26-239 C.M.R. ch. 106, § 9 - REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

Current through 2022-14, April 6, 2022

A. Request for information by either party. Upon request, either party shall provide to the other and to the arbitrator, any non-privileged documents or other information reasonably related to the consumer's claimed defect(s) and which will reasonably assist the consumer in preparing the Request for Arbitration application or in presenting its case at arbitration. Included in such information can be a view of the consumer's vehicle or a test drive, as long as this occurs in the presence of the consumer and no repairs or adjustments are made.

A view or inspection requested by the manufacturer shall be at the convenience of the consumer and any actual expenses to the consumer shall be reimbursed by the manufacturer.

A party's request must allow a reasonable time for the gathering of the information by the other party, and the response must be received by the requesting party in a timely fashion and certainly no later than 3 days before the hearing.

B. Requests by arbitrator. The arbitrator or the Attorney General is empowered to request reasonable additional information on behalf of either party. The parties shall comply with any such requests within 7 days, or within such reasonable period as the Attorney General or the arbitrator designates.

C. Failure to comply. Upon failure of a party to comply with the arbitrator's direction to produce documents or information, the arbitrator may draw a negative inference concerning any issue involving such documents or information.

Notes

26-239 C.M.R. ch. 106, § 9