An Act To Amend the Maine "Lemon Law
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 0887
Committee: Business, Research and Economic Development
Sponsors: McKEE, TREAT, BLISS, COWGER, NORTON, PINGREE, THOMPSON
Amends: 10 MRSA §1161, 10 MRSA §1163, 10 MRSA §1169

Legislative Document 
No. 887 
H.P.664 
House of Representatives, February 20, 2003 
An Act To Amend the Maine "Lemon Law" 
Reference to the Committee on Business, Research and Economic Development suggested 
and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative McKEE of Wayne. 
Cosponsored by Senator TREAT of Kennebec and 
7f/~111.~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: BLISS of South Portland, COWGER of Hallowell, NORTON of Bangor, 
PINGREE of North Haven, THOMPSON of China. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 10 MRSA §1161, sub-§4, as amended by PL 1999, c. 212, 
§l, is repealed. 
Sec. 2. 10 MRSA §1163, sub-§2, as amended by PL 1999, c. 212, 
§2, is further amended to read: 
2. 
Failure to make effective repair. 
If the manufacturer 
or its agents or authorized dealers are unable to conform the 
motor vehicle to any applicable express warranty by repairing or 
correcting any defect or condition, or combination of defects or 
conditions, which substantially impairs the use, safety or value 
of the motor vehicle after a reasonable number of attempts, the 
manufacturer 
shall either 
replace 
the 
motor 
vehicle 
with 
a 
]6 
comparable new motor vehicle or accept return of the vehicle from 
the consumer and make a refund to the consumer and lienholder, if 
any, as their interests may appear. 
The consumer may reject any 
offered replacement and receive instead a 
refund. 
The 
refund 
saall must consist of t:ae--f-Q-1-l-ow-ing---i-t.em-th--],.e.s-s---a--£eas9Rable 
all9waRee-Ee~-~se-9E-t:ae-veaiele: 
A. 
The full purchase price or, if a leased 
lease payments made 
to date, 
including any 
charges on the purchased or leased vehicle; 
vehicle, the 
paid finance 
B. 
All collateral charges, including, 
sales 
tax, 
license 
and 
registration 
government charges; and 
but not limited to, 
fees 
and 
similar 
C. 
Reasonable costs incurred by the consumer for towing and 
storage 
of 
the 
vehicle 
and 
for 
procuring 
alternative 
transportation while the vehicle could not be driven because 
it did not conform to any applicable express warranty. 
The 
provisions 
of 
this 
section 
saall 
may 
not 
affect 
the 
obligations of a consumer under a loan or sales contract or the 
secured interest of any secured party. The secured party shall 
consent to the 
replacement of 
the security interest with 
a 
corresponding security interest on a 
replacement motor vehicle 
waiea that is accepted by the consumer in exchange for the motor 
vehicle, if the replacement motor vehicle is comparable in value 
to the original motor vehicle. If, for any reason, the security 
interest in the new motor vehicle having a defect or condition is 
not able to be replaced with a corresponding security interest on 
a new motor vehicle accepted by the consumer, the consumer shall 
accept a refund. Refunds required under this section saall must 
be made to the consumer and the secured party, if any, as their 
interests exist at the time the refund is to be made. Similarly, 
refunds 
to 
Page l-LR1367(1) 
a lessor and lessee 6aa~~ must be made as their interests exist 
at the time the refund is to be made. 
Sec. 3. 10 MRSA §1163, sub-§3, 1r1rA and B, as repealed and 
replaced by PL 1989, c. 570, §3, are amended to read: 
A. 
The same nonconformity has been subject to repair 3 or 
more times by the manufacturer or its agents or authorized 
dealers within the express warranty term, during the period 
of 2 years following the date of original delivery of the 
motor vehicle to a consumer or during the first 18,000 miles 
of operation, whichever is the earlier date, and at least 2 
of those times the same agent or dealer attempted the repair 
but the nonconformity continues to exist; aF 
B. 
The vehicle is out of service by reason of repair by the 
manufacturer, its agents or authorized dealer, of any defect 
or condition or combination of defects for 
a 
cumulative 
total of 15 or more business days during that warranty term 
or the appropriate time period, whichever is the earlier 
dateT~ 
Sec. 4. 10 MRSA §1163, sub-§3, 1rC is enacted to read: 
c. 
The vehicle has multi121e 12roblems that have not been 
successfully re12aired after the vehicle has been out of 
service for 15 or more business days within the warranty 
term as a result of those 12roblems. 
Sec. 5. 10 MRSA §1169, §1, 2 and 5, as amended by PL 1999, c. 
212, §4, are further amended to read: 
1. 
Neutral new car arbitration. 
All manufacturers shall 
submit to state-certified, new car arbitration if arbitration is 
requested by 
the 
consumer 
within 
years 
from 
the 
date of 
original delivery to the consumer of 
a 
new motor vehicle or 
within 
the 
term 
of 
the 
express 
warranties, 
whichever 
comes 
first. 
State-certified arbitration must be performed by eBe-e£ 
meFe a panel of 5 neutral arbitrators selected by the Department 
of the Attorney General operating in accordance with the rules 
adopted pursuant to this chapter. 
±ae--A~~aFBey--~eBeFa±--may 
eaB~Fae~-wi~R-~£-~~-~~~~~~~~~~-a~&~~~a~~B-e~-tae 
AttaFaey-GeRe~~J2£-~~~~~~~~-B&~~~a~-aFaitFa~eF6T The 5 
members of the arbitration panel must include one person who is a 
new car dealer, one person who is knowledgeable about automobile 
mechanical systems and 3 members of the general 12ublic. 
Each 
party to 
an arbitration is entitled to 
one 
rejection of 
a 
proposed arbitrator. 
2. 
Written findings. 
Each arbitration results in a written 
finding 
of 
whether 
the 
motor 
vehicle 
in dispute 
meets 
the 
standards 
set forth 
by 
this 
chapter 
for 
vehicles 
that 
are 
required to be replaced or refunded. 
This finding must be issued 
within 45 days of receipt by the Department of the Attorney 
General of a properly completed written request by a consumer for 
state-certified arbitration under this section. 
All findings of 
fact issuing from a state-certified arbitration must be taken as 
admissible evidence of whether the standards set forth in this 
chapter for vehicles required to be refunded or replaced have 
been met in any subsequent action brought by either party ensuing 
from 
the matter considered in the arbitration. 
The 
finding 
reporting date may 
be 
extended by 
days if the 
a~9i~~a~e~ 
arbi tration panel seeks an independent evaluation of the motor 
vehicle. 
In addition to the other remedies provided by this 
chapter, the 
a~9il;~al;e~ arbitration panel may award a consumer 
whose 
motor vehicle is 
required to 
be 
replaced or 
refunded 
reasonable witness fees for a professional motor vehicle mechanic 
or engineer who prepared a notarized report on the condition of 
the vehicle or who testified at the arbitration hearing on behalf 
of the consumer. 
5. 
Appeal 
of 
arbitration 
decision. 
An 
appeal 
by 
a 
manufacturer or 
the 
consumer of the 
a~9i~~a~e~~s arbitration 
panel's findings may not be heard unless the petition for appeal 
is filed with the Superior Court of the county in which the sale 
occurred, 
within 
days of issuance of the finding of the 
state-certified arbitration. 
The 
appeal 
must 
be 
a 
trial de 
novo. 
The arbitrator and the Department of the Attorney General 
may not be parties in any such appeal and may not be called as 
witnesses. 
The Department of the Attorney General may submit an 
amicus curiae brief. 
In the event that any state-certified arbitration resulting in an 
award of a refund or replacement is upheld by the court, recovery 
by the consumer may include continuing damages up to the amount 
of $25 per day for each day subsequent to the day the motor 
vehicle was returned to the manufacturer, pursuant to section 
1163, that the vehicle was out of use as a direct result of any 
nonconformity 
not 
issuing 
from 
owner 
negligence, 
accident, 
vandalism or any attempt to repair or substantially modify the 
vehicle by a person other than the manufacturer, its agent or 
authorized dealer, provided that the manufacturer did not make a 
comparable vehicle available to the consumer free of charge. 
In addition to any other recovery, any prevailing consumer must 
be awarded reasonable attorney's fees and costs. 
I f 
the court 
finds that the manufacturer did not have any reasonable basis for 
its appeal or that the appeal was fr i volous, the court shall 
double the amount of the total award to the consumer. 
SUMMARY 
This 
bill 
eliminates 
the 
laws 
that 
allow 
automobile 
manufacturers or their agents or dealers to deduct an allowance 
for mileage from the amount refunded to an automobile owner who 
qualifies for a refund under the State's "lemon law". 
The bill also increases 
from one to five the 
arbitrators that must be involved in a 
"lemon law" 
process and requires that those arbitrators include 
dealer, 
someone experienced in automobile mechanics 
public members. 
number of 
arbitration 
a 
new car 
and three 
The 
bill 
also 
adds 
a 
provision 
to 
the 
criteria 
that 
establish when an automobile qualifies under the "lemon law" that 
states that an automobile qualifies if it has multiple problems 
that have not been successfully repaired after the vehicle has 
been out of service for 
or more business days wi thin the 
warranty term.