2009 Nebraska Code
Chapter 60 MOTOR VEHICLES
60-1438 Manufacturer or distributor; warranty obligation.

60-1438. Manufacturer or distributor; warranty obligation.

(1) Each new motor vehicle manufacturer or distributor shall specify in writing to each of its new motor vehicle dealers licensed in this state the dealer's obligations for preparation, delivery, and warranty service on its products. The manufacturer or distributor shall compensate the new motor vehicle dealer for warranty service which such manufacturer or distributor requires the dealer to provide. The manufacturer or distributor shall provide the new motor vehicle dealer with the schedule of compensation to be paid to the dealer for parts, work, and service and the time allowance for the performance of the work and service.

(2) The schedule of compensation shall include reasonable compensation for diagnostic work, as well as repair service, parts, and labor. Time allowances for the diagnosis and performance of warranty work and service shall be reasonable and adequate for the work to be performed. In the determination of what constitutes reasonable compensation under this section, the principal factors to be given consideration shall be the prevailing wage rates being paid by dealers in the community in which the dealer is doing business, and in no event shall the compensation of the dealer for warranty parts and labor be less than the rates charged by the dealer for like parts and service to retail or fleet customers, as long as such rates are reasonable.

(3) A manufacturer or distributor shall not do any of the following:

(a) Fail to perform any warranty obligation;

(b) Fail to include in written notices of factory recalls to new motor vehicle owners and dealers the expected date by which necessary parts and equipment will be available to dealers for the correction of the defects; or

(c) Fail to compensate any of the new motor vehicle dealers licensed in this state for repairs effected by the recall.

(4) All claims made by a new motor vehicle dealer pursuant to this section for labor and parts shall be paid within thirty days after their approval. All claims shall be either approved or disapproved by the manufacturer or distributor within thirty days after their receipt on a proper form generally used by the manufacturer or distributor and containing the usually required information therein. Any claim not specifically disapproved in writing within thirty days after the receipt of the form shall be considered to be approved and payment shall be made within thirty days. The manufacturer has the right to audit the claims for two years after payment and to charge back to the new motor vehicle dealer the amount of any false or fraudulent claim. A manufacturer may not deny a claim based solely on a dealer's incidental failure to comply with a specific claim processing requirement, such as a clerical error that does not put into question the legitimacy of the claim. If a claim is rejected for a clerical error, the dealer may resubmit a corrected claim in a timely manner.

(5) The warranty obligations set forth in this section shall also apply to any manufacturer of a new motor vehicle transmission, engine, or rear axle that separately warrants its components to customers.

Source

Laws 1984, LB 825, § 21;
Laws 1991, LB 393, § 1;
Laws 2003, LB 371, § 1;
Laws 2010, LB816, § 83.