2011 Oregon Revised Statutes
ORS Volume 14, Chapters 645 - 669
ORS Chapter 646a
646A.460 Definitions for ORS 646A.460 to 646A.476.

As used in ORS 646A.460 to 646A.476:

(1) Assistive device or device means:

(a) Wheelchairs and scooters of any kind, including other aids that enhance the mobility or positioning of an individual using a wheelchair or scooter of any kind, such as motorization, motorized positioning features and the switches and controls for any motorized features; and

(b) Hearing aids as defined in ORS 694.015.

(2) Assistive device system means a system of assistive devices. An assistive device system may be a single assistive device, or each component part of the assistive device system may be considered a separate assistive device.

(3) Authorized dealer means a dealer authorized by a manufacturer to sell or lease assistive devices manufactured or assembled by the manufacturer.

(4) Collateral costs means expenses incurred by a consumer in connection with the repair of a nonconformity, including the cost of delivering the assistive device to the manufacturer or dealer for repair and obtaining an alternative device if no loaner was offered.

(5) Consumer means any of the following:

(a) The purchaser of an assistive device, if the device was purchased from a dealer or manufacturer for purposes other than resale;

(b) A person to whom the assistive device is transferred for purposes other than resale, if the transfer occurs before the expiration of an express warranty applicable to the device;

(c) A person who may enforce the warranty; or

(d) A person who leases an assistive device from a dealer under a written lease.

(6) Current value of the written lease means the total amount for which the lease obligates the consumer during the period of the lease remaining after its early termination, plus the dealer s early termination costs and the market value of the assistive device at the lease expiration date if the lease sets forth that market value, less the dealer s early termination savings.

(7) Dealer means a person who is in the business of selling or leasing assistive devices.

(8) Demonstrator means an assistive 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.

(9) Early termination cost means any expense or obligation that a dealer incurs as a result of both the termination of a written lease before the termination date set forth in the lease and the return of an assistive device to a manufacturer under ORS 646A.464 (4). Early termination cost includes a penalty for prepayment under a finance arrangement.

(10) Early termination savings means any expense or obligation that a dealer avoids as a result of both the termination of a written lease before the termination date set forth in the lease and the return of an assistive device to a manufacturer under ORS 646A.464 (4). Early termination savings includes the interest charge that the dealer would have paid to finance the device or, if the dealer does not finance the device, the difference between the total amount for which a lease obligates the consumer during the period of the lease term remaining after the early termination and the present market value of that amount at the date of the early termination.

(11) Individual with a disability means any individual who is considered to have a mental or physical disability or impairment for the purposes of any law of this state or of the United States, including any rules or regulations adopted under those laws.

(12) Loaner means an assistive device, provided to the consumer for use by the user free of charge, that need not be new or be identical to or have functional capabilities equal to or greater than those of the original assistive device, but that meets the following conditions:

(a) It is in good working order;

(b) It performs at a minimum the most essential functions of the original assistive device, in light of the disability of the user; and

(c) Any differences between it and the original assistive device do not create a threat to safety.

(13) Manufacturer means a person who manufactures or assembles assistive devices and agents of that person, including an importer, a distributor, factory branch, distributor branch and any warrantor of the manufacturer s device, but does not include a dealer.

(14)(a) Nonconformity means a condition or defect that substantially impairs the use, market value or safety of an assistive device and that is covered by an express warranty applicable to the device or to a component of the device.

(b) Nonconformity does not include a condition or defect that:

(A) Is the result of abuse or neglect of the device by a consumer;

(B) Is the result of an unauthorized modification or alteration of the device by a consumer if the modification or alteration substantially affects the performance of the device; or

(C) For hearing aids, is the result of normal use of the hearing aid and when the condition or defect could be resolved through fitting adjustments, cleaning or proper care.

(15)(a) Reasonable allowance for use means:

(A) When an assistive device has been sold to a consumer, no more than the amount obtained by multiplying the full purchase price of the device 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 that the device was used before the consumer first reported the nonconformity to the manufacturer or any authorized dealer.

(B) When an assistive device has been leased to a consumer, no more than the amount obtained by multiplying the total amount for which the written lease obligates the consumer by a fraction, the denominator of which is the useful life of the device and the numerator of which is the number of days that the device was used before the consumer first reported the nonconformity to the manufacturer or any authorized dealer.

(b) As used in this subsection, the useful life of the assistive device is the greater of:

(A) Five years; or

(B) Such other time that the consumer may prove to be the expected useful life of assistive devices of the same kind.

(16) Reasonable attempt to repair means, within the terms of an express warranty applicable to an assistive device:

(a) The same nonconformity is subject to repair at least two times by the manufacturer or any authorized dealer and the nonconformity continues; or

(b) The assistive device is out of service, by reason of repair or correction, for an aggregate of at least 30 days after notification to the manufacturer or any authorized dealer because of the nonconformity.

(17) User means an individual with a disability who, by reason thereof, needs and actually uses the assistive device. [Formerly 646.482]