1. Violations of this chapter to be violations of the Unfair Trade Practices Act. Any violation of this chapter shall constitute a violation of Title 5, chapter 10, Unfair Trade Practices Act.

[PL 1975, c. 770, §57 (NEW).]

Terms Used In Maine Revised Statutes Title 10 Sec. 1477

  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Dealer: means and includes a natural person, firm, corporation, partnership and any other legal entity that is engaged in the business of selling, offering for sale or negotiating the sale of used motor vehicles, except auction businesses licensed by the Secretary of State and includes the officers, agents and employees thereof. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 10 Sec. 1471
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Motor vehicle: means any self-propelled vehicle designed primarily to transport not more than 14 individuals, except motorcycles as defined in Title 29?A, section 101, subsection 38, and any vehicles operated exclusively on a rail or rails. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 10 Sec. 1471
  • Purchaser: means any person who has obtained ownership of a used motor vehicle from a dealer by transfer, gift or purchase. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 10 Sec. 1471
  • Seller: means any person who sells a used motor vehicle to a dealer, including, but not limited to, individuals, other new or used motor vehicle dealers, motor vehicle manufacturers and insurance companies. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 10 Sec. 1471
  • Used motor vehicle: means a motor vehicle that either has been once registered or is not covered by a manufacturer's new car warranty. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 10 Sec. 1471
2. Civil penalty. Each violation of this chapter constitutes a civil violation and shall be punished by a forfeiture of not less than $100 nor more than $1,000. No action may be brought for a civil violation under this subsection more than 2 years after the date of the occurrence of the violation. No dealer may be held liable for a civil violation under this subsection if that dealer shows by a preponderance of the evidence that the violation was unintentional and a bona fide error, notwithstanding the maintenance of procedures reasonably adopted to avoid any such error. The failure of a dealer or a seller of a used motor vehicle to disclose all information concerning a vehicle which is sold to another dealer as required by section 1475, when the information is known to the dealer or seller at the time of the sale or transfer of the vehicle, shall also be considered a violation of this chapter and shall constitute a civil violation that is subject to the civil penalties provided for in this subsection.

[PL 1989, c. 198, §3 (AMD).]

3. Private remedies. In addition to any other remedy, if a dealer violates this chapter, that dealer is liable to the purchaser in an amount determined by the court of not less than $100 nor more than $1,000 as liquidated damages, and for costs and reasonable attorney’s fees. No action may be brought under this subsection more than 2 years after the date of the occurrence of the violation. No dealer may be held liable under this subsection if that dealer shows by a preponderance of the evidence that the violation was unintentional and a bona fide error, notwithstanding the maintenance of procedures reasonably adopted to avoid any such error.
In addition to any other remedy, if a seller of a used motor vehicle who sells the vehicle to a dealer fails to disclose facts concerning that vehicle which are required to be disclosed by the provisions of section 1475, which facts were known by the seller at the time the disclosure was made, the seller is liable to the purchasing dealer in an amount determined by the court of not less than $100 nor more than $1,000 as liquidated damages, and for costs and reasonable attorney’s fees. No action may be brought under this subsection more than 30 months after the date of the occurrence of the violation.

[PL 1993, c. 112, §4 (AMD).]

SECTION HISTORY

PL 1975, c. 770, §57 (NEW). PL 1981, c. 296, §5 (AMD). PL 1983, c. 311, §§4,5 (AMD). PL 1989, c. 198, §§3,4 (AMD). PL 1993, c. 112, §4 (AMD).
  Previous section
Next section  
 Chapter 217 Contents