61-4-511. Manufacturer's dispute settlement procedure -- certification -- prohibited contents. (1) A manufacturer who has established an informal dispute settlement procedure under the provisions of Title 16, Code of Federal Regulations, part 703 (16 CFR, part 703), as those provisions read on October 1, 1983, shall submit a copy of the procedure to the department of commerce. The department of commerce shall issue a certificate of approval to a manufacturer whose procedure complies in all respects with such federal regulations and subsection (2). The department of commerce shall report to the department of justice all manufacturer's procedures certified. The department of commerce may issue subpoenas requiring the attendance of witnesses and the production of records, documents, or other evidence necessary to it in an investigation related to the certification of a manufacturer's informal dispute settlement procedure.
     (2) A manufacturer's informal dispute settlement procedure must afford the consumer or his representative an opportunity to appear and present evidence in Montana at a location reasonably convenient to the consumer and, further, may not include any practices that:
     (a) delay a decision in any dispute beyond 60 days after the date on which the consumer initially resorts to the dispute settlement procedure;
     (b) delay performance of remedies awarded in a settlement beyond 10 days after a decision, except that a manufacturer may have 30 days following the date of decision to replace a motor vehicle or make refund to the consumer as provided in 61-4-503;
     (c) require the consumer to make the vehicle available for inspection by a manufacturer's representative more than once;
     (d) fail to consider in decisions any remedies provided by this part; or
     (e) require the consumer to take any action or assume any obligation not specifically authorized under the federal regulations referred to in subsection (1).

     History: En. Sec. 7, Ch. 744, L. 1985; amd. Sec. 13, Ch. 503, L. 1985.