§ 697-a. Warranty to consumers. 1. Every supplier of new farm equipment which is sold within or outside of this state shall provide a fair and reasonable warranty on all new farm equipment that shall be of no less duration than twelve months following the date of original delivery of the farm equipment to the consumer. If the new farm equipment does not conform to all applicable express warranties during the warranty period, and the consumer reports the nonconformity, defect or condition to the supplier or its dealer in writing before the end of the warranty period, or verbally within thirty days before the warranty ends and then in writing within thirty days after the expiration of the warranty period, such supplier or dealer shall make such repairs as are necessary to conform the new equipment to such express warranties at no charge to the consumer.

1-a. Farm equipment that is not specifically manufactured for the United States market or in compliance with the laws and standards of the United States is not covered by this article. A dealer who sells such farm equipment shall receive written acknowledgement from the purchaser that the purchaser has been made aware that such equipment is not covered by this article.

2. If the supplier or its dealer are unable to conform the farm equipment to any applicable express warranty by repairing the nonconformity after a reasonable number of attempts, the supplier, at the option of the consumer, shall replace the farm equipment with comparable farm equipment provided that such comparable equipment is available from the supplier, or accept return of the equipment from the consumer and refund to the consumer the full purchase price or, if applicable, the lease price and any trade-in allowance plus fees and charges, less a deduction for use calculated pursuant to the formula provided in subdivision four of section six hundred ninety-seven of this article. For purposes of this section, fees and charges shall include but not be limited to license fees, registration fees or other governmental charges. Refunds shall be made to the consumer or lienholder, if any, as their interests may appear on the records of ownership. Such refund shall also be accompanied by the proper application for credit for refund of state and local sales tax as published by the department of taxation and finance and by a notice that the sales tax paid on the purchase price, lease price or portion thereof being refunded is refundable by the commissioner of taxation and finance in accordance with the provisions of subdivision (f) of § 1139 of the tax law.

3. If a dealer refuses to undertake the repairs within the time allotted pursuant to subdivision one of this section, the consumer may immediately forward written notice of such refusal to the supplier, who shall have twenty days from receipt of such notice to commence such repairs.

4. (a) If the supplier refuses to undertake the repairs, the supplier shall provide information for consumer complaint remedies which shall inform the consumer of, among other things, whether an informal dispute settlement mechanism has been established by the supplier and how the consumer may avail himself or herself of such mechanism.

(b) If a supplier has established an informal dispute settlement mechanism, such mechanism shall provide, at a minimum, the following:

(i) That the arbitrators and the consumers who request arbitration are given a written copy of the provisions of this article together with the notice set forth below entitled "New Farm Equipment Bill of Rights" and that the arbitrators participating in such mechanism are trained in arbitration and are familiar with the provisions of this article;

(ii) That the consumers, upon request, are given an opportunity to make an oral presentation to the arbitrator; and

(iii) That the rights and procedures used in the mechanism comply with federal regulations promulgated by the federal trade commission relating to informal dispute settlement mechanisms.

(c) Each consumer shall have the option of submitting any dispute arising under this section, upon the payment of a prescribed filing fee, to an alternate arbitration mechanism established pursuant to regulations promulgated hereunder by the state attorney general. Upon application of the consumer and payment of the filing fee, all suppliers shall submit to such alternate arbitration, and shall pay a fee established pursuant to regulations of the attorney general. Such alternate arbitration shall be conducted by a professional arbitrator or arbitration firm appointed by the state attorney general. Such mechanism shall insure the personal objectivity of its arbitrators and the right of each party to present its case, to be in attendance during any presentation made by the other party and to rebut and refute such presentation. In all other respects, such alternate arbitration mechanism shall be governed by Article 75 of the civil practice law and rules.

(d) A supplier shall have up to thirty days from the date the consumer notifies the supplier of his or her acceptance of the arbitrator's decision to comply with the terms of that decision. Failure to comply with the thirty day limitation shall also entitle the consumer to recover a fee of twenty-five dollars a day for each business day of noncompliance up to five hundred dollars. Provided, however, that nothing contained in this paragraph shall impose any liability on a supplier where a delay beyond the thirty day period is attributable to a consumer who has requested replacement farm equipment built to order or with options that are not comparable to the farm equipment being replaced or otherwise made compliance impossible within said period. In no event shall a consumer who has resorted to an informal dispute settlement mechanism be precluded from seeking the rights or remedies available by law.

(e) A court may award reasonable attorney's fees to a prevailing plaintiff or to a consumer who prevails in any judicial action or proceeding arising out of an arbitration proceeding held pursuant to paragraph (c) of this subdivision. In the event a prevailing plaintiff is required to retain the services of an attorney to enforce collection of an award granted pursuant to this section, the court may assess against the supplier reasonable attorney's fees for services rendered to enforce collection of such award.

(f) Any action brought pursuant to this section shall be commenced within twenty-four months of the date of original delivery of the farm equipment to the consumer.

(g) It shall be presumed that a reasonable number of attempts have been undertaken to conform the farm equipment to the applicable express warranties, if: (i) the same nonconformity, defect or condition has been subject to repair four times by the supplier or its authorized dealers and such nonconformity continues to exist; or (ii) the farm equipment is out of service by reason of repair of one or more nonconformities by the supplier or its dealer for a cumulative total of thirty calendar days during the warranty period.

(h) The term of an express warranty, the one year warranty period and the thirty day out of service period shall be extended by any reasonable time during which repair services are not available to the consumer for reasons which shall include war, terrorist attack, pestilence, invasion or strike, fire, flood or other natural disaster or unforeseen and unanticipated extraordinary circumstances.