N.Y. General Business Law § 813: Vessel preparation, warranty and warranty reimbursement

§ 813. Vessel preparation, warranty and warranty reimbursement. 1. If

a manufacturer or distributor requires or permits a dealer to provide

parts or to perform labor to satisfy a warranty created by the

manufacturer or distributor, the manufacturer or distributor shall:

(a) properly and promptly fulfill its warranty obligations;

(b) adequately and fairly compensate the dealer for any parts

provided, the shipping costs for parts provided and labor performed by

the dealer to satisfy the warranty on a vessel, including the hull,

motor/engine, component parts, spars, sails and accessories; and

(c) have the right to audit the dealer's warranty claims for a period

of eighteen months following the submission thereof, and to charge back

to the dealer any amounts paid on false, fraudulent, incorrect or

unsubstantiated claims.

2. Compensation by the manufacturer or distributor for parts provided,

the shipping costs for parts provided and labor performed by the dealer

shall be deemed adequate and fair if:

(a) the dealer is reimbursed for any parts provided and already in

inventory and the shipping costs for such parts in an amount equal to

the wholesale price, plus forty percent thereof, provided that in no

case shall such reimbursement exceed the retail price, and shipping

costs of the parts provided to the dealer; and

(b) the dealer is reimbursed for any labor performed at the following

rates:

(i) with respect to the first year of new dealer agreements entered

into on or after the effective date of this article, and with respect to

the first year of the first renewals of a dealer agreement in effect

prior to the effective date of this article, when such renewal is

entered into on or after the effective date of this article, at a rate

of not less than seventy-five percent of the retail labor rate

customarily charged and posted therefor,

(ii) with respect to the second year of new dealer agreements entered

into on or after the effective date of this article, and with respect to

the second year of a renewal of a dealer agreement in effect prior to

the effective date of this article, when the first year of such renewal

commenced on or after the effective date of this article, at a rate not

less than ninety percent of the retail labor rate customarily charged

and posted therefor; and

(iii) with respect to the third and any subsequent year of new dealer

agreements entered into on or after the effective date of this article,

and with respect to the third and any subsequent year of a renewal of a

dealer agreement in effect prior to the effective date of this article,

when the first year of such renewal commenced on or after the effective

date of this article, at a rate not less than one hundred percent of the

retail labor rate customarily charged and posted therefor.

Nothing in this paragraph shall be deemed to require or provide for

the payment of a lower rate than is provided in a dealer agreement

entered into prior to the effective date of this article or of a renewal

of a dealer agreement, when such renewal is entered into prior to the

effective date of this article.

3. To be entitled to compensation for labor at the dealer's retail

rate, the dealer shall have posted, in a place conspicuous to service

customers, the rate for labor for nonwarranty work.

4. Except as provided in this section, no manufacturer or distributor

may by agreement make restrictions on reimbursement or otherwise

restrict the nature or extent of parts provided or labor performed by a

dealer if such restriction impairs the dealer's ability to satisfy the

warranty of the manufacturer or distributor in accordance with the

generally accepted standards. However, the manufacturer or distributor

may provide printed repair manuals detailing standard labor time and

parts required for a specific repair to establish set requirements if

such manual is provided to the dealer upon entry into a new contract or

renewal of a contract. Such standards shall reflect the labor time and

parts' standards used by the manufacturer on a national level. Any

repair or parts required by the manufacturer or distributor that are not

in repair manuals will be paid in actual billable hours by the

manufacturer or distributor.

5. A claim by a dealer for compensation for parts provided, the

shipping costs for parts provided and labor performed to satisfy a

warranty, provided that the claim includes all the information

reasonably necessary by the manufacturer to make a determination upon

the validity of the claim, shall be approved or disapproved by the

manufacturer or distributor in writing within thirty days of receipt of

the claim by the manufacturer or distributor in writing, and if

approved, shall be paid within thirty days of the approval thereof.