Lemon Law - Rhode Island
Lemon Law
Lemon Law - "Lemon
law" is that body of state law which defines an automobile
owners rights when the manufacturer is not able to repair the
automobile within the limits specified. In
such cases, the automobile is referred to as a "lemon",
and is subject to the conditions of the state lemon law.
Your Lemon Law
Disclaimer:
These pages are created to inform and educate the public about lemon
law and under the lemon law in your state. They are not and
should not be considered legal opinions or advice as to whether you
have rights under lemon law or whether you should pursue "a
lemon law case". If after reading this information,
you believe you qualify, you should seek the advice and counsel of
an attorney specializing in lemon law in your state. Remember
that each state's lemon laws vary.
The following words and phrases
which are used in this chapter shall, for the purposes of this
chapter, have the following meanings:
(1) "Consumer"
means a buyer, other than for purposes of resale, of a motor
vehicle, any person to whom that motor vehicle is transferred for
the same purposes during the duration of any express or implied
warranty applicable to that motor vehicle, and any other person
entitled by the terms of that warranty to enforce its obligations.
(2) "Dealer" means
any person engaged in the business of selling, offering to sell,
soliciting, or advertising the sale of new motor vehicles.
(3) "Lease price"
means the aggregate of:
(i) Lessor's actual purchase
costs.
(ii) Collateral charges, if
applicable.
(iii) Any fee paid to
another to obtain the lease.
(iv) Any insurance or other
costs expended by the lessor for the benefit of the lessee.
(v) An amount equal to state
and local sales taxes not otherwise included as collateral charges,
paid by the lessor when the vehicle was initially purchased.
(vi) An amount equal to five
percent (5%) of the lessor's actual purchase costs.
(4) "Lessee" means
any consumer who leases a motor vehicle for one year or more
pursuant to a written lease agreement which provides that the lessee
is responsible for repairs to such motor vehicle or any consumer who
leases a motor vehicle pursuant to a lease-purchase agreement.
(5) "Lessee cost"
means the aggregate deposit and rental payments previously paid to
the lessor for the leased vehicle.
(6) "Lessor" means
a person who holds title to a motor vehicle leased to a lessee under
a written lease agreement or who holds the lessor's rights under
such agreement.
(7) "Manufacturer"
means any person, partnership, firm, association, corporation, or
trust, resident or nonresident, which is engaged in the business of
manufacturing or assembling new motor vehicles, or which is engaged
in the business of importing new motor vehicles which are
manufactured or assembled outside of the United States.
(8) "Motor
vehicle" or "vehicle" means an automobile, truck,
motorcycle, or van having a registered gross vehicle weight of less
than ten thousand pounds (10,000 lbs.), sold, leased, or replaced by
a dealer or manufacturer after May 11, 1984, except that it shall
not include a motorized camper as defined in 31-1-3(q).
(9)
"Nonconformity" means any specific or generic defect or
malfunction, or any concurrent combination of such defects or
malfunctions, that substantially impairs the use, market value, or
safety of a motor vehicle.
(10) "Term of
protection" means one year or fifteen thousand (15,000) miles
of use from the date of original delivery of a new motor vehicle to
the consumer, whichever comes first; or, in the case of a
replacement vehicle provided by a manufacturer to a consumer under
this chapter, one year or fifteen thousand (15,000) miles from the
date of delivery to the consumer of that replacement vehicle,
whichever comes first.
31-5.2-2 Manufacturers'
obligation to fulfill warranties.
If a motor vehicle does not conform
to any applicable express or implied warranties, including, but not
limited to, the implied warranty of merchantability as defined in
6A-2-314 and the implied warranty of fitness for a particular
purpose as defined in 6A-2-315, and the consumer or lessee reports
the nonconformity to the manufacturer of the vehicle, its agent, or
its authorized dealer or lessor during the term of protection, the
manufacturer, its agent or its authorized dealer shall effect such
repairs as are necessary to conform the vehicle to the warranty,
notwithstanding the fact that those repairs are made after the
expiration of the term.
31-5.2-3 Replacement of
nonconforming vehicle.
(a) If the manufacturer, its
agent, or its authorized dealer or lessor does not conform the motor
vehicle to any applicable express or implied warranty by curing any
nonconformity after a reasonable number of attempts, the
manufacturer shall accept return of the vehicle from the consumer or
lessee and, at the consumer's or lessee's option, refund the full
contract price or lease price of the vehicle including all credits
and allowances for any trade-in vehicle, less a reasonable allowance
for use, or replace it with a comparable new motor vehicle in good
working order. A manufacturer replacing a motor vehicle shall have
thirty (30) calendar days from the date of return of the motor
vehicle under the provisions of this chapter to deliver a comparable
motor vehicle. If, within that thirty (30) days, no comparable motor
vehicle has been delivered, the manufacturer shall refund the full
contract price or lease price less a reasonable allowance for use.
In instances in which a vehicle is replaced by a manufacturer under
the provisions of this chapter, the manufacturer shall reimburse the
consumer or lessee for any fees for the transfer of registration or
any sales tax incurred by the consumer or lessee as a result of that
replacement. In instances in which a vehicle which was financed by
the manufacturer or its subsidiary or agent is replaced under the
provisions of this chapter, the manufacturer, subsidiary, or agent
shall not require the consumer or lessee to enter into any
refinancing agreement with an interest rate or other financial terms
which are less favorable to the consumer or lessee than those stated
in the original financing agreement. In instances in which a refund
is tendered under the provisions of this chapter, the manufacturer
shall also reimburse the consumer or lessee for incidental costs
including sales tax, registration fee, finance charges, and any cost
of non-removable options added by an authorized dealer or lessor.
Whenever a vehicle is replaced or refunded under the provisions of
this chapter, in instances in which towing services and rental
vehicles of comparable year and size were not made available at no
cost to the consumer or lessee, the manufacturer shall also
reimburse the consumer or lessee for towing and reasonable rental
costs that were a direct result of vehicle nonconformity. Refunds
shall be made to the consumer or lessee and to the lien holder, if
any, as their interests may appear. A reasonable allowance for use
shall be obtained by multiplying the total contract price or lessee
cost of the vehicle by a fraction having as its denominator one
hundred thousand (100,000) and having as its numerator the number of
miles that the vehicle traveled prior to the consumer's first report
of the nonconformity to the manufacturer, its agent, or its dealer
or lessor plus the number of miles that it traveled during any
subsequent period when the vehicle was not out of service by reason
of repair. A consumer or lessee shall have the option of retaining
the use of any vehicle returned under the provisions of this chapter
until such time as the consumer or lessee has been tendered a full
refund or replacement vehicle acceptable to the consumer or lessee.
The use of any vehicle retained by a consumer or lessee after its
return to a manufacturer under the provisions of this chapter shall,
in instances in which a refund is tendered, be reflected in the
above mentioned reasonable allowance for use.
(b) If applicable, refunds
shall be made to the lessor and lessee as their interests may appear
on the records of ownership as follows: the lessee shall receive the
lessee cost and the lessor shall receive the lease price less the
aggregate deposit and rental payments previously paid to the lessor
for the leased vehicle. If it is determined that the lessee is
entitled to a refund pursuant to this chapter, the consumer's lease
agreement with the lessor shall be terminated upon payment of the
refund and no penalty for early termination shall be assessed.
31-5.2-4 Affirmative defenses.
It shall be an affirmative defense
to any claim under this section:
(1) that an alleged
nonconformity does not substantially impair the use, market value,
or safety of the vehicle, or
(2) that a nonconformity is
the result of abuse, neglect, or unauthorized substantial
modification or alteration of the vehicle by the consumer or lessee.
31-5.2-5 Time allowed for
correction of nonconformity.
(a) A reasonable number of
attempts shall be presumed to have been undertaken to conform a
motor vehicle to any applicable express or implied warranties if:
(1) the same nonconformity
has been subject to repair four (4) or more times by the
manufacturer or its agents or authorized dealers or lessors within
the term of protection, but the nonconformity continues to exist or
the nonconformity has recurred within the term of protection, or
(2) the vehicle is out of
service by reason of the repair of any nonconformity for a
cumulative total of thirty (30) or more calendar days during the
term of protection; provided, however, that the manufacturer shall
be afforded one additional opportunity, not to exceed seven (7)
calendar days, to cure any nonconformity arising during the term of
protection, notwithstanding the fact that the additional opportunity
to cure commences after the term of protection.
(b) The additional
opportunity to cure shall commence on the day the manufacturer first
knows or should have known that the limits specified in subsection
(a)(1) or (a)(2) have been met or exceeded. The term of protection,
the thirty (30) calendar day period specified in subsection (a)(2)
and the additional opportunity to cure shall be extended by any
period of time during which repair services are not available to the
consumer or lessee as a direct result of a war, invasion, fire,
flood or other natural disaster. The term of protection, the thirty
(30) calendar day period and the additional opportunity to cure
shall also be extended by that period of time during which repair
services are not available as a direct result of a strike; provided,
however, that the manufacturer, its agent, or its authorized dealer
or lessor makes provision for the free use of a vehicle of
comparable year and size by any consumer or lessee whose vehicle is
out of service by reason of repair during a strike. The burden shall
be on the manufacturer to show that any event claimed as a reason
for an extension under the provisions of this section was the direct
cause for the failure of the manufacturer, its agent or lessor, or
its authorized dealer to cure any nonconformity during the time of
that event. Extensions for concurrent events shall not be
cumulative.
31-5.2-6 Rights and remedies
cumulative.
Nothing in this chapter shall be
construed to limit the rights or remedies which are otherwise
available to a consumer or lessee under law.
31-5.2-7 Informal dispute
settlement procedures.
If a manufacturer has established
an informal dispute settlement procedure which complies in all
respects with the provisions of title 16, Code of Federal
Regulations, part 703, as from time to time amended, or which has
been approved by the federal trade commission or by the attorney
general of this state, the provisions of 31-5.2-3 concerning refunds
or replacement shall not apply to any consumer or lessee who has not
first resorted to the procedure or the procedure set forth in
31-5.2-7.1. This section shall not apply unless the manufacturer,
its agents, or its authorized dealer or lessor shall have provided
the consumer or lessee with clear and conspicuous written notice of
the procedure at the time of delivery of the motor vehicle. A
decision resulting from such an informal dispute settlement
procedure shall be binding upon the manufacturer if the consumer or
lessee elects to accept the decision. The manufacturer shall perform
its obligations as set forth in said decision within a reasonable
period of time not to exceed thirty (30) calendar days from the
rendering of the decision. In no event shall a consumer or lessee
who has resorted to an informal dispute settlement procedure be
precluded from seeking the rights and/or remedies provided by this
chapter. Any applicable statute of limitation including but not
limited to that set forth in 31-5.2-12 shall be tolled during the
period from the initiation of a dispute settlement procedure until
thirty (30) days following the rendering of a final decision in said
process.
31-5.2-8 Waiver of rights
prohibited.
Any agreement entered into by a
consumer or lessee for the purchase or lease of a new motor vehicle
which waives, limits, or disclaims the rights set forth in this
chapter shall be void as contrary to public policy. These rights
shall inure to a subsequent transferee of the motor vehicle.
31-5.2-9 Disclosure of
nonconformity prior to resale.
No motor vehicle that is returned
to the manufacturer under the provisions of this chapter shall be
resold or re-leased in the state without clear and conspicuous
written disclosure to the prospective purchaser or lessee prior to
resale of the fact that it was so returned due to a nonconformity.
The attorney general shall prescribe the exact form and content of
the disclosure statement.
31-5.2-10 Cause of action.
An aggrieved consumer or lessee may
bring an action under the Rules of Civil Procedure in the superior
court to enforce the provisions of this chapter.
31-5.2-11 Attorney's fees.
The court hearing a complaint
brought by a consumer or lessee aggrieved by a violation of this
chapter shall award reasonable attorney's fees to a prevailing
plaintiff.
31-5.2-12 Commencement of
action.
Any action brought pursuant to this
chapter shall be commenced within three (3) years of the date of
original delivery of the motor vehicle to the consumer or lessee or
within two (2) years of the date on which the mileage on the motor
vehicle reached fifteen thousand (15,000) miles, whichever is
earlier.
31-5.2-13 Deceptive trade
practice.
A manufacturer's failure to comply
with any of the provisions of this chapter shall constitute a
deceptive trade practice under the terms of chapter 13.1 of title 6.
All of the public and private remedies provided for in chapter 13.1
of title 6 shall be available to enforce the provisions of this
chapter.
