(a)  If, after a reasonable number of attempts to repair, a nonconformity develops in a new assistive technology device or demonstrator, the manufacturer shall carry out the requirement under subsections (a)(1) and (a)(2) at the sole option of the consumer upon his or her request for it:

(1)(i)  In the case of a sale, the manufacturer shall refund to the consumer and to any holder of a perfected security interest, as their interest may appear, the full purchase price plus any finance charge or sales tax paid by the consumer at the point of sale and collateral costs, less a reasonable allowance for use.

(ii)  In the case of a lease, the manufacturer shall refund to the lessor and to any holder of a perfected security interest, as their interest may appear, the current value of the lease and refund to the consumer the amount that the consumer paid under the lease plus any collateral costs, less a reasonable allowance for use.

(2)  The manufacturer shall provide a conforming replacement.

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Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 6-45-5

  • Assistive technology device: means any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used or designed to be used to increase, maintain, or improve any functional capability of an individual with disabilities. See Rhode Island General Laws 6-45-1
  • Assistive technology device system: means the final product resulting from a manufacturer customizing, adapting, reconfiguring, refitting, refurbishing, or composing into a system one or more component products, whether or not new, that may be assistive technology devices or standard products of the same or other manufacturer. See Rhode Island General Laws 6-45-1
  • Collateral costs: means expenses incurred by a consumer in connection with the repair of a nonconformity, including the costs of obtaining another device or service to substitute for the absence, due to a nonconformity or attempt to repair, of the device sold or leased to the consumer, if no loaner was offered to the consumer, except to the extent the person opposing liability for these costs shall prove that incurring these expenses was not reasonable in light of the sophistication of, and the means readily available, to the consumer. See Rhode Island General Laws 6-45-1
  • Conforming replacement: means a new device in good working order that is identical to or has functional capabilities equal to or greater than those of the original device. See Rhode Island General Laws 6-45-1
  • Dealer: means the person who is the party, whether the seller or the lessor, to the contract with the consumer of sale or lease of the device. See Rhode Island General Laws 6-45-1
  • Demonstrator: means an assistive technology device that would be new but for its use since its manufacture only for the purpose of demonstrating the device to the public or prospective buyers or lessees. See Rhode Island General Laws 6-45-1
  • Early termination savings: means any expense or obligation that a lessor avoids as a result of both the termination of a written lease before the termination date set forth in that lease and the return of the device to the manufacturer, which shall include an interest charge that the lessor would have paid to finance the device or, if the lessor does not finance the device, the difference between the total amount for which the lease obligates the consumer during the period of the lease term remaining after the early termination and the present value of that amount at the date of the early termination. See Rhode Island General Laws 6-45-1
  • 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.
  • Finance charge: The total cost of credit a customer must pay on a consumer loan, including interest. The Truth in Lending Act requires disclosure of the finance charge. Source: OCC
  • Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
  • Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
  • Loaner: means a device provided to the consumer for use by the user free of charge that need not be new, nor identical to, nor have functional capabilities equal to or greater than those of the original device, but that meets the following conditions:

    (i)  It is in good working order;

    (ii)  It performs at a minimum the most essential functions of the original device in light of the disabilities of the user; and

    (iii)  Any differences between it and the original device do not create a threat to safety. See Rhode Island General Laws 6-45-1

  • Manufacturer: means :

    (i)  The person who manufactures or assembles an assistive technology device;

    (ii)  The person who manufactures or assembles a product that becomes a component product of an assistive technology device system, to the extent such product is itself ordinarily an assistive technology device; and

    (iii)  Agents of a person described in subsection (13)(i) or (13)(ii) of this section, including an importer, a distributor, factory branch, distributor branch, and any warrantors of the manufacturer's devices, provided that such agents shall not include, with respect to a particular transaction, the dealer, unless the dealer is also a person described in subsection (13)(i) or (13)(ii) of this section. See Rhode Island General Laws 6-45-1

  • person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6

(b)(1)  To receive the refund described in subsection (a)(1) or the replacement described in subsection (a)(2) the consumer shall offer to the manufacturer of the device or its authorized dealer to transfer possession of the device.

(2)  The manufacturer shall make the refund required by this section within fourteen (14) calendar days after the offer described in this subsection.

(3)  The manufacturer shall make the replacement required by this section within thirty (30) calendar days after the offer described in this subsection.

(4)  If the replacement required by this section is not made within fourteen (14) calendar days after the offer described in this subsection, then the manufacturer shall provide the consumer a loaner for use until replacement is made.

(5)  The manufacturer may require that, simultaneously with the manufacturer timely making the refund payment described in subsection (a)(1) of this section or the replacement described in subsection (a)(2) of this section, the consumer shall deliver possession of the original device to the manufacturer or its authorized dealer and sign any documents necessary to, or to provide reasonable evidence of, a transfer of title and possession of the device to any person as the manufacturer shall designate.

(6)  The manufacturer may impose the requirements described in subsection (b)(5) of this section only if:

(i)  The time and place of the mutual activities described in subsections (b)(2), (b)(3), and (b)(5) are readily accessible to the consumer; and

(ii)  The manufacturer provides the consumer a writing that is received no later than four (4) business days before the time of these mutual activities and states in clear and understandable language the time and place of these mutual activities and the requirements allowed by subsection (b)(5) that the consumer must meet at that time and place.

(c)  A reasonable allowance for use shall be that amount obtained by multiplying the full purchase price (or in the case of a lease, the total amount for which the lease obligates the consumer) by a fraction, the denominator of which is the number of days in the useful life of the device and the numerator of which is the number of days after delivery of the device to the consumer and prior to the beginning of the first out-of-service period as defined in § 6-45-4(b).

(d)  As used in subsection (c) of this section, the useful life of the device equals the greater of:

(1)  Five (5) years; or

(2)  Any other time that the consumer may prove to be the expected useful life of devices of the same kind.

(e)  The current value of the lease equals the total amount for which that lease obligates the consumer during the period of the lease remaining after its early termination, plus the lessor’s early termination costs and the value of the device at the lease expiration date, less the lessor’s early termination savings.

(f)  In the case of a manufacturer of an assistive technology device system of which one or more component products are not new, if the dealer gives the consumer, prior to his or her decision to enter into the sale or lease, a written statement specifying the component products that are not new and containing the following statement: “You will not have replace-or-refund rights under the Assistive Technology Lemon Law for the component products listed on this sheet”, then the manufacturer shall not have the duties and liabilities of a manufacturer under this section with respect to these component products, but only with respect to component products that are new and to the work performed by the manufacturer in creating the assistive technology device system.

History of Section.
P.L. 1995, ch. 222, § 1; P.L. 2014, ch. 528, § 32.