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<section article="gtr" article_name="Transportation" number="15-212" title_number="15" title_name="Vehicle Laws -- Licensing of Businesses and Occupations" subtitle_number="2" subtitle_name="Manufacturers, Distributors, and Factory Branches">
  <level label="a">
    <text>In this section, “motor home” means a motor vehicle that:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>Is designed to provide temporary living quarters, built into as an integral part of, or permanently attached to, a self–propelled motor vehicle chassis or van; and</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>Contains permanently installed independent life support systems which provide at least four of the following facilities:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>Cooking;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>Refrigeration or ice box;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>Self–contained toilet;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iv">
        <text>Heating, air–conditioning, or both;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="v">
        <text>A potable water supply system including a faucet and sink;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="vi">
        <text>Separate 110–125 volt electrical power supply; or</text>
      </level>
      <level label="vii">
        <text>An LP gas supply.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="b">
    <text>In addition to the other grounds specified in Subtitle 1 of this title for refusal, suspension, or revocation of a license, the Administration may refuse to grant a license under this subtitle to any person and may suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew the license of any person if it finds that the person has:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>Made any material misrepresentation in transferring a vehicle or truck component part to a dealer or distributor;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>Failed to comply with any written warranty agreement; or</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>Failed to reasonably compensate any franchised dealer who does work under:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>The vehicle preparation and delivery obligations of the dealer; or</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>Any outstanding express or implied new vehicle or truck component parts warranty.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="c">
    <level label="1">
      <text>A licensee shall specify in writing to each of its motor vehicle dealers licensed in the State:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>The dealer’s obligation for vehicle preparation, delivery, warranties, and recalls on its products;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>The schedule of compensation to be paid to the dealers for parts, including parts assemblies, and labor, including diagnostic labor and associated administrative requirements, in connection with the service obligations established under item (i) of this paragraph; and</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>A time allowance for the performance of labor described in this paragraph that is reasonable and adequate.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>Reasonable compensation under this section may not be less than:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>With respect to labor for warranty or recall repairs, the dealer’s current labor rate for nonwarranty repairs of a like kind for retail customers; and</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>With respect to any part, the dealer’s cost plus its current retail mark–up percentage charged to retail customers for nonwarranty repairs of a like kind.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <level label="i">
        <text>For purposes of paragraph (2) of this subsection, the dealer’s labor rate or parts mark–up percentage shall be established by a submission to the licensee of whichever of the following produces fewer repair orders closed, as of the date of submission, within the preceding 180 days:</text>
        <level label="1">
          <text>100 qualifying sequential customer–paid repair orders; or</text>
        </level>
        <level label="2">
          <text>90 days of qualifying customer–paid repair orders.</text>
        </level>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>With respect to parts, a schedule of compensation established under this subsection shall be equal to the parts mark–up percentage as reflected in qualifying repair orders, calculated by dividing the total charges for parts in the repair orders by the total dealer cost for the parts minus one.</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <level label="1">
          <text>A dealer may not make a submission under this subsection more than once in 1 year.</text>
        </level>
        <level label="2">
          <text>For purposes of subsubparagraph 1 of this subparagraph, a revision or supplement to a submission to correct or clarify the submission does not constitute a new submission.</text>
        </level>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="4">
      <text>Repair orders for labor or parts in connection with any of the following may not constitute a qualifying repair order under paragraph (2) of this subsection:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>Accessories;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>Repairs for manufacturer, distributor, or factory branch special events, promotions, or service campaigns;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>Repairs related to collision;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iv">
        <text>Vehicle emission or safety inspections required by law;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="v">
        <text>Parts sold, or repairs performed, at wholesale or for insurance carriers, or other third–party payors;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="vi">
        <text>Routine maintenance not covered under any warranty, including maintenance involving fluids, filters, and belts not provided in the course of repairs;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="vii">
        <text>Nuts, bolts, fasteners, and similar items that do not have an individual parts number;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="viii">
        <text>Tires;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ix">
        <text>Vehicle reconditioning;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="x">
        <text>Goodwill or policy repairs or replacements; or</text>
      </level>
      <level label="xi">
        <text>Repairs on vehicles from a different line–make.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="5">
      <text>If a licensee gives a dealer a part at no cost to use in performing a repair under a recall, campaign service action, or warranty repair, the licensee shall compensate the dealer for the part by paying the dealer the parts mark–up percentage established under this subsection on the cost for the part listed on the licensee’s price schedule.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="6">
      <level label="i">
        <text>The schedule of compensation submitted under paragraph (3) of this subsection shall be presumed to be accurate and reasonable.</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>The licensee shall approve or rebut the dealer’s submission within 30 days of receipt.</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>If the licensee approves a dealer’s submission, the licensee shall begin compensating the dealer under the schedule within 30 days after the date of approval.</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iv">
        <text>In the absence of a timely rebuttal by the licensee, the schedule of compensation submitted by the dealer shall go into effect on the 31st day following the licensee’s receipt of the schedule.</text>
      </level>
      <level label="v">
        <text>Any rebuttal of the schedule of compensation by the licensee shall:</text>
        <level label="1">
          <text>Be delivered to the dealer within 30 days of the licensee’s receipt of the schedule; and</text>
        </level>
        <level label="2">
          <text>Consist of reasonable substantiating evidence that the declared rate is materially inaccurate.</text>
        </level>
      </level>
      <level label="vi">
        <text>In the event of a timely rebuttal, on resolution of the matter by agreement of the parties or by administrative, judicial, or other action, a licensee’s payment obligations under the resulting schedule of compensation shall begin on the 31st day following a final order unless otherwise provided for by the fact finder.</text>
      </level>
      <level label="vii">
        <level label="1">
          <text>To the extent that any action commenced under subsection (d) of this section or § 15–213 or § 15–214 of this subtitle involves the application of paragraph (3) of this subsection, the issues shall be limited to whether the labor rate or parts mark–up percentage stated in the dealer’s submission was materially inaccurate.</text>
        </level>
        <level label="2">
          <text>A licensee shall have the burden of proving under this subparagraph that the dealer’s submission was materially inaccurate.</text>
        </level>
      </level>
      <level label="viii">
        <level label="1">
          <text>A licensee may verify a dealer’s effective rates once annually.</text>
        </level>
        <level label="2">
          <text>If a licensee finds that a dealer’s effective rates have increased or decreased, the licensee may increase or decrease, respectively, the warranty reimbursement rate prospectively.</text>
        </level>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="7">
      <text>A licensee may not directly or indirectly:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>Calculate its own labor rate or parts mark–up percentage on a warranty reimbursement rate submission by the licensee’s dealer under this section, or require a dealer to calculate a labor rate or parts mark–up percentage, by any method not required under this section, including a method that is unduly burdensome or time–consuming or that requires information that is unduly burdensome or time–consuming to provide such as:</text>
        <level label="1">
          <text>A part–by–part or transaction–by–transaction calculation; or</text>
        </level>
        <level label="2">
          <text>Presentation of information as to, or calculations based on, the dealer’s or other dealers’ warranty compensation;</text>
        </level>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>Establish or implement a special part or component number for parts used in warranty fulfillment, if the special part or component number results in reduced compensation for the dealer unless the part is used for specific, limited repair situations;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>Require or coerce a dealer to change the prices for which it sells parts or labor for retail customer repairs;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iv">
        <text>Take adverse action against a dealer because the dealer seeks compensation under this section, by:</text>
        <level label="1">
          <text>Implementing a process that is inconsistent with the licensee’s obligations to the dealer under this subtitle; or</text>
        </level>
        <level label="2">
          <text>Failing to act in good faith;</text>
        </level>
      </level>
      <level label="v">
        <text>Conduct any warranty or retail customer repair audit, or other service–related audit, solely because the dealer makes a request for warranty reimbursement at retail rates in the ordinary course of business; or</text>
      </level>
      <level label="vi">
        <text>Establish, implement, enforce, or apply any policy, standard, rule, program, or incentive regarding the compensation due under this section other than in a uniform manner among the licensee’s dealers in the State.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="8">
      <text>The provisions of paragraphs (1) through (7) of this subsection do not apply to travel trailers or parts of systems, fixtures, appliances, furnishings, accessories, and features of motor homes that are not manufactured by the manufacturer of the motor home as a part of the unit.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="9">
      <level label="i">
        <text>A claim filed under this section by a dealer with a manufacturer or distributor shall be:</text>
        <level label="1">
          <text>In the manner and form reasonably prescribed by the manufacturer or distributor; and</text>
        </level>
        <level label="2">
          <text>Approved or disapproved within 30 days of receipt.</text>
        </level>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>A claim not approved or disapproved within 30 days of receipt shall be deemed approved.</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>Payment of or credit issued on a claim filed under this section shall be made within 30 days of approval.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="10">
      <text>A dealer’s failure to comply with a specific requirement of the manufacturer or distributor may not constitute grounds for denial of the claim or reduction of the amount of compensation paid to the dealer if the dealer presents documentation or other reasonable evidence to substantiate that the repair and the claim were done according to manufacturer warranty guidelines.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="11">
      <level label="i">
        <text>If a claim filed under this section is shown by the manufacturer or distributor to be false or unsubstantiated, the manufacturer or distributor may charge back the claim within 9 months from the date the claim was paid or credit issued.</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>This paragraph does not limit the right of a manufacturer or distributor to:</text>
        <level label="1">
          <text>Conduct an audit of any claim filed under this section; or</text>
        </level>
        <level label="2">
          <text>Charge back for any claim that is proven to be fraudulent.</text>
        </level>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>An audit under this paragraph shall be conducted according to generally accepted accounting principles.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="12">
      <text>A licensee may not prohibit a dealer from, or take any adverse action against a dealer for, providing to a customer information given to the dealer by a manufacturer related to any condition that may substantially affect motor vehicle safety, durability, reliability, or performance.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="13">
      <text>A dealer may provide the information specified in paragraph (12) of this subsection only to a customer that has:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>Purchased the vehicle for which the information pertains from the dealer; or</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>Had the vehicle for which the information pertains serviced by the dealer.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="14">
      <text>A licensee may not deny a claim, reduce the amount of compensation to a dealer, or process a charge back to a dealer for performing covered warranty or required recall repairs on a vehicle:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>For resolving a condition covered by the licensee’s original warranty;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>For remedying a safety–related defect that is subject to an outstanding recall under federal law;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>If the dealer properly performed the repairs and submitted the claims; or</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iv">
        <text>If the dealer discovered the need for repairs:</text>
        <level label="1">
          <text>During the course of a separate repair requested by the customer; or</text>
        </level>
        <level label="2">
          <text>Through notice of an outstanding recall under federal law for a safety–related defect.</text>
        </level>
      </level>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="d">
    <text>As to any person licensed under this subtitle, instead of or in addition to revocation, suspension, or nonrenewal of a license under this section, the Administrator:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>May order the licensee to pay a fine not exceeding $50,000 for each violation of this subtitle; and</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>May order the licensee to compensate any person for financial injury or other damage suffered as a result of the violation.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
</section>
