Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1270.23 – A.(1) It shall be a violation of this Chapter for a manufacturer, a distributor, a wholesaler, or factory branch, or officer, agent or other representative thereof, to fail to adequa
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1270.23
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Dealer: means a person who holds a license from the commission authorized by the manufacturer to service the items in a recreational vehicle warranted by the manufacturer, who is actively engaged in the business of buying, selling, or exchanging new recreational vehicles at retail, and who has an established place of business. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1270.32
- Distributor branch: means a branch office maintained by a person, resident or nonresident, who in whole or in part sells or distributes motor vehicles or recreational products to motor vehicle or recreational products dealers, or for directing or supervising, in whole or in part, its representatives. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1252
- Factory branch: means a branch office maintained by a person who fabricates, manufactures, or assembles motor vehicles or recreational products, for the sale of motor vehicles or recreational products to distributors, or for the sale of motor vehicles or recreational products to motor vehicle or recreational products dealers, or for directing or supervising, in whole or in part, its representatives. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1252
- Franchise: means any written contract or selling agreement between a motor vehicle or recreational products dealer, a motor vehicle lessor, or a specialty vehicle dealer and a manufacturer, motor vehicle lessor franchisor, or converter of a new motor vehicle or specialty vehicle or its distributor or factory branch by which the motor vehicle or recreational products dealer, motor vehicle lessor, or specialty vehicle dealer is authorized to engage in the business of selling or leasing the specific makes, models, or classifications of new motor vehicles, recreational products, or specialty vehicles marketed or leased by the manufacturer, motor vehicle lessor franchisor, or converter and designated in the franchise agreement or any addendum thereto. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1252
- Manufacturer: means any person, firm, association, corporation, or trust, resident or nonresident, who manufactures or assembles recreational vehicles or the chassis for recreational vehicles. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1270.32
- recreational vehicle: includes a motor home, a travel trailer, a fifth-wheel travel trailer, a folding camper trailer, a slide-in truck camper, and a park model trailer. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1270.32
- Recreational vehicle dealer: means any person who, for a commission or with intent to make a profit or gain of money or other thing of value, buys, sells, brokers, exchanges, auctions, offers, or attempts to negotiate a sale or exchange of an interest in recreational vehicles and who is engaged wholly or in part in the business of buying and selling recreational vehicles in the state of Louisiana and who holds a license as a recreational products dealer under the provisions of this Chapter. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1252
- Vehicle: means any motor vehicle, specialty vehicle, or recreational product subject to regulation by this Chapter. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1252
- wholesaler: means any person, resident or nonresident, who in whole or in part sells or distributes vehicles or new, remanufactured, reconditioned, or rebuilt motor vehicle motors to dealers, or who maintains distributor representatives. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1252
A.(1) It shall be a violation of this Chapter for a manufacturer, a distributor, a wholesaler, or factory branch, or officer, agent or other representative thereof, to fail to adequately and fairly compensate its recreational vehicle dealers for labor, parts, and other expenses incurred by such dealer to perform under and comply with a manufacturer’s or a distributor’s warranty agreement.
(2) In no event shall any manufacturer or distributor pay its recreational vehicle dealers at a price or rate for warranty work that is less than that charged by the recreational vehicle dealer to the retail customers of the recreational vehicle dealer for nonwarranty work of like kind.
(3) Warranty work includes parts and labor performed.
(4) All claims made by the recreational vehicle dealer for compensation under this Subsection shall be paid within thirty days after approval and shall be approved or denied within thirty days after receipt. When any claim is denied, the recreational vehicle dealer shall be notified in writing of the grounds for denial.
(5) Notwithstanding any other laws to the contrary, the obligations in this Subsection may not be modified by contract.
B.(1) Notwithstanding the terms of any franchise agreement, warranty, and sales incentive, audits of recreational vehicle dealer records may be conducted by the manufacturer, distributor, or factory branch. Any audit for warranty parts or service compensation shall be for the twelve-month period immediately following the date of the payment of the claim by the manufacturer or distributor. However, a recreational vehicle dealer shall not be held liable by virtue of an audit for failure to retain parts for a period in excess of six months. Any audit for sales incentives, service incentives, rebates, or other forms of incentive compensation shall be only for the twelve-month period immediately following the date of the final payment to the recreational vehicle dealer under a promotion, event, program, or activity. In no event shall the manufacturer, distributor, or factory branch fail to allow the recreational vehicle dealer to make corrections to the sales data in less than one hundred twenty days from the program period. Additionally, no penalty other than amounts advanced on a recreational vehicle reported incorrectly shall be due in connection with the audit. With respect to recreational vehicles sold during the time period subject to the audit, but submitted incorrectly to the manufacturer, distributor, or wholesale distributor branch or factory branch, the recreational vehicle dealer shall be charged back for the amount reported incorrectly and credited with the amount due, if anything, on the actual sale date.
(2) No claim which has been approved and paid may be charged back to the recreational vehicle dealer unless it can be shown that one of the following applies:
(a) The claim was false or fraudulent.
(b) The repairs were not properly made.
(c) The repairs were unnecessary to correct the defective condition under generally accepted standards of workmanship.
(d) The recreational vehicle dealer failed to reasonably substantiate the repair in accordance with reasonable written requirements of the manufacturer or distributor, if the recreational vehicle dealer was notified of the requirements prior to the time the claim arose and if the requirements were in effect at the time the claim arose.
(3) A manufacturer or distributor shall not deny a claim solely based on a recreational vehicle dealer’s incidental failure to comply with a specific claim processing requirement, or a clerical error, or other administrative technicality.
(4) Limitations on warranty parts or 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.
(5) It shall be deemed an unfair act pursuant to this Chapter to audit a recreational vehicle dealer more frequently than two sales-related and two service-related audits in a twelve-month period. Nothing in this Subsection shall limit a manufacturer’s or distributor’s ability to perform routine claim reviews in the normal course of business.
(6) No claim may be rejected as late if it has been submitted within sixty days of the date the repair order was completed.
Acts 2012, No. 326, §1; Acts 2020, No. 244, §1.