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Mississippi Lemon Law
Mississippi
Code Annotated, 63-17-151 to 63-17-165
63-17-151
Short title.
Sections
63-17-151 et seq. shall be known and may be
cited as the "Motor Vehicle Warranty
Enforcement Act".
63-17-153
Legislative findings and declaration of
purpose.
The
Legislature recognizes that a motor vehicle
is a major consumer purchase and that a
defective motor vehicle creates a hardship
for the consumer. The Legislature further
recognizes that a duly franchised motor
vehicle dealer is an agent of the
manufacturer. It is the intent of the
Legislature that a good faith motor vehicle
warranty complaint by a consumer should be
resolved by the manufacturer, or its agent,
within a specified period of time. It is
further the intent of the Legislature to
provide the statutory procedures whereby a
consumer may receive a replacement motor
vehicle, or a full refund, for a motor
vehicle which cannot be brought into
conformity with the express warranty issued
by the manufacturer. However, nothing in
Sections 63-17-153 et seq. shall in any way
limit the rights or remedies which are
otherwise available to a consumer under any
other law.
63-17-155
Definitions.
As
used in Sections 63-17-151 et seq. the
following terms shall have the following
meanings:
(a)
"Collateral charges" means those
additional charges to a consumer which are
not directly attributable to the
manufacturer's suggested retail price label
for the motor vehicle. For the purposes of
Sections 63-17-151 et seq. collateral charges
shall include, but not be limited to, dealer
preparation charges, undercoating charges,
transportation charges, towing charges,
replacement car rental costs and title
charges.
(b)
"Comparable motor vehicle" means an
identical or reasonably equivalent motor
vehicle.
(c)
"Consumer" means the purchaser,
other than for purposes of resale, of a motor
vehicle, primarily used for personal, family,
or household purposes, and any person to whom
such motor vehicle is transferred for the
same purposes during the duration of an
express warranty applicable to such motor
vehicle, and any other person entitled by the
terms of such warranty to enforce the
obligations of the warranty.
(d)
"Express warranty" means any
written affirmation of fact or promise made
in connection with the sale of a motor
vehicle by a supplier to a consumer which
relates to the nature of the material or
workmanship and affirms or promises that such
material or workmanship is defect-free or
will meet a specified level of performance
over a specified period of time. For the
purposes of Sections 63-17-151 et seq.
express warranties do not include implied
warranties.
(e)
"Manufacturer" means a manufacturer
or distributor as defined in Section
63-17-55.
(f)
"Motor vehicle" means a vehicle
propelled by power other than muscular power
which is sold in this state, is operated over
the public streets and highways of this state
and is used as a means of transporting
persons or property, but shall not include
vehicles run only upon tracks, off-road
vehicles, motorcycles, mopeds, or parts and
components of a motor home which were added
on and/or assembled by the manufacturer of
the motor home. "Motor vehicle"
shall include demonstrators or lease-purchase
vehicles as long as a manufacturer's warranty
was issued as a condition of sale.
(g)
"Purchase price" means the price
which the consumer paid to the manufacturer
to purchase the motor vehicle in a cash sale
or, if the motor vehicle is purchased in a
retail installment transaction, the cash sale
price as defined in Section 63-19-3.
63-17-157
Repair of nonconforming vehicle.
For
the purposes of Sections 63-17-151 et seq.,
if a new motor vehicle does not conform to
all applicable express warranties, and the
consumer reports the nonconformity to the
manufacturer or its agent during the term of
such express warranties or during the period
of one (1) year following the date of
original delivery of the motor vehicle to the
consumer, whichever period expires earlier,
the manufacturer or its agent shall make such
repairs as are necessary to conform the
vehicle to such express warranties,
notwithstanding the fact that such repairs
are made after the expiration of such term or
such one-year period.
63-17-159.
Replacement of vehicle or refund of purchase
price.
Where
nonconformity cannot be corrected;
affirmative defenses; presumption of
reasonable attempts to conform vehicle to
warranties; extension of warranties; notice
requirements relating to repair of
nonconformity; civil actions.
(1)
If the manufacturer or its agent cannot
conform the motor vehicle to any applicable
express warranty by repairing or correcting
any default or condition which impairs the
use, market value, or safety of the motor
vehicle to the consumer after a reasonable
number of attempts, the manufacturer shall
give the consumer the option of having the
manufacturer either replace the motor vehicle
with a comparable motor vehicle acceptable to
the consumer, or take title of the vehicle
from the consumer and refund to the consumer
the full purchase price, including all
reasonably incurred collateral charges, less
a reasonable allowance for the consumer's use
of the vehicle. The subtraction of a
reasonable allowance for use shall apply when
either a replacement or refund of the motor
vehicle occurs. A reasonable allowance for
use shall be that sum of money arrived at by
multiplying the number of miles the motor
vehicle has been driven by the consumer by
Twenty Cents (20 per mile. Refunds shall be
made to the consumer and lien holder of
record, if any, as their interests may
appear.
(2)
It shall be an affirmative defense to any
claim under Sections 63-17-151 et seq. that:
(a)
An alleged nonconformity does not impair the
use, market value or safety of the motor
vehicle;
(b)
A nonconformity is the result of abuse,
neglect or unauthorized modifications or
alterations of a motor vehicle by a consumer;
(c)
A claim by a consumer was not filed in good
faith; or
(d)
Any other affirmative defense allowed by law.
(3)
It shall be presumed that a reasonable number
of attempts have been undertaken to conform a
motor vehicle to the applicable express
warranties if within the terms, conditions or
limitations of the express warranty, or
during the period of one (1) year following
the date of original delivery of the motor
vehicle to a consumer, whichever expires
earlier, either:
(a)
Substantially the same nonconformity has been
subject to repair three (3) or more times by
the manufacturer or its agent and such
nonconformity continues to exist; or
(b)
The vehicle is out of service by reason of
repair of the nonconformity by the
manufacturer or its agent for a cumulative
total of fifteen (15) or more working days,
exclusive of downtime for routine maintenance
as prescribed by the owner's manual, since
the delivery of the vehicle to the consumer.
The fifteen-day period may be extended by any
period of time during which repair services
are not available to the consumer because of
conditions beyond the control of the
manufacturer or its agent.
(4)
The terms, conditions or limitations of the
express warranty, or the period of one (1)
year following the date of original delivery
of the motor vehicle to a consumer, whichever
expires earlier, may be extended if the motor
vehicle warranty problem has been reported
but has not been repaired by the manufacturer
or its agent by the expiration of the
applicable time period.
(5)
The manufacturer shall provide a list of the
manufacturer's zone or regional service
office addresses in the owner's manual
provided with the motor vehicle. It shall be
the responsibility of the consumer or his
representative, prior to availing himself of
the provisions of this section, to give
written notification to the manufacturer of
the need for the repair of the nonconformity,
in order to allow the manufacturer an
opportunity to cure the alleged defect. The
manufacturer shall immediately notify the
consumer of a reasonably accessible repair
facility to conform the vehicle to the
express warranty. After delivery of the
vehicle to the designated repair facility by
the consumer, the manufacturer shall have ten
(10) working days to conform the motor
vehicle to the express warranty. Upon
notification from the consumer that the
vehicle has not been conformed to the express
warranty, the manufacturer shall inform the
consumer if an informal dispute settlement
procedure has been established by the
manufacturer in accordance with Section
63-17-163, and provide the consumer with a
copy of the provisions of Sections 63-17-151
et seq. However, if prior notice by the
manufacturer of an informal dispute
settlement procedure has been given, no
further notice is required. If the
manufacturer fails to notify the consumer of
the availability of this informal dispute
settlement procedure, the requirements of
Section 63-17-163 shall not apply.
(6)
Any action brought under Sections 63-17-151
et seq. shall be commenced within one (1)
year following expiration of the terms,
conditions or limitations of the express
warranty, or within eighteen (18) months
following the date of original delivery of
the motor vehicle to a consumer, whichever is
earlier, or, if a consumer resorts to an
informal dispute settlement procedure as
provided in Sections 63-17-151 et seq.,
within ninety (90) days following the final
action of the panel.
(7)
If a consumer finally prevails in any action
brought under Sections 63-17-151 et seq., the
court may allow him to recover as part of the
judgment a sum equal to the aggregate amount
of costs and expenses, including attorney's
fees based on actual time expended,
determined by the court to have been
reasonably incurred by the plaintiff for or
in connection with the commencement and
prosecution of such action.
63-17-161
Liability of consumer for bad faith claims.
Any
claim by a consumer which is found by the
court to have been filed in bad faith, or
solely for the purpose of harassment, or in
complete absence of a justifiable issue of
either law or fact raised by the consumer,
shall result in the consumer being liable for
all court costs incurred by the manufacturer
or its agent as a direct result of the bad
faith claim.
63-17-163
Necessity for resort to informal dispute
settlement procedure.
If
a manufacturer has established an informal
dispute settlement procedure which complies
in all respects with the provisions of 16
C.F.R., Part 703, the provisions of Section
63-17-159 concerning refunds or replacements
shall not apply to any consumer who has not
first resorted to such procedure.
63-17-165
Remedies for violations.
Any
violation of Sections 63-17-151 et seq. shall
be subject to the rights and remedies as
provided for by Chapter 24, Title 75,
Mississippi Code of 1972.
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