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22(4) Warranty audits of dealer records may be conducted by the warrantor on
23a reasonable basis, and dealer claims for warranty compensation may not be denied
24except for cause, including performance of nonwarranty repairs, material
1noncompliance with the warrantor's published policies and procedures, lack of
2material documentation, fraud, or misrepresentation.
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3(5) A dealer shall submit warranty claims within 45 days after completing
4work.
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5(6) A dealer shall notify the warrantor as soon as is reasonably possible,
6verbally or in writing, if the dealer is unable or unwilling to perform material or
7repetitive warranty repairs.
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8(7) A warrantor shall disapprove warranty claims in writing within 45 days
9after the date of submission by the dealer in the manner and form prescribed by the
10warrantor. Claims not specifically disapproved in writing within 45 days shall be
11construed to be approved and must be paid within 60 days.
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12(8) No warrantor may do any of the following:
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(a) Fail to perform any of its warranty obligations with respect to its warranted
14products.
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(b) Fail to include, in written notices of factory campaigns to recreational
16vehicle owners and dealers, the expected date by which necessary parts and
17equipment, including tires and chassis or chassis parts, will be available to dealers
18to perform the factory campaign work. A warrantor may ship parts to the dealer to
19affect the factory campaign work, and, if parts provided are in excess of the dealer's
20requirements, the dealer may return unused parts to the warrantor for credit after
21completion of the campaign.
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(c) Fail to compensate any of its dealers for authorized repairs effected by the
23dealer of merchandise damaged in manufacture or transit to the dealer if the carrier
24is designated by the warrantor, factory branch, distributor, or distributor branch.
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1(d) Fail to compensate any of its dealers for authorized warranty service in
2accordance with the time allowances set forth in the schedule of compensation under
3sub. (1) (c) if performed in a timely and competent manner.
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(e) Intentionally misrepresent in any way to purchasers of recreational
5vehicles that warranties with respect to the manufacture, performance, or design of
6the vehicle are made by the dealer as warrantor or co-warrantor.
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(f) Require the dealer to make warranties to customers in any manner related
8to the manufacture of the recreational vehicle.
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9(9) No dealer may do any of the following:
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(a) Fail to perform predelivery inspection functions, as specified by the
11warrantor, in a competent and timely manner.
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(b) Fail to perform warranty service work authorized by the warrantor in a
13reasonably competent and timely manner on any transient customer's vehicle of the
14same line-make unless the dealer determines that the customer is acting in a
15manner detrimental to its business.
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(c) Fail to track actual time expended to perform warranty work not governed
17by time allowances in the schedule of compensation under sub. (1) (c).
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(d) Claim an agency relationship with the warrantor or manufacturer.
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(e) Misrepresent the terms of any warranty.
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20(10) Notwithstanding the terms of any dealer agreement, all of the following
21apply:
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(a) A warrantor shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless its dealer against
23any losses or damages to the extent such losses or damages are caused by the
24negligence or willful misconduct of the warrantor. A dealer may not be denied
25indemnification or a defense for failing to discover, disclose, or remedy a defect in the
1design or manufacturing of the recreational vehicle. A dealer shall provide to the
2warrantor a copy of any suit in which allegations are made under this section within
310 days after receiving the suit. This paragraph shall continue to apply even after
4the recreational vehicle is titled. Indemnification shall include court costs,
5reasonable attorney fees, and expert witness fees incurred by the dealer.
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(b) A dealer shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless its warrantor against
7any losses or damages to the extent such losses or damages are caused by the
8negligence or willful misconduct of the dealer. The warrantor shall provide to the
9dealer a copy of any suit in which allegations are made under this section within 10
10days after receiving the suit. This paragraph shall continue to apply even after the
11recreational vehicle is titled. Indemnification must include court costs, reasonable
12attorney fees, and expert witness fees incurred by the warrantor.
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13Section
22. 218.165 of the statutes is created to read:
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14218.165 Inspection of recreational vehicles. (1) Whenever a new
15recreational vehicle is damaged prior to transit to the dealer or is damaged in transit
16to the dealer when the carrier or means of transportation has been selected by the
17manufacturer or distributor, the dealer shall notify the manufacturer or distributor
18of the damage within the time frame specified in the dealer agreement and do any
19of the following:
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(a) Request from the manufacturer or distributor authorization to replace the
21components, parts, and accessories damaged or otherwise correct the damage.
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(b) Reject the vehicle within the time frame set forth in sub. (4).
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23(2) If a manufacturer or distributor refuses or fails to authorize repair of
24damage described under sub. (1) within 10 days after receipt of notification under
1sub. (1) or if the dealer rejects the recreational vehicle because of damage, ownership
2of the new recreational vehicle reverts to the manufacturer or distributor.
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3(3) A dealer shall exercise due care in custody of a damaged recreational
4vehicle, but the dealer shall have no other obligations, financial or otherwise, with
5respect to that recreational vehicle.
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6(4) The time frame for inspection and rejection by the dealer shall be part of
7the dealer agreement and may not be less than 2 business days after the physical
8delivery of the recreational vehicle.
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9Section
23. 218.166 of the statutes is created to read:
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10218.166 Coercion. (1) In this section, “coerce” includes threatening to
11terminate, cancel, or not renew a dealer agreement without good cause or
12threatening to withhold product lines or delay product delivery as an inducement to
13amending the dealer agreement.