Senate Bill NO. 2626

By Senator(s) Carlton

SECTION *. The following shall be codified as Section 75-77-6, Mississippi Code of 1972:

75-77-6. This section applies to a warranty claim submitted by a retailer:

(a) Claims filed for payment under warranty agreements shall either be approved or disapproved within thirty (30) days of receipt by the supplier. All claims for payment shall be paid within thirty (30) days of their approval. When any such claim is disapproved, the supplier shall notify the retailer within thirty (30) days stating the specific grounds upon which the disapproval is based. If a claim is not specifically disapproved within thirty (30) days of receipt, it shall be deemed approved and payment by the supplier shall be within thirty (30) days.

(b) If after termination of a contract the retailer submits a claim to the supplier for warranty work performed prior to the effective date of the termination, the supplier shall accept or reject the claim within thirty (30) days of receipt.

(c) Warranty work performed by the retailer shall be compensated in accordance with the reasonable and customary amount of time required to complete the work, expressed in hours and fractions thereof, multiplied by the retailer's established customer hourly retail labor rate, which shall have previously been made known to the supplier.

(d) Expenses expressly excluded under the supplier's warranty to the customer shall not be included nor required to be paid on requests for compensation from the retailer for warrant work performed.

(e) All parts used by the retailer in performing warranty work shall be paid to the retailer in the amount equal to the retailer's net price for parts used, plus a minimum of fifteen percent (15%). The percentage additive is to reimburse the retailer for reasonable costs of doing business in performing warranty service on the suppliers behalf, including, but not limited to, freight and handling costs incurred.

(f) The supplier has the right to adjust for errors discovered during audit, and if necessary, to adjust claims paid in error.

(g) The retailer shall have the right to accept the manufacturer's reimbursement terms and conditions in lieu of the provisions of this section.

SECTION *. Section 75-77-19, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

75-77-19. (1) Except as otherwise provided in Section 75-77-6, the provisions of this chapter shall not be waivable in any contract, and any such attempted waiver shall be null and void.

(2) If any provision or item of this chapter or the application thereof is held invalid, it shall not affect other provisions, items or applications of this chapter which can be given effect without the invalid provisions, items or applications, and to this end the provisions of this chapter are hereby declared severable.

TO CODIFY NEW CODE SECTION 75-77-6, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO ENACT RULES FOR A WARRANTY CLAIM SUBMITTED TO A SUPPLIER BY A RETAILER; TO AMEND SECTION 75-77-19, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY THERETO;