Another delay has been issued for the Massachusetts Right to Repair court case. The final judgment for the case was originally to be determined by April 15. Instead, U.S. District Judge Douglas Woodlock announced a delay Friday, April 15, claiming, "the resurgence of a demanding criminal trial schedule, resumption of long-delayed in-court non-trial proceedings coupled with insistent writing responsibilities in other matters,” as the cause.
In the meantime, Judge Woodlock has invited the case's defendant (the Commonwealth of Massachusetts) to "make a Further Modified Stipulation to adjust the relevant date necessary for an appropriate period of consideration in support of a fully satisfactory opinion until no later than July 2, 2022, to bring this case to an appealable final judgment.”
The Massachusetts Right to Repair law was 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.
