranty or owner's manual, that written notification 27
of the nonconformity is required before the consumer may be eligible 28
for a refund or replacement of the motor vehicle. The manufacturer shall 29
include with the warranty or owner's manual the name and address to 30
which the consumer shall send such written notification. 31
(d) If the manufacturer or its agents or authorized dealers are unable 32
to conform the motor vehicle to any applicable express warranty by 33
repairing or correcting any defect or condition which substantially 34
impairs the use, safety or value of the motor vehicle to the consumer 35
after a reasonable number of attempts, the manufacturer shall replace 36
the motor vehicle with a new motor vehicle acceptable to the consumer, 37
or accept return of the motor vehicle from the consumer and refund to 38
the consumer, lessor and lienholder, if any, as their interests may 39
appear, the following: (1) The full contract price, including but not 40
limited to, charges for undercoating, dealer preparation and 41
transportation and installed options, (2) all collateral charges, including 42
but not limited to, sales tax, license and registration fees, and similar 43
government charges, (3) all finance charges incurred by the consumer 44
after he first reports the nonconformity to the manufacturer, agent or 45
dealer and during any subsequent period when the motor vehicle is out 46
of service by reason of repair, and (4) all incidental damages as defined 47 Raised Bill No. 5312
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in section 42a-2-715, less a reasonable allowance for the consumer's use 48
of the motor vehicle. No authorized dealer shall be held liable by the 49
manufacturer for any refunds or motor vehicle replacements in the 50
absence of evidence indicating that dealership repairs have been carried 51
out in a manner inconsistent with the manufacturers' instructions. 52
Refunds or replacements shall be made to the consumer, lessor and 53
lienholder if any, as their interests may appear. A reasonable allowance 54
for use shall be that amount obtained by multiplying the total contract 55
price of the motor vehicle by a fraction having as its denominator one 56
hundred twenty thousand and having as its numerator the number of 57
miles that the motor vehicle traveled prior to the manufacturer's 58
acceptance of its return. It shall be an affirmative defense to any claim 59
under this section (1) that an alleged nonconformity does not 60
substantially impair such use, safety or value or (2) that a nonconformity 61
is the result of abuse, neglect or unauthorized modifications or 62
alterations of a motor vehicle by a consumer. 63
(e) It shall be presumed that a reasonable number of attempts have 64
been undertaken to conform a motor vehicle to the applicable express 65
warranties, if (1) the same nonconformity has been subject to repair four 66
or more times by the manufacturer or its agents or authorized dealers 67
during the period of two years following the date of original delivery of 68
the motor vehicle to a consumer or during the period of the first twenty-69
four thousand miles of operation, whichever period ends first, but such 70
nonconformity continues to exist, or (2) the motor vehicle is out of 71
service by reason of repair for a cumulative total of thirty or more 72
calendar days during the applicable period, determined pursuant to 73
subdivision (1) of this subsection. Such two-year period and such thirty-74
day period shall be extended by any period of time during which repair 75
services are not available to the consumer because of a war, invasion, 76
strike or fire, flood or other natural disaster. No claim shall be made 77
under this section unless at least one attempt to repair a nonconformity 78
has been made by the manufacturer or its agent or an authorized dealer 79
or unless such manufacturer, its agent or an authorized dealer has 80
refused to attempt to repair such nonconformity. 81 Raised Bill No. 5312
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(f) If a motor vehicle has a nonconformity which results in a condition 82
which is likely to cause death or serious bodily injury if the motor 83
vehicle is driven, it shall be presumed that a reasonable number of 84
attempts have been undertaken to conform such motor vehicle to the 85
applicable express warranties if the nonconformity has been subject to 86
repair at least twice by the manufacturer or its agents or authorized 87
dealers within the express warranty term or during the period of one 88
year following the date of the original delivery of the motor vehicle to a 89
consumer, whichever period ends first, but such nonconformity 90
continues to exist. The term of an express warranty and such one-year 91
period shall be extended by any period of time during which repair 92
services are not available to the consumer because of war, invasion, 93
strike or fire, flood or other natural disaster. 94
(g) (1) No motor vehicle which is returned to any person pursuant to 95
any provision of this chapter or in settlement of any dispute related to 96
any complaint made under the provisions of this chapter and which 97
requires replacement or refund shall be resold, transferred or leased in 98
the state without clear and conspicuous written disclosure of the fact 99
that such motor vehicle was so returned prior to resale or lease. Such 100
disclosure shall be affixed to the motor vehicle and shall be included in 101
any contract for sale or lease. The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall, 102
by regulations adopted in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, 103
prescribe the form and content of any such disclosure statement and 104
establish provisions by which the commissioner may remove such 105
written disclosure after such time as the commissioner may determine 106
that such motor vehicle is no longer defective. (2) If a manufacturer 107
accepts the return of a motor vehicle or compensates any person who 108
accepts the return of a motor vehicle pursuant to subdivision (1) of this 109
subsection such manufacturer shall stamp the words 110
"MANUFACTURER BUYBACK" clearly and conspicuously on the face 111
of the original title in letters at least one-quarter inch high and, within 112
ten days of receipt of the title, shall submit a copy of the stamped title to 113
the Department of Motor Vehicles. The Department of Motor Vehicles 114
shall maintain a listing of such buyback vehicles and in the case of any 115 Raised Bill No. 5312
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request for a title for a buyback vehicle, shall cause the words 116
"MANUFACTURER BUYBACK" to appear clearly and conspicuously 117
on the face of the new title in letters which are at least one-quarter inch 118
high. Any person who applies for a title shall disclose to the department 119
the fact that such motor vehicle was returned as set forth in this 120
subsection. (3) If a manufacturer accepts the return of a motor vehicle 121
from a consumer due to a nonconformity or defect, in exchange for a 122
refund or a replacement motor vehicle, whether as a result of an 123
administrative or judicial determination, an arbitration proceeding or a 124
voluntary settlement, the manufacturer shall notify the Department of 125
Motor Vehicles and shall provide the department with all relevant 126
information, including the year, make, model, vehicle identification 127
number and prior title number of the motor vehicle. The Commissioner 128
of Motor Vehicles shall adopt regulations in accordance with chapter 54 129
specifying the format and time period in which such information shall 130
be provided and the nature of any additional information which the 131
commissioner may require. (4) The provisions of this subsection shall 132
apply to motor vehicles originally returned in another state from a 133
consumer due to a nonconformity or defect in exchange for a refund or 134
replacement motor vehicle and which a lessor or transferor with actual 135
knowledge subsequently sells, transfers or leases in this state. 136
(h) All express and implied warranties arising from the sale of a new 137
motor vehicle shall be subject to the provisions of part 3 of article 2 of 138
title 42a. 139
(i) Nothing in this section shall in any way limit the rights or remedies 140
which are otherwise available to a consumer under any other law. 141
(j) If a manufacturer has established an informal dispute settlement 142
procedure which is certified by the Attorney General as complying in 143
all respects with the provisions of Title 16 Code of Federal Regulations 144
Part 703, as in effect on October 1, 1982, and with the provisions of 145
subsection (b) of section 42-182, the provisions of subsection (d) of this 146
section concerning refunds or replacement shall not apply to any 147
consumer who has not first resorted to such procedure. 148 Raised Bill No. 5312
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(k) The provisions of this section and sections 42-179a to 42-186, 149
inclusive, shall not apply to an emergency vehicle, as defined in section 150
42-355, to the extent an express warranty on such emergency vehicle is 151
governed by the provisions of section 42-355. 152
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2020 42-179
Statement of Purpose:
To expand the automobile lemon law to cover municipal vehicles.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]