§ 56-55-101 Short title
§ 56-55-102 Chapter definitions
§ 56-55-103 Prohibited sales – Restrictions
§ 56-55-104 Registration as a warrantor – Registration records – Fees – Revocation for failure to register
§ 56-55-105 Conditions of required warranty insurance policy by warrantor
§ 56-55-106 Conditions on sale of warranty reimbursement insurance policies
§ 56-55-107 Warranty requirements – Documentation of sale to be furnished purchaser
§ 56-55-108 Cancellation of sale and warranty
§ 56-55-109 Restrictions on use of deceptive language – False or misleading statements – Fraud
§ 56-55-110 Accounts, books, and records
§ 56-55-111 Examination of accounts, books, and records for compliance – Costs and fees of examination – Enforcement – Violations – Hearings – Penalties
§ 56-55-112 Commissioner or secretary of state as attorney for service of process
§ 56-55-113 Rules and regulations
§ 56-55-114 Application – Effective date
§ 56-55-115 Sale of warranties only authorized as part of vehicle protection product

Terms Used In Tennessee Code > Title 56 > Chapter 55 - Tennessee Vehicle Protection Product Act

  • abandonment: means that:
    (i) For a period of four (4) consecutive months immediately preceding the filing of a proceeding, pleading, petition, or any amended petition to terminate the parental rights of the parent or parents or the guardian or guardians of the child who is the subject of the petition for termination of parental rights or adoption, that the parent or parents or the guardian or guardians either have failed to visit or have failed to support or have failed to make reasonable payments toward the support of the child. See Tennessee Code 36-1-102
  • Administrator: means a third party, other than the warrantor, who is designated by the warrantor to be responsible for the administration of vehicle protection product warranties. See Tennessee Code 56-55-102
  • Adopted person: means :
    (A) Any person who is or has been adopted under this part or under the laws of any state, territory, or foreign country. See Tennessee Code 36-1-102
  • Adoption: means the social and legal process of establishing by court order, other than by paternity or legitimation proceedings or by voluntary acknowledgment of paternity, the legal relationship of parent and child. See Tennessee Code 36-1-102
  • Adoption record: means :
    (A)
    (i) The records, reports, or other documents maintained in any medium by the judge or clerk of the court, or by any other person pursuant to this part who is authorized to witness the execution of surrenders or revocations of surrenders, which records, reports, or documents relate to an adoption petition, a surrender or parental consent, a revocation of a surrender or parental consent, or which reasonably relate to other information concerning the adoption of a person, and which information in such records, reports, or documents exists during the pendency of an adoption or a termination of parental rights proceeding, or which records, reports, or documents exist subsequent to the conclusion of those proceedings, even if no order of adoption or order of dismissal is entered, but which records, reports or documents exist prior to those records, reports, or documents becoming a part of a sealed record or a sealed adoption record pursuant to §. See Tennessee Code 36-1-102
  • Adoptive parent or parents: means the person or persons who have been made the legal parents of a child by the entry of an order of adoption under this part or under of the laws of any state, territory or foreign country. See Tennessee Code 36-1-102
  • Adult: means any person who is eighteen (18) years of age or older. See Tennessee Code 36-1-102
  • Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
  • Allegation: something that someone says happened.
  • Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
  • Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
  • Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
  • Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
  • Attorney: means the person designated and authorized by subscribers as the attorney-in-fact having authority to obligate them on reciprocal insurance contracts. See Tennessee Code 56-16-102
  • Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
  • Bequest: Property gifted by will.
  • Biological parents: means the woman and man who physically or genetically conceived the child who is the subject of the adoption or termination proceedings or who conceived the child who has made a request for information pursuant to this part. See Tennessee Code 36-1-102
  • Chambers: A judge's office.
  • Child-caring agency: means any agency authorized by law to care for children outside their own homes for twenty-four (24) hours per day. See Tennessee Code 36-1-102
  • children: means any person or persons under eighteen (18) years of age. See Tennessee Code 36-1-102
  • Code: includes the Tennessee Code and all amendments and revisions to the code and all additions and supplements to the code. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Commissioner: means the commissioner of commerce and insurance. See Tennessee Code 56-55-102
  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Consent: means :
    (A) The written authorization to relinquish a child for adoption, which is given by an agency such as the department or a public child care agency of another state or country or licensed child-placing agency of this or another state, which agency has the authority, by court order or by surrender or by operation of law or by any combination of these, to place a child for adoption and to give permission for the adoption of that child by other persons. See Tennessee Code 36-1-102
  • Conservator: means a person or entity appointed by a court to provide partial or full supervision, protection, and assistance of the person or property, or both, of a disabled adult pursuant to title 34, chapter 1 or the equivalent law of another state. See Tennessee Code 36-1-102
  • Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • court: includes the juvenile court for purposes of the authority to accept the surrender or revocation of surrenders of a child and to issue any orders of reference, orders of guardianship, or other orders resulting from a surrender or revocation that it accepts and for purposes of authorizing the termination of parental rights pursuant to §. See Tennessee Code 36-1-102
  • Court report: means the report to the adoption or surrender court in response to an order of reference that describes to the court the status of the child and the prospective adoptive parents or the persons to whom the child is surrendered. See Tennessee Code 36-1-102
  • Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Department: means the department of children's services or any of its divisions or units. See Tennessee Code 36-1-102
  • Department: means the department of commerce and insurance. See Tennessee Code 56-1-102
  • Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
  • Devise: To gift property by will.
  • disability: means that the individual is a minor pursuant to any state, territorial, or federal law, or the law of any foreign country, or that the individual has been determined by any such laws to be in need of a person or entity to care for the individual due to that individual's physical or mental incapacity or infirmity. See Tennessee Code 36-1-102
  • Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. Source:
  • Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
  • Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
  • 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.
  • failed to visit: means the failure, for a period of four (4) consecutive months, to visit or engage in more than token visitation. See Tennessee Code 36-1-102
  • Final court report: means a written document completed by the department or a licensed child-placing agency or licensed clinical social worker after submission of any prior court reports in response to the court's order of reference. See Tennessee Code 36-1-102
  • Financially able: means that the petitioners for adoption of a child are able, by use of any and all income and economic resources of the petitioners, including, but not limited to, assistance from public or private sources, to ensure that any physical, emotional, or special needs of the child are met. See Tennessee Code 36-1-102
  • Foster care: has the meaning given to that term in §. See Tennessee Code 36-1-102
  • Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • Guardian: means a person or entity appointed by a court to provide care, custody, control, supervision, and protection for a child, and authorized by the court to adopt or consent to the adoption of the child as a result of a surrender, parental consent, or termination of parental rights. See Tennessee Code 36-1-102
  • Guardianship: means the status created by a court order appointing a person or entity guardian of the child. See Tennessee Code 36-1-102
  • Home study: means the product of a preparation process in which individuals or families are assessed by themselves and the department or licensed child-placing agency, or a licensed clinical social worker as to their suitability for adoption and their desires with regard to the child they wish to adopt. See Tennessee Code 36-1-102
  • Incidental costs: means expenses specified in the warranty, incurred by the warranty holder, related to the failure of the vehicle protection product to perform as provided in the warranty. See Tennessee Code 56-55-102
  • Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
  • insurance company: includes all corporations, associations, partnerships, or individuals engaged as principals in the business of insurance. See Tennessee Code 56-1-102
  • Interrogatories: Written questions asked by one party of an opposing party, who must answer them in writing under oath; a discovery device in a lawsuit.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Legal parent: means :
    (i) The biological mother of a child. See Tennessee Code 36-1-102
  • Licensed child-placing agency: means any agency operating under a license to place children for adoption issued by the department, or operating under a license from any governmental authority from any other state or territory or the District of Columbia, or any agency that operates under the authority of another country with the right to make placement of children for adoption and that has, in the department's sole determination, been authorized to place children for adoption in this state. See Tennessee Code 36-1-102
  • Licensed clinical social worker: means an individual who holds a license as an independent practitioner from the board of social worker certification and licensure pursuant to title 63, chapter 23, and, in addition, is licensed by the department to provide adoption placement services. See Tennessee Code 36-1-102
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • Minor: means any person who has not attained eighteen (18) years of age. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Oath: includes affirmation. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • Order of reference: means the order from the court where the surrender is executed or filed or where the adoption petition is filed that directs the department or a licensed child-placing agency or licensed clinical social worker to conduct a home study or preliminary home study or to complete a report of the status of the child who is or may be the subject of an adoption proceeding, and that seeks information as to the suitability of the prospective adoptive parents to adopt a child. See Tennessee Code 36-1-102
  • Parental consent: means the consent described in subdivision (15)(C). See Tennessee Code 36-1-102
  • Parental rights: means the legally recognized rights and responsibilities to act as a parent, to care for, to name, and to claim custodial rights with respect to a child. See Tennessee Code 36-1-102
  • parents: means any biological, legal, adoptive parent or parents or, for purposes of §. See Tennessee Code 36-1-102
  • Person: means any association, aggregate of individuals, business, company, corporation, individual, joint-stock company, Lloyds-type organization, organization, partnership, receiver, reciprocal or interinsurance exchange, trustee or society. See Tennessee Code 56-16-102
  • Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Personal property: All property that is not real property.
  • Personal property: includes money, goods, chattels, things in action, and evidences of debt. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Physical custody: means physical possession and care of a child. See Tennessee Code 36-1-102
  • Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
  • Preliminary hearing: A hearing where the judge decides whether there is enough evidence to make the defendant have a trial.
  • Preliminary home study: means an initial home study conducted prior to or, in limited situations, immediately after, the placement of a child with prospective adoptive parents who have not previously been subject to a home study that was conducted or updated not less than six (6) months prior to the date a surrender is sought to be executed to the prospective adoptive parents or prior to the date of the filing of the adoption petition. See Tennessee Code 36-1-102
  • Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
  • Property: includes both personal and real property. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Prospective adoptive parents: means a nonagency person or persons who are seeking to adopt a child and who have made application with a licensed child-placing agency or licensed clinical social worker or the department for approval, or who have been previously approved, to receive a child for adoption, or who have received or who expect to receive a surrender of a child, or who have filed a petition for termination or for adoption. See Tennessee Code 36-1-102
  • Putative father: means a biological or alleged biological father of a child who, at the time of the filing of the petition to terminate the parental rights of such person, or if no such petition is filed, at the time of the filing of a petition to adopt a child, meets at least one (1) of the criteria set out in §. See Tennessee Code 36-1-102
  • Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in a perceivable form. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Related: means grandparents or any degree of great-grandparents, aunts or uncles, or any degree of great-aunts or great-uncles, or stepparent, or cousins of the first degree, or first cousins once removed, or any siblings of the whole or half degree or any spouse of the above listed relatives. See Tennessee Code 36-1-102
  • Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
  • Representative: when applied to those who represent a decedent, includes executors and administrators, unless the context implies heirs and distributees. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
  • Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
  • signed: includes a mark, the name being written near the mark and witnessed, or any other symbol or methodology executed or adopted by a party with intention to authenticate a writing or record, regardless of being witnessed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
  • Surrender: means a document executed under §. See Tennessee Code 36-1-102
  • Testator: A male person who leaves a will at death.
  • Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
  • token visitation: means that the visitation, under the circumstances of the individual case, constitutes nothing more than perfunctory visitation or visitation of such an infrequent nature or of such short duration as to merely establish minimal or insubstantial contact with the child. See Tennessee Code 36-1-102
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
  • Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
  • United States: includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Vehicle protection product: includes , but is not limited to, alarm systems, body part marking products, steering locks, window etch products, pedal and ignition locks, fuel and ignition kill switches, and electronic, radio, and satellite tracking devices. See Tennessee Code 56-55-102
  • Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
  • warrantor: means a person who is contractually obligated to the warranty holder under the terms of the vehicle protection product warranty agreement. See Tennessee Code 56-55-102
  • warranty: means a written agreement by a warrantor that provides that, if the vehicle protection product fails to prevent loss or damage to a vehicle from a specific cause, then the warranty holder shall be paid specified incidental costs by the warrantor as a result of the failure of the vehicle protection product to perform pursuant to the terms of the warranty. See Tennessee Code 56-55-102
  • Warranty holder: means the person who purchases a vehicle protection product or who is a permitted transferee. See Tennessee Code 56-55-102
  • Warranty reimbursement insurance policy: means a policy of insurance that is issued to the vehicle protection product warrantor to provide reimbursement to the warrantor, or to pay on behalf of the warrantor, all covered contractual obligations incurred by the warrantor under the terms and conditions of the insured vehicle protection product warranties sold by the warrantor. See Tennessee Code 56-55-102
  • written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105