§ 109-D — Emergency vehicle warranties

§ 109-d. Emergency vehicle warranties. 1. Definitions. As used in this\nsection:\n a. "Ambulance" means a motor vehicle designed, appropriately equipped\nand used for the purpose of: (i) transporting emergency medical\npersonnel and equipment to sick or injured persons; and (ii) carrying\nsick or injured persons by a person or entity registered or certified as\nan ambulance service by the department of health, that was subject to a\nmanufacturer's express warranty at the time of original delivery and was\npurchased or transferred in this state within either the first eighteen\nthousand miles of operation or two years from the date of original\ndelivery, whichever is earlier.\n b. "Fire vehicle" means a motor vehicle specially designed and\nequipped for firefighting purposes which was subject to a manufacturer's\nexpress warranty at the time of original delivery and was purchased or\ntransferred in this state within either the first two thousand hours of\nservice or two years from the date of original delivery, whichever is\nearlier.\n c. "Municipal consumer" means a political subdivision or fire company\nwhich is the purchaser or transferee of a fire vehicle or ambulance and\nany other person entitled by the terms of the warranty to enforce the\nobligations of such warranty.\n d. "Warranty" means the written warranty, so labeled, of the\nmanufacturer and any other warranties set forth in the manufacturer's or\nits agent's bid or offer submitted where competitive bidding is required\nby statute, rule, regulation or local law, including but not limited to,\na bid or offer submitted pursuant to the competitive bidding\nrequirements of section one hundred three of this article, and including\nany conditions precedent to the enforcement of obligations under such\nwarranties.\n 2. Warranties. a. (i) If a new fire vehicle which is sold and\nregistered in this state does not conform to all express warranties\nduring the first two thousand hours of service or during the period of\ntwo years following the date of original delivery of the fire vehicle to\nthe municipal consumer, whichever is the earlier date, or if a new\nambulance which is sold and registered in this state does not conform to\nall express warranties during the first eighteen thousand miles of\noperation or during the period of two years following the date of\noriginal delivery of the ambulance to the municipal consumer, whichever\nis the earlier date, the municipal consumer shall during such period\nreport the nonconformity, defect or condition to the manufacturer, its\nagent or its authorized dealer. If the notification is received by the\nmanufacturer's agent or authorized dealer, the agent or dealer shall\nwithin seven days forward written notice thereof to the manufacturer by\ncertified mail, return receipt requested, and shall include in such\nnotice a statement indicating whether or not such repairs have been\nundertaken. The manufacturer, its agent or its authorized dealer shall\ncorrect said nonconformity, defect or condition at no charge to the\nmunicipal consumer, notwithstanding the fact that such repairs are made\nafter the expiration of such period of operation or such two year\nperiod.\n (ii) If a manufacturer's agent or authorized dealer refuses to\nundertake repairs within seven days of receipt of the notice by a\nmunicipal consumer of a nonconformity, defect or condition pursuant to\nsubparagraph (i) of this paragraph, the municipal consumer may\nimmediately forward written notice of such refusal to the manufacturer\nby certified mail, return receipt requested. The manufacturer or its\nauthorized agent shall have twenty days from receipt of such notice of\nrefusal to commence such repairs. If within such twenty day period, the\nmanufacturer or its authorized agent fails to commence such repairs, the\nmanufacturer, at the option of the municipal consumer, shall replace the\nfire vehicle or ambulance with a comparable vehicle, or accept return of\nthe fire vehicle or ambulance from the municipal consumer and refund to\nthe municipal consumer the full purchase price plus fees and charges.\nSuch fees and charges shall include but not be limited to all license\nfees, registration fees and any similar governmental charges, less a\nreasonable allowance for any damage not attributable to normal wear or\nimprovements.\n b. (i) If, within the period specified in paragraph a of this\nsubdivision, the manufacturer or its agents or authorized dealers are\nunable to repair or correct any defect or condition which substantially\nimpairs the value of the fire vehicle or ambulance to the municipal\nconsumer after a reasonable number of attempts, the manufacturer, at the\noption of the municipal consumer, shall replace the fire vehicle or\nambulance with a comparable vehicle, or accept return of the fire\nvehicle or ambulance from the municipal consumer and refund to the\nmunicipal consumer the full purchase price plus fees and charges. Any\nreturn of a fire vehicle or ambulance may, at the option of the\nmunicipal consumer, be made to the dealer or other authorized agent of\nthe manufacturer who sold such fire vehicle or ambulance to the\nmunicipal consumer or to the dealer or other authorized agent who\nattempted to repair or correct the defect or condition which\nnecessitated the return and shall not be subject to any further shipping\ncharges. Such fees and charges shall include but not be limited to all\nlicense fees, registration fees and any similar governmental charges,\nless a reasonable allowance for any damage not attributable to normal\nwear or improvements.\n (ii) A manufacturer which accepts return of a fire vehicle or\nambulance because such vehicle does not conform to its warranty shall\nnotify the commissioner of motor vehicles that the fire vehicle or\nambulance was returned to the manufacturer for nonconformity to its\nwarranty and shall disclose, in accordance with the provisions of\nsection four hundred seventeen-c of the vehicle and traffic law prior to\nresale either at wholesale or retail, that it was previously returned to\nthe manufacturer for nonconformity to its warranty. Refunds shall be\nmade to the municipal consumer and lienholder, if any, as their\ninterests may appear on the records of ownership kept by the department\nof motor vehicles.\n (iii) It shall be an affirmative defense to any claim under this\nsection that:\n (A) the nonconformity, defect or condition does not substantially\nimpair the value of the fire vehicle or ambulance; or\n (B) the nonconformity, defect or condition is the result of abuse,\nneglect, or unauthorized modifications or alterations of the fire\nvehicle or ambulance.\n c. It shall be presumed that a reasonable number of attempts have been\nundertaken to conform a fire vehicle or ambulance to the applicable\nexpress warranties, if:\n (i) the same nonconformity, defect or condition has been subject to\nrepair four or more times by the manufacturer or its agents or\nauthorized dealers within the first two thousand hours of service or\nduring the period of two years following the date of original delivery\nof the fire vehicle to a municipal consumer, whichever is the earlier\ndate, or, within the first eighteen thousand miles of operation or\nduring the period of two years following the date of original delivery\nof the ambulance to a municipal consumer, whichever is the earlier date,\nbut such nonconformity, defect or condition continues to exist; or\n (ii) the fire vehicle or ambulance is out of service by reason of\nrepair of one or more nonconformities, defects or conditions for a\ncumulative total of thirty or more calendar days during either period,\nwhichever is the earlier date.\n d. The term of an express warranty, the two year warranty period and\nthe thirty day out of service period shall be extended by any time\nduring which repair services are not available to the municipal consumer\nbecause of a war, invasion or strike, fire, flood or other natural\ndisaster.\n 3. Informal dispute settlement. a. (i) If a manufacturer has\nestablished an informal dispute settlement mechanism, such mechanism\nshall comply in all respects with the provisions of this section;\nprovided, however, that the provisions of subdivision two of this\nsection concerning refunds or replacement shall not apply to any\nmunicipal consumer who has not first resorted to such mechanism. In the\nevent that an arbitrator in such an informal dispute mechanism awards a\nrefund or replacement fire vehicle or ambulance, he or she shall not\nreduce the award to an amount less than the full purchase price or a\nfire vehicle or ambulance of equal value, plus all fees and charges\nexcept to the extent such reductions are specifically permitted under\nsubdivision two of this section.\n (ii) A manufacturer shall have up to thirty days from the date the\nmunicipal consumer notifies the manufacturer of their acceptance of the\narbitrator's decision to comply with the terms of that decision. Failure\nto comply with the thirty day limitation shall also entitle the\nmunicipal consumer to recover a fee of twenty-five dollars for each\nbusiness day of noncompliance up to five hundred dollars. Provided,\nhowever, that nothing contained in this paragraph shall impose any\nliability on a manufacturer where a delay beyond the thirty day period\nis attributable to a municipal consumer who has requested a replacement\nfire vehicle or ambulance built to order or with options that are not\ncomparable to the vehicle being replaced or otherwise made compliance\nimpossible within said period. In no event shall a municipal consumer\nwho has resorted to an informal dispute settlement mechanism be\nprecluded from seeking the rights or remedies available by law.\n b. (i) Each municipal consumer shall have the option of submitting any\ndispute arising under this section upon the payment of a prescribed\nfiling fee to an alternate arbitration mechanism established pursuant to\nregulations promulgated hereunder by the New York state attorney\ngeneral. Upon application of the municipal consumer and payment of the\nfiling fee, all manufacturers shall submit to such alternate\narbitration. Such alternate arbitration shall be conducted by a\nprofessional arbitrator or arbitration firm appointed by and under\nregulations established by the New York state attorney general. Such\nmechanism shall insure the personal objectivity of its arbitrators and\nthe right of each party to present its case, to be in attendance during\nany presentation made by the other party and to rebut or refute such\npresentation. In all other respects, such alternate arbitration\nmechanism shall be governed by article seventy-five of the civil\npractice law and rules; provided, however, that notwithstanding\nparagraph (i) of subdivision (a) of section seventy-five hundred two of\nthe civil practice law and rules, special proceedings brought before a\ncourt pursuant to such article seventy-five in relation to an\narbitration hereunder shall be brought only in the county where the\nmunicipal consumer is located or where the arbitration was held or is\npending.\n (ii) A court may award reasonable attorney's fees to a municipal\nconsumer who prevails in any judicial action or proceeding arising out\nof an arbitration proceeding held pursuant to subparagraph (i) of this\nparagraph. In the event a municipal consumer is required to retain the\nservices of an attorney to enforce collection of an award granted\npursuant to this section, the court may assess against the manufacturer\nreasonable attorney's fees for services rendered to enforce collection\nof said award.\n c. (i) Each manufacturer shall require that each informal dispute\nsettlement mechanism used by it provide, at a minimum, the following:\n (A) that the arbitrators participating in such mechanism are trained\nin arbitration and familiar with the provisions of this section, that\nthe arbitrators and municipal consumers who request arbitration are\nprovided with a written copy of the provisions of this section, together\nwith the notice set forth below entitled "NEW EMERGENCY VEHICLE LEMON\nLAW BILL OF RIGHTS", and that municipal consumers, upon request, are\ngiven an opportunity to make an oral presentation to the arbitrator;\n (B) that the rights and procedures used in the mechanism comply with\nfederal regulations promulgated by the federal trade commission relating\nto informal dispute settlement mechanisms; and\n (C) that the remedies set forth under paragraph c of subdivision two\nof this section are awarded if, after a reasonable number of attempts\nhave been undertaken under paragraph d of subdivision two of this\nsection to conform the vehicle to the express warranties, the defect or\nnonconformity still exists.\n (ii) The following notice shall be provided to municipal consumers and\narbitrators and shall be printed in conspicuous ten point bold face\ntype:\n NEW EMERGENCY VEHICLE LEMON LAW BILL OF RIGHTS\n (1) IN ADDITION TO ANY WARRANTIES OFFERED BY THE MANUFACTURER, YOUR\nNEW FIRE VEHICLE, IF PURCHASED AND REGISTERED IN NEW YORK STATE, IS\nWARRANTED AGAINST ALL MATERIAL DEFECTS FOR THE FIRST TWO THOUSAND HOURS\nOF OPERATION OR TWO YEARS, WHICHEVER COMES FIRST AND YOUR NEW AMBULANCE,\nIF PURCHASED AND REGISTERED IN NEW YORK STATE, IS WARRANTED AGAINST ALL\nMATERIAL DEFECTS FOR THE FIRST EIGHTEEN THOUSAND MILES OR TWO YEARS,\nWHICHEVER COMES FIRST.\n (2) YOU MUST REPORT ANY PROBLEMS TO THE MANUFACTURER, ITS AGENT OR\nAUTHORIZED DEALER.\n (3) UPON NOTIFICATION, THE PROBLEM MUST BE CORRECTED FREE OF CHARGE.\n (4) IF THE SAME PROBLEM CANNOT BE REPAIRED AFTER FOUR OR MORE\nATTEMPTS; OR IF YOUR FIRE VEHICLE OR AMBULANCE IS OUT OF SERVICE TO\nREPAIR A PROBLEM FOR A TOTAL OF THIRTY DAYS DURING THE WARRANTY PERIOD;\nOR IF THE MANUFACTURER OR ITS AGENT REFUSES TO REPAIR A SUBSTANTIAL\nDEFECT OR CONDITION WITHIN TWENTY DAYS OF RECEIPT OF NOTICE SENT BY YOU\nTO THE MANUFACTURER BY CERTIFIED MAIL, RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED; THEN\nYOU MAY BE ENTITLED TO EITHER A COMPARABLE FIRE VEHICLE OR AMBULANCE,\nOR, A REFUND OF YOUR PURCHASE PRICE PLUS LICENSE AND REGISTRATION FEES.\n (5) A MANUFACTURER MAY DENY LIABILITY IF THE PROBLEM IS CAUSED BY\nABUSE, NEGLECT, OR UNAUTHORIZED MODIFICATIONS OF THE FIRE VEHICLE OR\nAMBULANCE.\n (6) A MANUFACTURER MAY REFUSE TO EXCHANGE A COMPARABLE FIRE VEHICLE OR\nAMBULANCE, OR, REFUND YOUR PURCHASE PRICE IF THE PROBLEM DOES NOT\nSUBSTANTIALLY IMPAIR THE VALUE OF YOUR FIRE VEHICLE OR AMBULANCE.\n (7) IF A MANUFACTURER HAS ESTABLISHED AN ARBITRATION PROCEDURE, THE\nMANUFACTURER MAY REFUSE TO EXCHANGE A COMPARABLE FIRE VEHICLE OR\nAMBULANCE, OR, REFUND YOUR PURCHASE PRICE UNTIL YOU FIRST RESORT TO THE\nPROCEDURE.\n (8) IF THE MANUFACTURER DOES NOT HAVE AN ARBITRATION PROCEDURE, YOU\nMAY RESORT TO ANY REMEDY BY LAW AND MAY BE ENTITLED TO YOUR ATTORNEY'S\nFEES IF YOU PREVAIL.\n (9) NO CONTRACT OR AGREEMENT CAN VOID ANY OF THESE RIGHTS.\n (10) AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE ARBITRATION PROCEDURE MADE AVAILABLE\nTHROUGH THE MANUFACTURER, YOU MAY INSTEAD CHOOSE TO SUBMIT YOUR CLAIM TO\nAN INDEPENDENT ARBITRATOR, APPROVED BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL. YOU MAY\nHAVE TO PAY A FEE FOR SUCH AN ARBITRATION. CONTACT THE ATTORNEY\nGENERAL'S OFFICE TO FIND OUT HOW TO ARRANGE FOR INDEPENDENT ARBITRATION.\n (iii) All informal dispute settlement mechanisms shall maintain the\nfollowing records:\n (A) the number of purchase price refunds and fire vehicle and\nambulance replacements requested, the number of each awarded in\narbitration, the amount of each award and the number of awards that were\ncomplied with in a timely manner;\n (B) the number of awards where additional repairs or a warranty\nextension was the most prominent remedy, the amount or value of each\naward, and the number of such awards that were complied with in a timely\nmanner;\n (C) the number and total dollar amount of awards where some form of\nreimbursement for expenses or compensation for losses was the most\nprominent remedy, the amount or value of each award and the number of\nsuch awards that were complied with in a timely manner; and\n (D) the average number of days from the date of a municipal consumer's\ninitial request to arbitrate until the date of the final arbitrator's\ndecision and the average number of days from the date of the final\narbitrator's decision to the date on which performance was\nsatisfactorily carried out.\n d. Any action brought pursuant to this section shall be commenced\nwithin four years of the date of original delivery of the fire vehicle\nor ambulance to the municipal consumer.\n 4. Notice of rights. At the time of purchase of a fire vehicle or\nambulance, the manufacturer, its agent or authorized dealer shall\nprovide to the municipal consumer a notice, printed in not less than\neight point bold face type, entitled "New Emergency Vehicle Lemon Law\nBill of Rights". The text of such notice shall be identical with the\nnotice required by paragraph c of subdivision three of this section.\n 5. Void agreements. Any agreement entered into by a municipal consumer\nfor the purchase of a new fire vehicle or ambulance which waives, limits\nor disclaims the rights set forth in this section shall be void as\ncontrary to public policy. Said rights shall inure to a subsequent\ntransferee of such fire vehicle or ambulance. Any provision of any\nagreement entered into by a municipal consumer for the purchase of a new\nfire vehicle or ambulance which includes as an additional cost for such\nvehicle an expense identified as being for the purpose of affording such\nmunicipal consumer their rights under this section, shall be void as\ncontrary to public policy.\n 6. Preservation of rights. Nothing in this section shall in any way\nlimit the rights or remedies which are otherwise available to a\nmunicipal consumer under any other law.\n