Terms Used In Iowa Code > Chapter 322A - Motor Vehicle Franchisers

• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Community: means the franchisee's area of responsibility as stipulated in the franchise. See Iowa Code 322A.1
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Condition: means a general problem that may be attributable to a defect in more than one part. See Iowa Code 322G.2
• Consumer: means the purchaser or lessee, other than for purposes of lease or resale, of a new or previously untitled motor vehicle, or any other person entitled by the terms of the warranty to enforce the obligations of the warranty during the duration of the lemon law rights period. See Iowa Code 322G.2
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Days: means calendar days. See Iowa Code 322G.2
• Department: means the state department of transportation. See Iowa Code 322A.1
• Department: means the state department of transportation. See Iowa Code 321H.2
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute mean the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See Iowa Code 4.1
• Franchise: includes a separate written agreement between the franchisee and the franchiser which materially affects the franchise, whether entered into prior to the date of the franchise, contemporaneously with the franchise, or subsequent to the date of the franchise. See Iowa Code 322A.1
• Franchisee: means a person who receives motor vehicles from the franchiser under a franchise and who offers and sells such motor vehicles to the general public. See Iowa Code 322A.1
• Franchiser: means a person who manufactures or distributes motor vehicles and who may enter into a franchise as hereinafter defined. See Iowa Code 322A.1
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Manufacturer: means a person engaged in the business of constructing or assembling all-terrain vehicles required to be registered under this chapter and who has an established place of business for that purpose in this state. See Iowa Code 321I.1
• Markup: The process by which congressional committees and subcommittees debate, amend, and rewrite proposed legislation.
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Owner: means a person, other than a lienholder, having the property right in or title to an all-terrain vehicle. See Iowa Code 321I.1
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Person: includes any individual, firm, corporation, partnership, joint adventure, or association, and the plural as well as the singular number. See Iowa Code 321H.2
• Person: means a sole proprietor, partnership, corporation, or any other form of business organization. See Iowa Code 322A.1
• Program: means an informal dispute settlement procedure established by a manufacturer which mediates and arbitrates motor vehicle warranty disputes arising in this state. See Iowa Code 322G.2
• Selling: includes bartering, exchanging, or otherwise dealing in. See Iowa Code 321H.2
• Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
• state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" may include the said district and territories. See Iowa Code 4.1
• Substantially detrimental: means that, by a preponderance of the evidence, the market share of the franchiser's motor vehicles in the community will be significantly reduced in comparison to the franchiser's historical market share in the community. See Iowa Code 322A.1
• Termination or noncontinuance: includes a reduction of the geographic area of a community. See Iowa Code 322A.1
• Vehicle: means any vehicle as defined in chapter 321. See Iowa Code 321H.2
• Warranty: means any written warranty issued by the manufacturer; or any affirmation of fact or promise made by the manufacturer, excluding statements made by the dealer, in connection with the sale or lease of a motor vehicle to a consumer, which relates to the nature of the material or workmanship and affirms or promises that the material or workmanship is free of defects or will meet a specified level of performance. See Iowa Code 322G.2