The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade group representing automakers, on May 26 asked a federal judge to stop Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell from enforcing a Right to Repair law originally approved by the state's voters in November 2020.
Campbell announced in March she would take action to implement the law beginning June 1. Less than a week before that date, the alliance asked the judge to issue a temporary injunction, blocking the law from being enforced, until the judge issues a final decision in a case brought by the alliance after the 2020 referendum vote.
That 2020 referendum was approved by 75% of voters, who wanted to require automakers to allow access to their vehicles' data, so owners could get them fixed by independent auto repairers if they choose, rather than be forced to go to dealership service centers.
The Massachusetts Right to Repair Coalition commended Campbell in March for deciding to move forward, despite the lack of a decision by a federal court, with implementing the Right to Repair law.
On May 26, the coalition issued a statement on what it described as "car manufacturers show[ing] their disdain for the will of the voters and their own customers" by filing the motion to stop the law from being enforced.
“On behalf of independent repair shops and their customers, we are disappointed but not surprised that car manufacturers would try to stop a law that 75% of Massachusetts voters supported at the ballot box,” said Tommy Hickey, director of the Massachusetts Right to Repair Coalition. “We expect that the judge will see this for what it is, a profit-driven delay tactic by automakers to force car and truck owners to go to their dealerships to pay more for repairs.”
The Massachusetts Right to Repair Coalition represents more than 4,000 members statewide, including independent repair shops, Massachusetts auto parts stores, the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of Massachusetts, the New England Tire and Service Association, Automotive Recyclers of Massachusetts and the Automotive Oil Change Association.
Source: Massachusetts Right to Repair Coalition
