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The Vermont Statutes Online



Title

09

:
Commerce and Trade






Chapter

115

:
NEW MOTOR VEHICLE ARBITRATION











 

§

4171. Definitions

As used in this

chapter:

(1)

"Board" means, unless otherwise indicated, the Vermont Motor Vehicle

Arbitration Board.

(2)

"Consumer" means the purchaser, other than for purposes of resale of

a new motor vehicle or lessee of a new motor vehicle, other than for the

purposes of sub-lease, which has not been previously leased by another person,

any person to whom such motor vehicle is transferred during the duration of an

express warranty applicable to the motor vehicle, and any other person entitled

by the terms of the warranty to enforce the obligations of the warranty, but

"consumer" shall not include any governmental entity or any business

or commercial enterprise which registers or leases three or more motor

vehicles.

(3) "Early

termination costs" mean expenses and obligations incurred by a motor

vehicle lessee as a result of an early termination of a written lease agreement

and surrender of a motor vehicle to a manufacturer under the provisions of

subsection 4172(e) of this title, including penalties for prepayment of finance

arrangements.

(4) "Lease

or leased" means a written agreement with a lessee as defined in

subdivision (5) of this section, which shall be for the use of a motor vehicle

for consideration for a term of two or more years.

(5)

"Lessee" means any consumer who leases a motor vehicle pursuant to a

written lease agreement for a term of two or more years.

(6) "Motor

vehicle" means a passenger motor vehicle which is purchased, leased, or

registered in the State of Vermont and shall not include tractors, motorized

highway building equipment, road-making appliances, snowmobiles, motorcycles,

motor-driven cycles, or the living portion of recreation vehicles, or trucks

with a gross vehicle weight rating over 12,000 pounds.

(7) "Manufacturer"

means any person, resident or nonresident, who manufactures or assembles new

motor vehicles or imports for distribution through distributors of motor

vehicles or any partnership, firm, association, joint venture, corporation, or

trust, resident or nonresident, which is controlled by a manufacturer.

Additionally, the term "manufacturer" shall include:

(A)

"distributor," meaning any person, resident or nonresident, who in

whole or in part offers for sale, sells, or distributes any new motor vehicle

to new motor vehicle dealers or new motor vehicle lessors or maintains factory

representatives or who controls any person, firm, association, corporation, or

trust, resident or nonresident, who in whole or in part offers for sale, sells,

or distributes any new motor vehicle to new motor vehicle dealers or new motor

vehicle lessors; and

(B)

"factory branch" meaning any branch office maintained by a

manufacturer for the purpose of selling, leasing, or offering for sale or

lease, vehicles to a distributor or new motor vehicle dealer or for directing

or supervising, in whole or in part, factory distributor representatives.

(8) "Motor

vehicle lessor" means a person who holds title to a motor vehicle leased

to a lessee under a written lease agreement for a term of two or more years, or

who holds the lessor's rights under such an agreement.

(9) A "new

motor vehicle" means a passenger motor vehicle which is still under the

manufacturer's express warranty.

(10) Warranty

shall be defined as including the following:

"Express

warranty" means express warranties as defined in the Uniform Commercial

Code, 9A V.S.A. § 2-313; plus any written warranty of the manufacturer. (Added

1983, No. 211 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1985, No. 260 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 1987,

No. 242 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 1999, No. 18, § 27, eff. May 13, 1999; 2009, No. 152

(Adj. Sess.), § 19l, eff. Sept. 1, 2010; 2011, No. 164 (Adj. Sess.), § 6.)