Sponsored by:
Senator JAMES BEACH
District 6 (Burlington and Camden)
Senator NILSA CRUZ-PEREZ
District 5 (Camden and Gloucester)
SYNOPSIS
Requires dealerships to notify buyers of recalls on used motor vehicles for sales; limits attorneys’ fees in certain consumer actions.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As amended by the Senate on June 25, 2018.
An Act concerning new and used motor vehicle dealers and supplementing P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. A dealer shall not sell or transfer a used motor vehicle without first contacting or accessing information provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to determine whether there are any open recalls on the specific vehicle. In the event that an open recall is discovered, the dealer shall inform a prospective purchaser about the recall and provide the prospective purchaser with a printed copy of the recall information from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Internet website.
b. A dealer shall not sell or transfer a used motor vehicle that is subject to a “stop sale” or “do not drive” or similar designation from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
c. There shall be 1[an irrebuttable] a conclusive1 presumption that a dealer had no knowledge of the existence of an open recall on a used vehicle if that dealer accessed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Internet website and, after the dealer input the specific vehicle identification number, the website indicated no open recalls for that used vehicle. This subsection shall not:
(1) create any legal duty upon a dealer related to the accuracy, errors, or omissions of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website; or
(2) require a dealer to provide a prospective purchaser with any recall information that may be added to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Internet website, after the dealer has printed a copy of the recall information and provided it to the prospective purchaser of the used vehicle.
d. 1Nothing in this section shall limit the legal duty or standard of care of a dealer related to the sale of a motor vehicle subject to an open recall in the event that the failure to repair causes personal injury or death.
e.1 As used in this section:
(1) “dealer” means a person who is actively engaged in the business of buying, selling or exchanging new or used motor vehicles at retail. For the purposes of this definition, “at retail” shall not include wholesale sales, sales between dealers, and sales to owners or operators of motor vehicle junk businesses or motor vehicle junk yards, as defined in R.S.39:11-2, or any other persons or entities engaged in the business of dismantling, destroying or recycling motor vehicles;
(2) “motor vehicle franchisee” and “motor vehicle franchisor” shall have the same meanings as set forth in section 1 of P.L.1977, c.84 (C.56:10-13); and
(3) “open recall” refers to a safety or emissions recall on a specific vehicle that has not been corrected or addressed.
2. a. Any person who suffers any ascertainable loss of moneys or property, real or personal, as a result of the use or employment by a dealer of any method, act, or practice declared unlawful under P.L.1960, c.39 (56:8-1 et seq.) may bring an action or assert a counterclaim therefor in any court of competent jurisdiction. In any action under this section, the court shall award compensatory damages sustained by any person in interest. In any action under this section in which the court finds an egregious violation of P.L.1960, c.39 (56:8-1 et seq.), the court may award threefold the damages sustained by any person in interest. In all actions under this section, including those brought by the Attorney General, the court may also award reasonable attorneys' fees, in an amount of up to 1[30 percent] $1,000 or up to one third1 of the amount of damages awarded to the person in interest, 1at the discretion of the court, as well as1 filing fees 1[,]1 and reasonable costs of suit.
b. There shall be an 1[an irrebuttable] a conclusive1 presumption pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1982, c.98 (C.56:8-2.22) that the consumer received a copy of the signed contract documents related to an automobile purchase, if the consumer acknowledged receipt of the signed contract documents with the consumer’s signature.
c. The damages provided in this section shall be the exclusive remedy for a person bringing an action or counterclaim against a dealer pursuant to P.L.1960, c.39 (56:8-1 et seq.).
3. This act shall take effect on the first day of the seventh month next following the date of enactment.