15 U.S.C. § 2311 — Applicability to other laws

Page 1830 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 2311 (C) if the action is brought as a class action, and the number of named plaintiffs is less than one hundred. (e) Class actions; conditions; procedures applica- ble No action (other than a class action or an ac- tion respecting a warranty to which subsection (a)(3) applies) may be brought under subsection (d) for failure to comply with any obligation under any written or implied warranty or serv- ice contract, and a class of consumers may not proceed in a class action under such subsection with respect to such a failure except to the ex- tent the court determines necessary to establish the representative capacity of the named plain- tiffs, unless the person obligated under the war- ranty or service contract is afforded a reason- able opportunity to cure such failure to comply. In the case of such a class action (other than a class action respecting a warranty to which sub- section (a)(3) applies) brought under subsection (d) for breach of any written or implied war- ranty or service contract, such reasonable op- portunity will be afforded by the named plain- tiffs and they shall at that time notify the de- fendant that they are acting on behalf of the class. In the case of such a class action which is brought in a district court of the United States, the representative capacity of the named plain- tiffs shall be established in the application of rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. (f) Warrantors subject to enforcement of rem- edies For purposes of this section, only the war- rantor actually making a written affirmation of fact, promise, or undertaking shall be deemed to have created a written warranty, and any rights arising thereunder may be enforced under this section only against such warrantor and no other person. (Pub. L. 93–637, title I, § 110, Jan. 4, 1975, 88 Stat. 2189.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, re- ferred to in subsecs. (a)(3) and (e), is set out in the Ap- pendix to Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure. § 2311. Applicability to other laws (a) Federal Trade Commission Act and Federal Seed Act (1) Nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed to repeal, invalidate, or supersede the Federal Trade Commission Act [15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.] or any statute defined therein as an Anti- trust Act. (2) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to repeal, invalidate, or supersede the Federal Seed Act [7 U.S.C. 1551 et seq.] and nothing in this chapter shall apply to seed for planting. (b) Rights, remedies, and liabilities (1) Nothing in this chapter shall invalidate or restrict any right or remedy of any consumer under State law or any other Federal law. (2) Nothing in this chapter (other than sec- tions 2308 and 2304(a)(2) and (4) of this title) shall (A) affect the liability of, or impose liability on, any person for personal injury, or (B) supersede any provision of State law regarding consequen- tial damages for injury to the person or other injury. (c) State warranty laws (1) Except as provided in subsection (b) and in paragraph (2) of this subsection, a State require- ment— (A) which relates to labeling or disclosure with respect to written warranties or perform- ance thereunder; (B) which is within the scope of an applica- ble requirement of sections 2302, 2303, and 2304 of this title (and rules implementing such sec- tions), and (C) which is not identical to a requirement of section 2302, 2303, or 2304 of this title (or a rule thereunder), shall not be applicable to written warranties complying with such sections (or rules there- under). (2) If, upon application of an appropriate State agency, the Commission determines (pursuant to rules issued in accordance with section 2309 of this title) that any requirement of such State covering any transaction to which this chapter applies (A) affords protection to consumers greater than the requirements of this chapter and (B) does not unduly burden interstate com- merce, then such State requirement shall be ap- plicable (notwithstanding the provisions of para- graph (1) of this subsection) to the extent speci- fied in such determination for so long as the State administers and enforces effectively any such greater requirement. (d) Other Federal warranty laws This chapter (other than section 2302(c) of this title) shall be inapplicable to any written war- ranty the making or content of which is other- wise governed by Federal law. If only a portion of a written warranty is so governed by Federal law, the remaining portion shall be subject to this chapter. (Pub. L. 93–637, title I, § 111, Jan. 4, 1975, 88 Stat. 2192.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The Federal Trade Commission Act, referred to in subsec. (a)(1), is act Sept. 26, 1914, ch. 311, 38 Stat. 717, which is classified generally to subchapter I (§ 41 et seq.) of chapter 2 of this title. For complete classifica- tion of this Act to the Code, see section 58 of this title and Tables. The Antitrust Acts, referred to in subsec. (a)(1), are defined in section 44 of this title. The Federal Seed Act, referred to in subsec. (a)(2), is act Aug. 9, 1939, ch. 615, 53 Stat. 1275, which is classified generally to chapter 37 (§ 1551 et seq.) of Title 7, Agri- culture. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 1551 of Title 7 and Tables. § 2312. Effective dates (a) Effective date of chapter Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, this chapter shall take effect 6 months after January 4, 1975, but shall not apply to con- sumer products manufactured prior to such date.