(1) "Consumer" means a buyer, other than for purposes of resale, of a vessel any person to whom that is transferred for the same purposes during the duration of any express or implied warranty applicable to that vessel, and any other person entitled by the terms of that warranty to enforce its obligations.

(2) "Dealer" means any person engaged in the business of selling, offering to sell, soliciting, or advertising the sale of new vessel.

(4) "Lessee" means any consumer who leases a vesse for one(1) year or more pursuant to a written lease agreement which provides that the lessee is responsible for repairs to such vessel or any consumer who leases a vessel pursuant to a lease-purchase agreement.

(6) "Lessor" means a person who holds title to a vessel leased to a lessee under a written lease agreement or who holds the lessor's rights under such agreement.

(7) "Manufacturer" means any person, partnership, firm, association, corporation, or trust, resident or nonresident, which is engaged in the business of manufacturing or assembling new vessels, or which is engaged in the business of importing new vessels which are manufactured or assembled outside of the United States.

(8) "Vessel" means any boat requiring Rhode Island or Coast Guard registration or documentation.

(9) "Nonconformity" means any specific or generic defect or malfunction, or any concurrent combination of such defects or malfunctions, that substantially impairs the use, market value, or safety of a vessel.

(10) "Term of protection" means one (1) year or one hundred (100) hours of engine operation. In the case of a replacement vessel, one (1) year or one hundred (100) hours of engine operation.

46-31-2. Manufacturers' obligation to fulfill warranties. -- If a vessel does not conform to any applicable express or implied warranties, including, but not limited to, the implied warranty of merchantability as defined in section 6A-2-314 and the implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose as defined in section 6A-2-315, and the consumer or lessee reports the nonconformity to the manufacturer of the vessel, its agent, or its authorized dealer or lessor during the term of protection, the manufacturer, its agent or its authorized dealer shall effect such repairs as are necessary to conform the vessel to the warranty, notwithstanding the fact that those repairs are made after the expiration of the term.

46-31-3. Replacement of nonconforming vessel. -- (a) If the manufacturer, its agent, or its authorized dealer or lessor does not conform the vessel to any applicable express or implied warranty by curing any nonconformity after a reasonable number of attempts, the manufacturer shall accept return of the vessel from the consumer or lessee and, at the consumer's or lessee's option, refund the full contract price or lease price of the vessel including all credits and allowances for any trade-in vessel, less a reasonable allowance for use, or replace it with a comparable new vessel in good working order. A manufacturer replacing a vessel shall have thirty (30) calendar days from the date of return of the vessel under the provisions of this chapter to deliver a comparable vessel. If, within that thirty (30) days, no comparable vessel has been delivered, the manufacturer shall refund the full contract price or lease price less a reasonable allowance for use. In instances in which a vessel is replaced by a manufacturer under the provisions of this chapter, the manufacturer shall reimburse the consumer or lessee for any fees for the transfer of registration or any sales tax incurred by the consumer or lessee as a result of that replacement. In instances in which a vessel which was financed by the manufacturer or its subsidiary or agent is replaced under the provisions of this chapter, the manufacturer, subsidiary, or agent shall not require the consumer or lessee to enter into any refinancing agreement with an interest rate or other financial terms which are less favorable to the consumer or lessee than those stated in the original financing agreement. In instances in which a refund is tendered under the provisions of this chapter, the manufacturer shall also reimburse the consumer or lessee for incidental costs including sales tax, registration fee, finance charges, and any cost of nonremovable options added by an authorized dealer or lessor. Whenever a vessel is replaced or refunded under the provisions of this chapter, in instances in which towing services and rental vessels of comparable year and size were not made available at no cost to the consumer or lessee, the manufacturer shall also reimburse the consumer or lessee for towing and reasonable rental costs that were a direct result of vessel nonconformity. Refunds shall be made to the consumer or lessee and to the lienholder, if any, as their interests may appear. A reasonable allowance for use shall be obtained by multiplying the total contract price or lessee cost of the vessel by a fraction having as its denominator one hundred twenty (120) months and having as its numerator the number of months the vessel was owned prior to the consumer's first report of the nonconformity to the manufacturer, its agent, or its dealer or lessor plus the number of miles that it traveled during any subsequent period when the vessel was not out of service by reason of repair. A consumer or lessee shall have the option of retaining the use of any vessel returned under the provisions of this chapter until such time as the consumer or lessee has been tendered a full refund or replacement vessel acceptable to the consumer or lessee. The use of any vessel retained by a consumer or lessee after its return to a manufacturer under the provisions of this chapter shall, in instances in which a refund is tendered, be reflected in the above mentioned reasonable allowance for use.

46-31-5. Time allowed for correction of nonconformity. -- (a) A reasonable number of attempts shall be presumed to have been undertaken to conform a vessel to any applicable express or implied warranties if: (1) the same nonconformity has been subject to repair four (4) or more times by the manufacturer or its agents or authorized dealers or lessors within the term of protection; but the nonconformity continues to exist or the nonconformity has recurred within the term of protection, or (2) the vessel is out of service by reason of the repair of any nonconformity for a cumulative total of thirty (30) or more calendar days during the term of protection; provided, however, that the manufacturer shall be afforded one additional opportunity, not to exceed seven (7) calendar days, to cure any nonconformity arising during the term of protection, notwithstanding the fact that the additional opportunity to cure commences after the term of protection.

46-31-7. Informal dispute settlement procedures. -- If a manufacturer has established an informal dispute settlement procedure which complies in all respects with the provisions of title 16, Code of Federal Regulations, part 703, as from time to time amended, or which has been approved by the federal trade commission or by the attorney general of this state, the provisions of section 46-31-3 concerning refunds or replacement shall not apply to any consumer or lessee who has not first resorted to the procedure or the procedure set forth in section 46-31-7. This section shall not apply unless the manufacturer, its agents, or its authorized dealer or lessor shall have provided the consumer or lessee with clear and conspicuous written notice of the procedure at the time of delivery of the vessel. A decision resulting from such an informal dispute settlement procedure shall be binding upon the manufacturer if the consumer or lessee elects to accept the decision. The manufacturer shall perform its obligations as set forth in said decision within a reasonable period of time not to exceed thirty (30) calendar days from the rendering of the decision. In no event shall a consumer or lessee who has resorted to an informal dispute settlement procedure be precluded from seeking the rights and/or remedies provided by this chapter. Any applicable statute of limitation, including, but not limited to, that set forth in section 46-31-12 shall be tolled during the period from the initiation of a dispute settlement procedure until thirty (30) days following the rendering of a final decision in said process.

46-31-7.1. Procedure. -- (a) In addition to any settlement procedure provided for in section 46-31-7, the consumers' council shall provide an independent arbitration procedure for the settlement of disputes between consumers or lessees and manufacturers concerning vessels which do not conform to all applicable express or implied warranties. The director of the consumers' council shall establish one(1) or more vessel dispute settlement panels which shall consist of three (3) members appointed by the director, only one of whom shall be directly involved in the manufacture, distribution, sale, lease or service of any vessel. Members shall be persons interested in consumer disputes and shall serve without compensation at the discretion of the director.

(b) An owner or lessee of any purchased or leased at any time on and after January 1, 1991 which fails to conform to the applicable warranties, express or implied warranties may either initiate a request for arbitration by the consumers' council or take part in the settlement procedure set forth in section 46-31-7 if in existence. The consumer or lessee shall set forth, on a complaint form prescribed by the director, any information he or she deems relevant to the resolution of the dispute and shall file the complaint with a nonrefundable filing fee of twenty dollars ($20.00). The director shall decide if the complaint is eligible under chapter 5.2 of this title. Upon acceptance of the complaint, the director shall notify the manufacturer of the filing of a request for arbitration and shall obtain from the manufacturer, in writing on a form prescribed by the director, any information the manufacturer deems relevant to the resolution of the dispute. The manufacturer shall return the form, along with a nonrefundable fifty dollar ($50.00) filing fee, within twenty (20) days of receipt. The director shall then refer the matter to a panel created pursuant to subsection (a) above.

(f) The panel shall grant the relief specified in section 46-25-7 of this chapter and any other relief available under the applicable warranties or the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Federal Trade Commission Improvement Act, 88 Stat. 2183 (1975), 15 USC 2301 et seq. as in effect on October 1, 1982, to the consumer or lessee if a reasonable number of attempts have been undertaken to correct one or more nonconformities that substantially impair the vessel. The panel shall dismiss the dispute if the panel finds, after considering all the evidence presented, that the consumer or lessee is not entitled to relief under this chapter.

(i) The consumers' council vessel dispute settlement procedure shall be prominently posted in the place of business of each new vessel dealer vessels. The display of such public notice shall be a condition of licensure under the general laws. The director shall determine the size, type face, form and wording of the sign required by this section, which shall include the telephone number and the address to which requests for the consumers' council's arbitration services may be sent.

46-31-8. Waiver of rights prohibited. -- Any agreement entered into by a consumer or lessee for the purchase or lease of a new vessel which waives, limits, or disclaims the rights set forth in this chapter shall be void as contrary to public policy. These rights shall inure to a subsequent transferee of the vessel.

46-31-9. Disclosure of nonconformity prior to resale. -- No vessel that is returned to the manufacturer under the provisions of this chapter shall be resold or re-leased in the state without clear and conspicuous written disclosure to the prospective purchaser or lessee prior to resale of the fact that it was so returned due to a nonconformity. The attorney general shall prescribe the exact form and content of the disclosure statement.

46-31-10. Cause of action. -- An aggrieved consumer or lessee may bring an action under the Rules of Civil Procedure in the superior court to enforce the provisions of this chapter.

46-31-11. Attorney's fees. -- The court hearing a complaint brought by a consumer or lessee aggrieved by a violation of this chapter shall award reasonable attorney's fees to a prevailing plaintiff.

46-31-12. Commencement of action. -- Any action brought pursuant to this chapter shall be commenced within three (3) years of the date of original delivery of the vessel.