63-17-117 - Warranty or sales incentive audits to be conducted within certain amount of time after payment of disputed claim; approved and paid claims not to be charged back to dealer absent fraud, im - Mississippi Statutes

§ 63-17-117. Warranty or sales incentive audits to be conducted within certain amount of time after payment of disputed claim; approved and paid claims not to be charged back to dealer absent fraud, improper repair, or failure to substantiate claim.
 

(1)  Notwithstanding the terms of any franchise agreement, warranty and sales incentive audits of a motor vehicle dealer's records may be conducted by the manufacturer or distributor. Any audit for warranty parts or service compensation shall be performed within the eighteen-month period immediately following the date of the payment of the disputed claim by the manufacturer or distributor. Any audit for sales incentives, service incentives, rebates, or other forms of incentive compensation shall be performed within the twenty-four-month period immediately following the date of the payment of the disputed claim by the manufacturer or distributor. 

(2)  No claim which has been approved and paid may be charged back to the motor vehicle dealer unless it can be shown by a preponderance of the evidence that the claim was false or fraudulent, that the repairs were not properly made or were unnecessary to correct the defective conditions under generally accepted standards of workmanship, or that the motor vehicle dealer failed to reasonably substantiate the repair in accordance with the manufacturer's or distributor's reasonable written claim requirement. 

(3)  A manufacturer or distributor shall not deny a claim based solely on a motor vehicle dealer's incidental failure to comply with a specific claim processing requirement that results in a clerical error or other administrative technicality. 

(4)  Limitations on warranty parts, service compensation, sales incentive audits, rebates, or other forms of incentive compensation, chargebacks for warranty parts or service compensation, and service incentives and chargebacks for sales compensation only, shall not be effective in the case of intentionally false or fraudulent claims. 
 

Sources: Laws, 2000, ch. 418, § 6, eff from and after July 1, 2000.