Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws > Chapter 6-45 - Consumer Enforcement of Assistive Technology Device Warranties

• 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 dealer: means a dealer who is in the business of selling or leasing assistive technology devices. 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
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• 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 cost: means any expense or obligation that a lessor incurs 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. 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}
• Individual with disabilities: means any individual who is considered to have a mental or physical disability or impairment for the purposes of any other law of this state or of the United States, including any rules or regulations under this state or of the United States. See Rhode Island General Laws 6-45-1
• 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

• 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.
• person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
• Term A: means the year following the date the device is first delivered into the possession of the consumer. See Rhode Island General Laws 6-45-1
• Term B: means the two (2) years following the date the device is first delivered into the possession of the consumer. See Rhode Island General Laws 6-45-1
• United States: include the several states and the territories of the United States. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-8