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EXPLANATION-Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in this bill is not enacted
and is intended to be omitted in the law.
SECOND REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL NO. 1669
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR CARTER.
7031S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To repeal section 407.1338, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof two new sections relating to
recreational vehicles dealers.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 407.1338, RSMo, is repealed and two 1
new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 2
407.1321 and 407.1338, to read as follows:3
407.1321. 1. A dealer, manufacturer, distributor, or 1
warrantor injured by another party's violation of sections 2
407.1320 to 407.1346 may bring a civil action in circuit 3
court to recover actual damages. The court shall award 4
attorney's fees and costs to any prevailing party in such 5
action. Venue for any civil action authorized by this 6
section shall exclusively be in the county in which the 7
dealership is located. In an action involving more than one 8
dealer, venue may be in any county in which a dealer who is 9
party to the action is located. 10
2. Before bringing suit under this section, the party 11
bringing suit for an alleged violation shall serve a written 12
demand for mediation upon the offending party. The 13
provisions of this subsection do not apply to a proceeding 14
for injunctive relief. 15
(1) The demand for mediation shall be served upon the 16
offending party via certified mail at the address stated 17
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within the agreement between the parties or, if the address 18
is not contained in the agreement or the address is no 19
longer valid, the address on the offending party's license 20
filed with this state. In the event of a civil action 21
between two dealers, the demand shall be mailed to the 22
address on the dealer's license filed with this state. 23
(2) The demand for mediation shall contain a brief 24
statement of the dispute and the relief sought by the party 25
filing the demand. 26
(3) Within twenty days after the date a demand for 27
mediation is served, the parties shall mutually select an 28
independent mediator and meet with the mediator for the 29
purpose of attempting to resolve the dispute. The meeting 30
place shall be in this state in a location selected by the 31
mediator. The mediator may extend the date of the meeting 32
for good cause shown by either party or upon stipulation of 33
both parties. 34
(4) The service of a demand for mediation under this 35
subsection stays the time for the filing of any complaint, 36
petition, protest, or other action under sections 407.1320 37
to 407.1346 until representatives of both parties have met 38
with a mutually selected mediator for the purpose of 39
attempting to resolve the dispute. If a complaint, 40
petition, protest, or action is filed before that meeting, 41
the court shall enter an order suspending the proceeding or 42
action until the meeting has occurred and may, upon written 43
stipulation of all parties to the proceeding or action that 44
they wish to continue to mediate under this subsection, 45
enter an order suspending the proceeding or action for as 46
long a period as the court considers appropriate. A 47
suspension order issued under this subdivision may be 48
revoked by the court. 49
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(5) The parties to the mediation shall bear their own 50
costs for attorney's fees and divide equally the cost of the 51
mediator. 52
3. In addition to the remedies provided in this 53
section and notwithstanding the existence of any additional 54
remedy at law, a dealer or manufacturer may apply to a 55
circuit court for the grant, upon a hearing and for cause 56
shown, of a temporary or permanent injunction, or both, 57
restraining any person from acting as a dealer, 58
manufacturer, or distributor without being properly licensed 59
pursuant to chapter 301, from violating or continuing to 60
violate any of the provisions of sections 407.1320 to 61
407.1346, or from failing or refusing to comply with the 62
requirements of sections 407.1320 to 407.1346. Such 63
injunction shall be issued without bond. A single act in 64
violation of any of the provisions of sections 407.1320 to 65
407.1346 is sufficient to authorize the issuance of an 66
injunction. 67
407.1338. 1. Each warrantor shall specify in writing 1
to each of its RV dealers, obligations, if any, for 2
preparation, delivery and warranty service on its products; 3
shall compensate the dealer for warranty service required of 4
the dealer by the warrantor; and shall provide the dealer 5
the schedule of compensation to be paid; and the time 6
allowances for the performance of such work and service. In 7
no event shall such schedule of compensation fail to include 8
reasonable compensation for diagnostic work as well as 9
warranty labor. 10
2. Time allowances for the diagnosis and performance 11
of warranty labor shall be reasonable for the work to be 12
performed. In the determination of what constitutes 13
reasonable compensation under this section, the principal 14
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factors to be given consideration shall be the actual wage 15
rates being paid by the dealer, and the actual retail labor 16
rate being charged by the dealers in the community in which 17
the dealer is doing business. In no event shall such 18
compensation of a dealer for warranty labor be less than the 19
lowest retail labor rates actually charged by the dealer for 20
like nonwarranty labor as long as such rates are reasonable. 21
3. (1) The warrantor shall reimburse the dealer for 22
warranty parts at actual wholesale cost, plus a minimum 23
thirty-percent handling charge and the cost, if any, of 24
freight to return warranty parts to the warrantor. 25
(2) The warrantor shall supply parts and components 26
for warranty service in such quantities and within such 27
reasonable time as will enable the dealer to perform such 28
service without undue delay. 29
(3) If a warrantor fails to ship parts or components 30
necessary for warranty service within ten days of a dealer's 31
order, the dealer may obtain substantially equivalent parts 32
or components from other sources and shall, within thirty 33
days, be reimbursed by the warrantor at one hundred percent 34
of the cost paid by the dealer for any parts obtained from 35
another source. 36
4. Warranty audits of dealer records may be conducted 37
by the warrantor on a reasonable basis, and dealer claims 38
for warranty compensation shall not be denied except for 39
cause, such as performance of nonwarranty repairs, material 40
noncompliance with warrantors' published policies and 41
procedures, lack of material documentation, fraud, or 42
misrepresentation. 43
5. The dealer must submit warranty claims within 44
thirty days of completing work. 45
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6. The dealer must notify the warrantor verbally or in 46
writing if the RV dealer is unable to perform material or 47
repetitive warranty repairs as soon as reasonably possible. 48
7. The warrantor must disapprove warranty claims in 49
writing within thirty days of the date of submission by the 50
dealer in the manner and form prescribed by the warrantor. 51
Claims not specifically disapproved in writing within thirty 52
days shall be construed to be approved and shall be paid 53
within forty-five days. 54
8. It is a violation of this chapter for any warrantor 55
to: 56
(1) Fail to perform any of its warranty obligations 57
with respect to its warranted product; 58
(2) Fail to include in written notices of factory 59
campaigns to vehicle owners and dealers the expected date by 60
which necessary parts and equipment, including tires and 61
chassis or chassis parts, will be available to dealers to 62
perform the campaign work. The manufacturer may ship parts 63
in quantity to the dealer to effect such campaign work, and 64
if such parts are in excess of the dealer's requirements, 65
the dealer may return unused parts to the manufacturer for 66
credit after completion of the campaign; 67
(3) Fail to compensate any of its RV dealers for 68
authorized repairs effected by such dealer of merchandise 69
damaged in manufacture or transit to the dealer, if the 70
carrier is designated by the manufacturer, factory branch, 71
distributor or distributor branch; 72
(4) Fail to compensate its RV dealers for authorized 73
warranty service in accordance with the schedule of 74
compensation provided the dealer pursuant to this section, 75
if performed in a timely and competent manner; 76
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(5) Intentionally misrepresent in any way to 77
purchasers of RVs that warranties with respect to the 78
manufacture, performance or design of the vehicle are made 79
by the dealer either as warrantor or cowarrantor; [or] 80
(6) Require the dealer to make warranties to customers 81
in any manner related to the manufacture of the RV; or 82
(7) Fail to compensate its dealers for less than 83
seventy-five percent of a dealership's employee time spent 84
in traveling to and from mobile or other warranty repair 85
work performed away from the dealership location, provided 86
the dealership documents such travel time and submits a 87
claim to the warrantor within thirty days of completing the 88
work. 89
9. It is a violation of this chapter for any RV dealer 90
to: 91
(1) Fail to perform "predelivery inspection" (PDI) 92
functions, if required, in a competent and timely manner; 93
(2) Fail to perform warranty service work, authorized 94
by the warrantor, in a reasonably timely and competent 95
manner on any transient customer's vehicle whether sold by 96
that dealer or not; 97
(3) Misrepresent the terms of any warranty. 98
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