2023 Montana Code Annotated › Title 61. Motor Vehicles › Chapter 4. Sales and Distribution of Motor Vehicles › Part 2. Licensing of New Motor Vehicle Manufacturers, Distributors, and Importers -- Disputes -- Standing › 61-4-204. Filing agreement -- product liability

61-4-204. Filing agreement -- product liability.
(1) A franchisee shall, at the time of application for a new motor vehicle dealer license under the provisions of 61-4-101, file with the department a certified copy of the franchisee's written agreement with a manufacturer and a certificate of appointment as dealer or distributor. The certificate of appointment must be signed by an authorized agent of the manufacturer of domestic motor vehicles whenever there is a direct manufacturer dealer agreement or by an authorized agent of the distributor whenever the manufacturer is wholesaling through an appointed distributorship. The certificate must be signed by an authorized agent of the importer of foreign-made vehicles whenever there is a direct importer-dealer agreement or by an authorized agent of the distributor whenever there is an indirect distributor-dealer agreement. The distributor's certificate of appointment must be signed by an authorized agent of the manufacturer of domestically manufactured motor vehicles or by an authorized agent of the manufacturer or importer of foreign-made motor vehicles.
(2) A franchisee need not file a written agreement or certificate of appointment if the manufacturer on direct dealerships or distributor on indirect dealerships or importer on direct dealerships uses the identical basic agreement for all its franchised dealers or distributors in this state and certifies in the certificate of appointment that the blanket agreement is on file and the written agreement with the particular dealer or distributor, respectively, is identical with the filed blanket agreement and that the franchisee has filed with the department one agreement together with a list of franchised dealers or distributors.
(3) A franchisor shall notify the department within 30 days of any revision of or addition to the basic agreement on file or of any franchise supplement to the agreement. Annual renewal of a certificate filed as provided in this section is not required.
(4) A manufacturer shall file with the department a copy of the delivery and preparation obligations required to be performed by a dealer prior to the delivery of a new motor vehicle to a buyer. These delivery and preparation obligations constitute the dealer's only responsibility for product liability as between the dealer and the manufacturer. Any mechanical, body, or parts defects arising from an express or implied warranty of the manufacturer constitute the manufacturer's product or warranty liability only. A manufacturer may not refuse a dealer's demand for defense and indemnity of a claim to which the dealer has been joined as a party, alleging manufacturer's negligence or breach of the manufacturer's warranty or product liability based on the mere allegations of the complaint without a reasonable investigation of the facts and determination that the dealer failed to perform the dealer's delivery and preparation obligations as required by this subsection or otherwise violated a legal duty owed to the claimant or manufacturer. However, this section may not affect the obligations of new motor vehicle dealers to perform warranty repair and maintenance that may be required by law or contract. Except with regard to household appliances, including but not limited to ranges, refrigerators, and water heaters, in a recreational vehicle and except with regard to a truck rated at more than 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight, the manufacturer shall compensate an authorized dealer for labor, parts, and other expenses incurred by a dealer who performs work to rectify the manufacturer's product or warranty defect or for delivery and preparation obligations as provided in this part.
(5) All claims made by the dealer for compensation for delivery, preparation, and recall service, including labor, parts, and other expenses, and claims made for incentives must be paid by the manufacturer within 30 days of receipt of the claim from the dealer, unless the claim is properly disapproved, except that a manufacturer of a motor home shall pay any claim within 60 days of receipt from the dealer.
(6) Notwithstanding the terms of any agreement, the franchisor may not refuse to allocate, sell, or deliver motor vehicles, may not penalize a dealer, may not charge back or withhold payments or other things of value for which the dealer is otherwise entitled under a sales promotion, program, or contest, and may not prevent the dealer from participating in any promotion, program, or contest based on the dealer's selling of a motor vehicle to a customer who was present at the dealership and that the dealer did not know or could not have reasonably known that the motor vehicle would be shipped to a foreign country. There is a rebuttable presumption that the dealer did not know or could not have reasonably known that the vehicle would be shipped to a foreign country if the motor vehicle is titled in the United States.
(7) A franchisor may reasonably and periodically audit a motor vehicle dealer to determine the validity of paid claims or charge-backs for customer or dealer incentives.
(8) A dealer has 60 days from the date of notification by a manufacturer of a denial or a charge-back to the dealer to resubmit a claim for payment or compensation if the claim was denied for a dealer's incidental failure as set forth in 61-4-213(12)(d), regardless of whether the denial or charge-back was a direct or an indirect transaction.
(9) A dealer has 90 days after the expiration of a franchisor incentive program, or a longer time if provided by the franchise agreement, to submit a claim for payment or compensation under the program.
(10) Notwithstanding the terms of a franchise agreement or other contract with a dealer, after the expiration of 1 year after the date of payment of a motor vehicle claim or 1 year from the end of a program that does not exceed 1 year in length, whichever is later, a franchisor may not:
(a) charge back to a dealer, whether directly or indirectly, the amount of a claim that has been approved and paid by the franchisor under an incentive program;
(b) charge back to a dealer, whether directly or indirectly, the cash value of a prize or other thing of value awarded to the dealer under an incentive program; or
(c) audit the records of a dealer to determine compliance with the terms of an incentive program.
(11) Subsection (10) does not prohibit a franchisor from making charge-backs to a dealer for fraud at any time as permitted by 27-2-203.
(12) The dealer shall furnish the purchaser of a new motor vehicle with a signed copy of the manufacturer's delivery and preparation requirements indicating that each of those requirements has been performed.
(13) Any violation of this section constitutes a prohibited practice.
History: En. 51-604 by Sec. 4, Ch. 380, L. 1977; R.C.M. 1947, 51-604(1) thru (3), (5), (6); amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 431, L. 1981; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 503, L. 1985; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 229, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 313, L. 1999; amd. Sec. 6, Ch. 384, L. 1999; amd. Sec. 172, Ch. 542, L. 2005; amd. Sec. 54, Ch. 329, L. 2007; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 308, L. 2009; amd. Sec. 14, Ch. 283, L. 2019.