Today, a delay on the decision for the Massachusetts Right to Repair was announced. United States District Judge Douglas Woodlock has pushed to decision from its scheduled date of March 7, 2022, to April 15, 2022, stating the delay was caused by “unforeseen and unforeseeable circumstances, principally involving supervening but insistent writing responsibilities in other matters.”
The Massachusetts Right to Repair law was originally approved by voters on November 3, 2020. With a 75-25 percent margin, the law would have required vehicle manufacturers to provide vehicle owners with diagnostic and repair data produced by their vehicles. In response to voter approval of the law, Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a car company trade group, filed a lawsuit in an attempt to get the court to overrule the vote on the grounds that insufficient time is being provided for companies to comply with the law and their assertion that the vote is preempted by federal law, in addition to concerns about cyber security.
Bill Hanvey, president and CEO, Auto Care Association and Aaron Lowe, SVP, regulatory and government affairs, Auto Care Association, said, "While we are disappointed in the delay, we continue to hope that the court will ultimately uphold the will of the people of Massachusetts."
