§ 109-d. Emergency vehicle warranties. 1. Definitions. As used in this
section:

a. "Ambulance" means a motor vehicle designed, appropriately equipped
and used for the purpose of: (i) transporting emergency medical
personnel and equipment to sick or injured persons; and (ii) carrying
sick or injured persons by a person or entity registered or certified as
an ambulance service by the department of health, that was subject to a
manufacturer's express warranty at the time of original delivery and was
purchased or transferred in this state within either the first eighteen
thousand miles of operation or two years from the date of original
delivery, whichever is earlier.

b. "Fire vehicle" means a motor vehicle specially designed and
equipped for firefighting purposes which was subject to a manufacturer's
express warranty at the time of original delivery and was purchased or
transferred in this state within either the first two thousand hours of
service or two years from the date of original delivery, whichever is
earlier.

c. "Municipal consumer" means a political subdivision or fire company
which is the purchaser or transferee of a fire vehicle or ambulance and
any other person entitled by the terms of the warranty to enforce the
obligations of such warranty.

d. "Warranty" means the written warranty, so labeled, of the
manufacturer and any other warranties set forth in the manufacturer's or
its agent's bid or offer submitted where competitive bidding is required
by statute, rule, regulation or local law, including but not limited to,
a bid or offer submitted pursuant to the competitive bidding
requirements of section one hundred three of this article, and including
any conditions precedent to the enforcement of obligations under such
warranties.

2. Warranties. a. (i) If a new fire vehicle which is sold and
registered in this state does not conform to all express warranties
during the first two thousand hours of service or during the period of
two years following the date of original delivery of the fire vehicle to
the municipal consumer, whichever is the earlier date, or if a new
ambulance which is sold and registered in this state does not conform to
all express warranties during the first eighteen thousand miles of
operation or during the period of two years following the date of
original delivery of the ambulance to the municipal consumer, whichever
is the earlier date, the municipal consumer shall during such period
report the nonconformity, defect or condition to the manufacturer, its
agent or its authorized dealer. If the notification is received by the
manufacturer's agent or authorized dealer, the agent or dealer shall
within seven days forward written notice thereof to the manufacturer by
certified mail, return receipt requested, and shall include in such
notice a statement indicating whether or not such repairs have been
undertaken. The manufacturer, its agent or its authorized dealer shall
correct said nonconformity, defect or condition at no charge to the
municipal consumer, notwithstanding the fact that such repairs are made
after the expiration of such period of operation or such two year
period.

(ii) If a manufacturer's agent or authorized dealer refuses to
undertake repairs within seven days of receipt of the notice by a
municipal consumer of a nonconformity, defect or condition pursuant to
subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, the municipal consumer may
immediately forward written notice of such refusal to the manufacturer
by certified mail, return receipt requested. The manufacturer or its
authorized agent shall have twenty days from receipt of such notice of
refusal to commence such repairs. If within such twenty day period, the
manufacturer or its authorized agent fails to commence such repairs, the
manufacturer, at the option of the municipal consumer, shall replace the
fire vehicle or ambulance with a comparable vehicle, or accept return of
the fire vehicle or ambulance from the municipal consumer and refund to
the municipal consumer the full purchase price plus fees and charges.
Such fees and charges shall include but not be limited to all license
fees, registration fees and any similar governmental charges, less a
reasonable allowance for any damage not attributable to normal wear or
improvements.

b. (i) If, within the period specified in paragraph a of this
subdivision, the manufacturer or its agents or authorized dealers are
unable to repair or correct any defect or condition which substantially
impairs the value of the fire vehicle or ambulance to the municipal
consumer after a reasonable number of attempts, the manufacturer, at the
option of the municipal consumer, shall replace the fire vehicle or
ambulance with a comparable vehicle, or accept return of the fire
vehicle or ambulance from the municipal consumer and refund to the
municipal consumer the full purchase price plus fees and charges. Any
return of a fire vehicle or ambulance may, at the option of the
municipal consumer, be made to the dealer or other authorized agent of
the manufacturer who sold such fire vehicle or ambulance to the
municipal consumer or to the dealer or other authorized agent who
attempted to repair or correct the defect or condition which
necessitated the return and shall not be subject to any further shipping
charges. Such fees and charges shall include but not be limited to all
license fees, registration fees and any similar governmental charges,
less a reasonable allowance for any damage not attributable to normal
wear or improvements.

(ii) A manufacturer which accepts return of a fire vehicle or
ambulance because such vehicle does not conform to its warranty shall
notify the commissioner of motor vehicles that the fire vehicle or
ambulance was returned to the manufacturer for nonconformity to its
warranty and shall disclose, in accordance with the provisions of
section four hundred seventeen-c of the vehicle and traffic law prior to
resale either at wholesale or retail, that it was previously returned to
the manufacturer for nonconformity to its warranty. Refunds shall be
made to the municipal consumer and lienholder, if any, as their
interests may appear on the records of ownership kept by the department
of motor vehicles.

(iii) It shall be an affirmative defense to any claim under this
section that:

(A) the nonconformity, defect or condition does not substantially
impair the value of the fire vehicle or ambulance; or

(B) the nonconformity, defect or condition is the result of abuse,
neglect, or unauthorized modifications or alterations of the fire
vehicle or ambulance.

c. It shall be presumed that a reasonable number of attempts have been
undertaken to conform a fire vehicle or ambulance to the applicable
express warranties, if:

(i) the same nonconformity, defect or condition has been subject to
repair four or more times by the manufacturer or its agents or
authorized dealers within the first two thousand hours of service or
during the period of two years following the date of original delivery
of the fire vehicle to a municipal consumer, whichever is the earlier
date, or, within the first eighteen thousand miles of operation or
during the period of two years following the date of original delivery
of the ambulance to a municipal consumer, whichever is the earlier date,
but such nonconformity, defect or condition continues to exist; or

(ii) the fire vehicle or ambulance is out of service by reason of
repair of one or more nonconformities, defects or conditions for a
cumulative total of thirty or more calendar days during either period,
whichever is the earlier date.

d. The term of an express warranty, the two year warranty period and
the thirty day out of service period shall be extended by any time
during which repair services are not available to the municipal consumer
because of a war, invasion or strike, fire, flood or other natural
disaster.

3. Informal dispute settlement. a. (i) If a manufacturer has
established an informal dispute settlement mechanism, such mechanism
shall comply in all respects with the provisions of this section;
provided, however, that the provisions of subdivision two of this
section concerning refunds or replacement shall not apply to any
municipal consumer who has not first resorted to such mechanism. In the
event that an arbitrator in such an informal dispute mechanism awards a
refund or replacement fire vehicle or ambulance, he or she shall not
reduce the award to an amount less than the full purchase price or a
fire vehicle or ambulance of equal value, plus all fees and charges
except to the extent such reductions are specifically permitted under
subdivision two of this section.

(ii) A manufacturer shall have up to thirty days from the date the
municipal consumer notifies the manufacturer of their acceptance of the
arbitrator's decision to comply with the terms of that decision. Failure
to comply with the thirty day limitation shall also entitle the
municipal consumer to recover a fee of twenty-five dollars for each
business day of noncompliance up to five hundred dollars. Provided,
however, that nothing contained in this paragraph shall impose any
liability on a manufacturer where a delay beyond the thirty day period
is attributable to a municipal consumer who has requested a replacement
fire vehicle or ambulance built to order or with options that are not
comparable to the vehicle being replaced or otherwise made compliance
impossible within said period. In no event shall a municipal consumer
who has resorted to an informal dispute settlement mechanism be
precluded from seeking the rights or remedies available by law.

b. (i) Each municipal consumer shall have the option of submitting any
dispute arising under this section upon the payment of a prescribed
filing fee to an alternate arbitration mechanism established pursuant to
regulations promulgated hereunder by the New York state attorney
general. Upon application of the municipal consumer and payment of the
filing fee, all manufacturers shall submit to such alternate
arbitration. Such alternate arbitration shall be conducted by a
professional arbitrator or arbitration firm appointed by and under
regulations established by the New York state attorney general. Such
mechanism shall insure the personal objectivity of its arbitrators and
the right of each party to present its case, to be in attendance during
any presentation made by the other party and to rebut or refute such
presentation. In all other respects, such alternate arbitration
mechanism shall be governed by article seventy-five of the civil
practice law and rules; provided, however, that notwithstanding
paragraph (i) of subdivision (a) of section seventy-five hundred two of
the civil practice law and rules, special proceedings brought before a
court pursuant to such article seventy-five in relation to an
arbitration hereunder shall be brought only in the county where the
municipal consumer is located or where the arbitration was held or is
pending.

(ii) A court may award reasonable attorney's fees to a municipal
consumer who prevails in any judicial action or proceeding arising out
of an arbitration proceeding held pursuant to subparagraph (i) of this
paragraph. In the event a municipal consumer is required to retain the
services of an attorney to enforce collection of an award granted
pursuant to this section, the court may assess against the manufacturer
reasonable attorney's fees for services rendered to enforce collection
of said award.

c. (i) Each manufacturer shall require that each informal dispute
settlement mechanism used by it provide, at a minimum, the following:

(A) that the arbitrators participating in such mechanism are trained
in arbitration and familiar with the provisions of this section, that
the arbitrators and municipal consumers who request arbitration are
provided with a written copy of the provisions of this section, together
with the notice set forth below entitled "NEW EMERGENCY VEHICLE LEMON
LAW BILL OF RIGHTS", and that municipal consumers, upon request, are
given an opportunity to make an oral presentation to the arbitrator;

(B) that the rights and procedures used in the mechanism comply with
federal regulations promulgated by the federal trade commission relating
to informal dispute settlement mechanisms; and

(C) that the remedies set forth under paragraph c of subdivision two
of this section are awarded if, after a reasonable number of attempts
have been undertaken under paragraph d of subdivision two of this
section to conform the vehicle to the express warranties, the defect or
nonconformity still exists.

(ii) The following notice shall be provided to municipal consumers and
arbitrators and shall be printed in conspicuous ten point bold face
type:

NEW EMERGENCY VEHICLE LEMON LAW BILL OF RIGHTS

(1) IN ADDITION TO ANY WARRANTIES OFFERED BY THE MANUFACTURER, YOUR
NEW FIRE VEHICLE, IF PURCHASED AND REGISTERED IN NEW YORK STATE, IS
WARRANTED AGAINST ALL MATERIAL DEFECTS FOR THE FIRST TWO THOUSAND HOURS
OF OPERATION OR TWO YEARS, WHICHEVER COMES FIRST AND YOUR NEW AMBULANCE,
IF PURCHASED AND REGISTERED IN NEW YORK STATE, IS WARRANTED AGAINST ALL
MATERIAL DEFECTS FOR THE FIRST EIGHTEEN THOUSAND MILES OR TWO YEARS,
WHICHEVER COMES FIRST.

(2) YOU MUST REPORT ANY PROBLEMS TO THE MANUFACTURER, ITS AGENT OR
AUTHORIZED DEALER.

(3) UPON NOTIFICATION, THE PROBLEM MUST BE CORRECTED FREE OF CHARGE.

(4) IF THE SAME PROBLEM CANNOT BE REPAIRED AFTER FOUR OR MORE
ATTEMPTS; OR IF YOUR FIRE VEHICLE OR AMBULANCE IS OUT OF SERVICE TO
REPAIR A PROBLEM FOR A TOTAL OF THIRTY DAYS DURING THE WARRANTY PERIOD;
OR IF THE MANUFACTURER OR ITS AGENT REFUSES TO REPAIR A SUBSTANTIAL
DEFECT OR CONDITION WITHIN TWENTY DAYS OF RECEIPT OF NOTICE SENT BY YOU
TO THE MANUFACTURER BY CERTIFIED MAIL, RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED; THEN
YOU MAY BE ENTITLED TO EITHER A COMPARABLE FIRE VEHICLE OR AMBULANCE,
OR, A REFUND OF YOUR PURCHASE PRICE PLUS LICENSE AND REGISTRATION FEES.

(5) A MANUFACTURER MAY DENY LIABILITY IF THE PROBLEM IS CAUSED BY
ABUSE, NEGLECT, OR UNAUTHORIZED MODIFICATIONS OF THE FIRE VEHICLE OR
AMBULANCE.

(6) A MANUFACTURER MAY REFUSE TO EXCHANGE A COMPARABLE FIRE VEHICLE OR
AMBULANCE, OR, REFUND YOUR PURCHASE PRICE IF THE PROBLEM DOES NOT
SUBSTANTIALLY IMPAIR THE VALUE OF YOUR FIRE VEHICLE OR AMBULANCE.

(7) IF A MANUFACTURER HAS ESTABLISHED AN ARBITRATION PROCEDURE, THE
MANUFACTURER MAY REFUSE TO EXCHANGE A COMPARABLE FIRE VEHICLE OR
AMBULANCE, OR, REFUND YOUR PURCHASE PRICE UNTIL YOU FIRST RESORT TO THE
PROCEDURE.

(8) IF THE MANUFACTURER DOES NOT HAVE AN ARBITRATION PROCEDURE, YOU
MAY RESORT TO ANY REMEDY BY LAW AND MAY BE ENTITLED TO YOUR ATTORNEY'S
FEES IF YOU PREVAIL.

(9) NO CONTRACT OR AGREEMENT CAN VOID ANY OF THESE RIGHTS.

(10) AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE ARBITRATION PROCEDURE MADE AVAILABLE
THROUGH THE MANUFACTURER, YOU MAY INSTEAD CHOOSE TO SUBMIT YOUR CLAIM TO
AN INDEPENDENT ARBITRATOR, APPROVED BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL. YOU MAY
HAVE TO PAY A FEE FOR SUCH AN ARBITRATION. CONTACT THE ATTORNEY
GENERAL'S OFFICE TO FIND OUT HOW TO ARRANGE FOR INDEPENDENT ARBITRATION.

(iii) All informal dispute settlement mechanisms shall maintain the
following records:

(A) the number of purchase price refunds and fire vehicle and
ambulance replacements requested, the number of each awarded in
arbitration, the amount of each award and the number of awards that were
complied with in a timely manner;

(B) the number of awards where additional repairs or a warranty
extension was the most prominent remedy, the amount or value of each
award, and the number of such awards that were complied with in a timely
manner;

(C) the number and total dollar amount of awards where some form of
reimbursement for expenses or compensation for losses was the most
prominent remedy, the amount or value of each award and the number of
such awards that were complied with in a timely manner; and

(D) the average number of days from the date of a municipal consumer's
initial request to arbitrate until the date of the final arbitrator's
decision and the average number of days from the date of the final
arbitrator's decision to the date on which performance was
satisfactorily carried out.

d. Any action brought pursuant to this section shall be commenced
within four years of the date of original delivery of the fire vehicle
or ambulance to the municipal consumer.

4. Notice of rights. At the time of purchase of a fire vehicle or
ambulance, the manufacturer, its agent or authorized dealer shall
provide to the municipal consumer a notice, printed in not less than
eight point bold face type, entitled "New Emergency Vehicle Lemon Law
Bill of Rights". The text of such notice shall be identical with the
notice required by paragraph c of subdivision three of this section.

5. Void agreements. Any agreement entered into by a municipal consumer
for the purchase of a new fire vehicle or ambulance which waives, limits
or disclaims the rights set forth in this section shall be void as
contrary to public policy. Said rights shall inure to a subsequent
transferee of such fire vehicle or ambulance. Any provision of any
agreement entered into by a municipal consumer for the purchase of a new
fire vehicle or ambulance which includes as an additional cost for such
vehicle an expense identified as being for the purpose of affording such
municipal consumer their rights under this section, shall be void as
contrary to public policy.

6. Preservation of rights. Nothing in this section shall in any way
limit the rights or remedies which are otherwise available to a
municipal consumer under any other law.