Sec. 1. 10 MRSA §1176, as amended by PL 1997, c. 521, §25, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:

§1176.__Warranty

1.__Warranty reimbursement.__If a motor vehicle franchisor requires or permits a motor vehicle franchisee to perform labor or provide parts in satisfaction of a warranty created by the franchisor, the franchisor shall properly and promptly fulfill its warranty obligations, in the case of motor vehicles over 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight rating, shall adequately and fairly compensate the franchisee for parts provided and, in the case of all other motor vehicles, shall reimburse the franchisee for parts provided at the retail rate customarily charged by that franchisee for the same parts when not provided in satisfaction of a warranty. Further, the franchisor shall reimburse the franchisee for labor performed at the retail rate customarily charged by that franchisee for the same labor when not performed in satisfaction of a warranty as long as the franchisee's rate for labor not performed in satisfaction of a warranty is routinely posted in a place conspicuous to its service customer.__A franchisor is not required to pay the price charged by the motor vehicle dealer to retail customers for parts of systems, appliances, furnishings, accessories and fixtures of a motor home as defined in Title 29-A, section 101, subsection 40 that are designed, used and maintained primarily for nonvehicular residential purposes.__A claim made by a franchisee for compensation for parts provided or for reimbursement for labor performed in satisfaction of a warranty must be paid within 30 days of its approval. All the claims must be either approved or disapproved within 30 days of their receipt. When a claim is disapproved, the franchisee that submitted it must be notified in writing of its disapproval within that period, together with the specific reasons for its disapproval. A franchisor may not, by agreement, by restriction upon reimbursement or otherwise, restrict the nature or extent of labor performed or parts provided so that the restriction impairs the franchisee's ability to satisfy a warranty created by the franchisor by performing labor in a professional manner or by providing parts required in accordance with generally accepted standards.

2.__Legal actions.__If a claim is disapproved by the manufacturer and the motor vehicle dealer brings legal action to collect the disapproved claim and is successful in the action, the court shall award the motor vehicle dealer the cost of the action together with reasonable attorney's fees. Reasonable attorney's fees are determined by the value of the time