§ 32508. Civil actions by owners of passenger motor vehicles

Statutory text

When an owner of a passenger motor vehicle sustains damages as a result of a motor vehicle accident because the vehicle did not comply with a standard prescribed under section 32502 of this title, the owner may bring a civil action against the manufacturer to recover the damages. The action may be brought in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia or in the United States district court for the judicial district in which the owner resides. The action must be brought not later than 3 years after the date of the accident. The court shall award costs and a reasonable attorney’s fee to the owner when a judgment is entered for the owner.

Legislative history

Reconstructed from this section’s Code source credit and amendment notes, resolved against the local Statutes at Large. Editorial notes are evidence, not the law that made the change.

1994
Pub. L. 103–272 § 1(e) · 108 Stat. 745
Enacted · 49 U.S.C. § 32508
(Pub. L. 103–272, § 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1047.)
Source evidence
Code source credit
(Pub. L. 103–272, § 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1047.)
Enacted provision · exact public law section
Section 1. subtitles ii, ii, and v-x of title 49, united states code (a) Certain general and permanent laws of the 49 USC prec. 101 note. United States, related to transportation, are revised, codified, and enacted by subsections (c)–(e) of this section without substantive change as subtitles II, III, and V–X of title 49, United States Code, “Transportation”. Those laws may be cited as “49 U.S.C. ________”. (b) Title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking the table of subtitles at the beginning of the title and substituting the following new table of subtitles: “Subtitle “I. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION “II. OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCIES “III. GENERAL AND INTERMODAL PROGRAMS “IV. INTERSTATE COMMERCE “V. RAIL PROGRAMS “VI. MOTOR VEHICLE AND DRIVER PROGRAMS “VII. AVIATION PROGRAMS “VIII. PIPELINES “IX. COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION “X. MISCELLANEOUS (c) Title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking subtitle II, except that chapter 31 (comprising sections 3101–3104) of subtitle II is redesignated and restated as chapter 315 (comprising sections 31501–31504) of subtitle VI of title 49, as enacted by subsection (e) of this section. (d) Title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding the following immediately after subtitle I:

1 of 1 references resolved to an enrolled provision

Notes

historicalAndRevision

Historical and Revision Notes
RevisedSection	Source (U.S. Code)	Source (Statutes at Large)
32508	15:1918.	Oct. 20, 1972, Pub. L. 92–513, § 108, 86 Stat. 955.

The words “applicable Federal” are omitted as surplus. The words “when a judgment is entered for the owner” are substituted for “in the case of any such successful action to recover that amount” to eliminate unnecessary words.

Credits

(Pub. L. 103–272, § 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1047.)