The Maryland Legislature has had two farm equipment “Lemon Law” bills introduced – House Bill 1345 and Senate Bill 990. They are identical in content but will be making their way through the separate chambers independently. The House version – 1345 – has been scheduled for a hearing by the Economic Matters Committee on March 4th at 1:00 p.m. NAEDA encourages dealers to submit opposition testimony. These bills misalign warranty responsibilities with manufacturer-dealer relationships, placing undue burden and liability on dealers.
A few of the significant issues are:
- Requiring dealers to provide written notice to customers of their rights proposed in the bill.
- Requires manufacturers OR dealers to provide repairs at no cost.
- Repairs are required to be made within the unrealistic timeframe of 30 days without consideration of complexity or parts availability.
- Would allow for civil action against dealers if a customer suffers a loss as defined in the bill.
NAEDA has prepared a position statement, which is attached for your reference, and will submit it as testimony. We also plan to give oral testimony at the hearing on March 4th. As the session proceeds, we will keep you apprised of changes to these two bills.
If you have any questions, would like help drafting testimony, or would like to discuss anything else regarding these bills, please contact NAEDA’s Director of Government Affairs, Kipp McGuire, at kmcguire@naeda.com or by phone at (771) 208-4009.
