Sec. 42-182. Certification of manufacturer's informal dispute settlement procedures. - Connecticut Statutes

      Sec. 42-182. Certification of manufacturer's informal dispute settlement procedures. (a) The Attorney General shall prepare an annual report evaluating the operation of informal dispute settlement procedures established by manufacturers of new motor vehicles and shall issue a certificate of approval to those manufacturers whose settlement procedures comply in all respects with the provisions of Title 16 Code of Federal Regulations Part 703, as in effect on October 1, 1982, and with the provisions of subsection (b) of this section. The report and certification shall be public records. The Attorney General or an agent authorized by him may conduct any inquiry or investigation in connection with the certification or evaluation of a manufacturer's informal dispute settlement procedure and may hold hearings, issue subpoenas requiring the attendance of witnesses and the production of records, documents or other evidence in connection therewith, administer oaths, examine witnesses, receive oral and documentary evidence and issue written interrogatories prescribing a return date which would allow a reasonable time to respond, which responses shall be under oath. Service of subpoenas compelling testimony or the production of documents and written interrogatories as provided herein, may be made by (1) personal service or service at the usual place of abode; or (2) registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, a duly executed copy of which shall be addressed to the person to be served at his principal place of business in this state, or, if said person has no principal place of business in this state, to his principal office or to his residence. In the event that any person shall fail to comply with a subpoena or with interrogatories issued pursuant to this section, the Attorney General or an agent authorized by him may apply to the superior court for the judicial district of Hartford for compliance, which court may, upon notice to such person, issue an order requiring such compliance, which shall be served upon such person. Hearings under this subsection shall be held in the manner provided for contested cases under sections 4-176e to 4-181a, inclusive, except that no informal disposition may be made by stipulation, agreed settlement, consent order or default, in any proceeding concerning the certification of an automobile manufacturer's informal dispute settlement procedure unless such proceeding is open to the public in accordance with the provisions of section 1-225. The Attorney General, after notice and hearing, may suspend or revoke the certification of an automobile manufacturer's informal dispute settlement procedure which violates the provisions of subsection (b) of this section or the provisions of Title 16 Code of Federal Regulations Part 703, as in effect on October 1, 1982. Any person aggrieved by a decision of the Attorney General or his authorized agent, may appeal in accordance with the provisions of sections 4-183 and 4-184. Section 4-184a shall be applicable to such appeals. Hearings, meetings and conferences, except telephone conversations, relating to evaluation and certification shall be open to the public in accordance with the provisions of section 1-225. If the Attorney General certifies a manufacturer's informal dispute settlement procedure, the provisions of subsection (d) of section 42-179 concerning refunds or replacement shall not apply to any consumer who has not first resorted to such procedure. A copy of the Attorney General's report and certification shall be forwarded by the Attorney General to the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, who may consider such report and certification in determining the fitness of an applicant for a manufacturer's license to engage in business as a manufacturer of motor vehicles for sale in this state, as provided for in section 14-67a.

      (b) A manufacturer's informal dispute procedure shall not include any practices which: (1) Delay a decision in any dispute beyond sixty days after the date on which the consumer initially resorts to the informal dispute settlement procedure either by a telephone call or by written notification that a dispute exists; (2) delay performance of remedies awarded in a settlement beyond ten days after receipt of notice of the consumer's acceptance of the decision, except that a manufacturer may have thirty days following the date of such receipt to deliver a replacement of a motor vehicle acceptable to the consumer or to refund the full contract price of the vehicle together with all collateral charges, and all consequential and incidental damages as defined in said section 42-179; (3) require the consumer to make the vehicle available more than once for inspection by a manufacturer's representative, and more than once for repair of the same defect by a dealer, in which cases, and upon proof of the consumer's financial responsibility in accordance with the provisions of section 14-112, the manufacturer of the defective vehicle shall provide for the loan of a reliable vehicle, not more than two years old, for use during the periods required for inspection or repair; (4) fail to consider in decisions any remedies provided by sections 42-179 and 42-181, this section and sections 42-183 and 42-184, such remedies to include (A) repair, replacement and refund, (B) reimbursement for expenses and collateral charges, (C) compensation for consequential and incidental damages as defined in said section 42-179 and (D) any other remedies available under applicable express or implied warranties; (5) require the consumer to take any action or assume any obligation not specifically authorized under the provisions of Title 16 Code of Federal Regulations Part 703, as in effect on October 1, 1982; or (6) fail to conform to all applicable standards and requirements of this chapter in the processing of consumer complaints.

      (c) Any manufacturer operating or participating in an informal dispute settlement procedure for resolving disputes with consumers in this state shall be required to maintain records which indicate the number of: (1) Vehicles sold in this state during the reporting period; (2) telephone and written requests from consumers to enter the dispute resolution program; (3) requests rejected as ineligible for the program; (4) requests accepted for resolution by the program; (5) cases in which a decision was reached and the manufacturer has complied with the decision within the time period for compliance established by the decision; (6) cases in which a decision was reached and the manufacturer's compliance occurred after the expiration of the time period for compliance established by the decision; (7) cases in which a decision was reached, the time period for compliance has expired and the manufacturer has not complied with such decision; (8) cases in which a decision was reached and the time period for compliance has not yet expired; (9) cases in which a decision awarded no relief to the consumer; (10) cases in which a decision awarded the consumer further repair or extended warranty; (11) cases in which a decision required the manufacturer to accept the return of the vehicle and a refund was issued to the consumer; (12) cases in which a decision required the manufacturer to accept the return of the vehicle and a replacement vehicle was provided to the consumer; (13) cases in which a decision is pending; (14) cases in which the consumer accepted the decision; (15) cases in which the consumer rejected the decision; (16) cases resolved by predecision settlement.

      (P.A. 84-338, S. 2, 8; P.A. 85-331, S. 3, 6; P.A. 87-522, S. 5, 6; P.A. 88-230, S. 1, 12; 88-317, S. 94, 107; P.A. 90-98, S. 1, 2; P.A. 93-142, S. 4, 7, 8; P.A. 95-220, S. 4-6.)

      History: P.A. 85-331 empowered the attorney general to conduct hearings in connection with the certification or evaluation of manufacturer's informal dispute settlement procedures, prohibited informal dispositions, unless such proceeding is open to the public, provided for the revocation of certification, appeals from decisions of the attorney general, required meetings relating to certification or evaluation to be open to the public, deleted the attorney general's power to adopt regulations, prohibited manufacturer's settlement procedures from failing to conform to standards of this chapter in processing consumer complaints; P.A. 87-522 amended Subsec. (a) by authorizing the attorney general to issue written interrogatories and prescribing the manner in which subpoenas may be served, and amended Subsec. (c) by specifying the type of records which manufacturers operating or participating in informal dispute settlement procedure are required to keep; P.A. 88-230 replaced "judicial district of Hartford-New Britain" with "judicial district of Hartford", effective September 1, 1991; P.A. 88-317 amended reference to Secs. 4-177 to 4-181 in Subsec. (a) to include new sections added to Ch. 54, effective July 1, 1989, and applicable to all agency proceedings commencing on or after that date; P.A. 90-98 changed the effective date of P.A. 88-230 from September 1, 1991, to September 1, 1993; P.A. 93-142 changed the effective date of P.A. 88-230 from September 1, 1993, to September 1, 1996, effective June 14, 1993; P.A. 95-220 changed the effective date of P.A. 88-230 from September 1, 1996, to September 1, 1998, effective July 1, 1995.

      Cited. 203 C. 63. Cited. 209 C. 579. Lemon Law II cited. Id. Cited. 212 C. 83. Lemon Law II cited. Id. Cited. 213 C. 136. Lemon Law II cited. Id. Cited. 218 C. 646. Lemon Law II cited. Id.