Notice2022-14286
MWE Investments, LLC; Analysis of Proposed Consent Order To Aid Public Comment
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Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
July 6, 2022
Issuing agencies
Federal Trade Commission
Abstract
The consent agreement in this matter settles alleged violations of federal law prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or practices. The attached Analysis of Proposed Consent Order to Aid Public Comment describes both the allegations in the draft complaint and the terms of the consent order--embodied in the consent agreement-- that would settle these allegations.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 128 (Wednesday, July 6, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 128 (Wednesday, July 6, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40241-40243]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-14286]
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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
[File No. 222 3012]
MWE Investments, LLC; Analysis of Proposed Consent Order To Aid
Public Comment
AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.
ACTION: Proposed consent agreement; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The consent agreement in this matter settles alleged
violations of federal law prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or
practices. The attached Analysis of Proposed Consent Order to Aid
Public Comment describes both the allegations in the draft complaint
and the terms of the consent order--embodied in the consent agreement--
that would settle these allegations.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 5, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file comments online or on paper by
following the instructions in the Request for Comment part of the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Please write ``MWE
Investments, LLC; File No. 222 3012'' on your comment and file your
comment online at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> by following the
instructions on the web-based form. If you prefer to file your comment
on paper, mail your comment to the following address: Federal Trade
Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite
CC-5610 (Annex D), Washington, DC 20580.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Melissa Dickey (202-326-2662), Bureau
of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to Section 6(f) of the Federal
Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 2.34, 16 CFR 2.34,
notice is hereby given that the above-captioned consent agreement
containing a consent order to cease and desist, having been filed with
and accepted, subject to final approval, by the Commission, has been
placed on the public record for a period of thirty (30) days. The
following Analysis to Aid Public Comment describes the terms of the
consent agreement and the allegations in the complaint. An electronic
copy of the full text of the consent agreement package can be obtained
at <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/commission-actions">https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/commission-actions</a>.
You can file a comment online or on paper. For the Commission to
consider your comment, we must receive it on or before August 5, 2022.
Write ``MWE Investments, LLC; File No. 222 3012'' on your comment. Your
comment--including your name and your state--will be placed on the
public record of this proceeding, including, to the extent practicable,
on the <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> website.
Because of heightened security screening, postal mail addressed to
the Commission will be subject to delay. We strongly encourage you to
submit your comments online through the <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>
website.
If you prefer to file your comment on paper, write ``MWE
Investments, LLC; File No. 222 3012'' on your comment and on the
envelope, and mail your comment to the following address: Federal Trade
Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite
CC-5610 (Annex D), Washington, DC 20580.
Because your comment will be placed on the publicly accessible
website at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, you are solely responsible for
making sure your comment does not include any sensitive or confidential
information. In particular, your comment should not include sensitive
personal information, such as your or anyone else's Social Security
number; date of birth; driver's license number or other state
identification number, or foreign country equivalent; passport number;
financial account number; or credit or debit card number. You are also
solely responsible for making sure your comment does not include
sensitive health information, such as medical records or other
individually identifiable health information. In addition, your comment
should not include any ``trade secret or any commercial or financial
information which . . . is privileged or confidential''--as provided by
Section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2),
16 CFR 4.10(a)(2)--including competitively sensitive information such
as costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas, patterns, devices,
manufacturing processes, or customer names.
Comments containing material for which confidential treatment is
requested must be filed in paper form,
[[Page 40242]]
must be clearly labeled ``Confidential,'' and must comply with FTC Rule
4.9(c). In particular, the written request for confidential treatment
that accompanies the comment must include the factual and legal basis
for the request and must identify the specific portions of the comment
to be withheld from the public record. See FTC Rule 4.9(c). Your
comment will be kept confidential only if the General Counsel grants
your request in accordance with the law and the public interest. Once
your comment has been posted on the <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>
website--as legally required by FTC Rule 4.9(b)--we cannot redact or
remove your comment from that website, unless you submit a
confidentiality request that meets the requirements for such treatment
under FTC Rule 4.9(c), and the General Counsel grants that request.
Visit the FTC website at <a href="http://www.ftc.gov">http://www.ftc.gov</a> to read this document
and the news release describing the proposed settlement. The FTC Act
and other laws the Commission administers permit the collection of
public comments to consider and use in this proceeding, as appropriate.
The Commission will consider all timely and responsive public comments
that it receives on or before August 5, 2022. For information on the
Commission's privacy policy, including routine uses permitted by the
Privacy Act, see <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy">https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy</a>.
Analysis of Proposed Consent Order To Aid Public Comment
The Federal Trade Commission (the ``Commission'') has accepted,
subject to final approval, an agreement containing a consent order from
MWE Investments, LLC, a manufacturer and licensor of the Westinghouse
brand mark for use on outdoor power equipment (``Respondent'' or
``Westinghouse'').
The proposed consent order (``Proposed Order'') has been placed on
the public record for thirty days for receipt of comments by interested
persons. Comments received during this period will become part of the
public record. After thirty days, the Commission will again review the
agreement, along with any comments received, and will decide whether it
should withdraw from the agreement and take appropriate action or make
final the Proposed Order.
This matter involves the warranty that Westinghouse offers to
purchasers of its outdoor generators. According to the Commission's
complaint, the warranty is conditioned on purchasers using authorized
Westinghouse parts and accessories; otherwise, the warranty is void.
Based on the foregoing, the Commission alleges that Respondent
violated the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act and regulations promulgated
thereunder and engaged in deceptive acts or practices in violation of
Section 5(a) of the FTC Act.
The Proposed Order contains injunctive provisions addressing the
alleged deceptive conduct. Section I prohibits Respondent from
expressly or implicitly conditioning a warranty on a consumer's use of
any article or service which is identified by brand, trade, or
corporate name, unless the article or service is offered for free or
the Commission has issued a waiver to the company, or from otherwise
violating the Warranty Act or the Rules promulgated thereunder. Section
II prohibits Respondent from representing to consumers, expressly or by
implication, (a) that its warranties will be void if they use third-
party parts or services or if they modify or alter the product without
authorization, or (b) that consumers should only use branded parts or
have their product repaired, altered or serviced by authorized service
providers, but permits Respondent to represent that it will exclude
warranty coverage and deny warranty claims if a generator is modified
in a manner that results in increased carbon monoxide emissions, or
that results in the removal of carbon monoxide sensors, safety
warnings, guards, or other parts that affect the safe or intended
performance or use of the generator. Section II also requires
Respondent to include language in the warranty that affirmatively
notifies consumers of their rights to use third-party services and
parts under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act and enjoins Respondent from
both misrepresenting any material facts to consumers about the
warranty.
Sections III and IV require Respondent to inform its customers
whose products are under warranty, as well as authorized dealers and
repair shops, that its warranty has been updated, and that the updated
warranty is not conditioned on the use of authorized parts or services.
Respondent must clearly and conspicuously post and keep on its website
the notice and its updated warranty terms, and it must submit reports
regarding its notification program.
Sections V through VII of the Proposed Order are reporting and
compliance provisions, which include recordkeeping requirements and
provisions requiring Respondent to provide information or documents
necessary for the Commission to monitor compliance with the Proposed
Order. Section IX states that the Proposed Order will remain in effect
for twenty (20) years, with certain exceptions.
The purpose of this analysis is to aid public comment on the
Proposed Order. It is not intended to constitute an official
interpretation of the complaint or Proposed Order, or to modify in any
way the Proposed Order's terms.
By direction of the Commission.
April J. Tabor,
Secretary.
Statement of Chair Lina M. Khan Joined by Commissioner Rebecca Kelly
Slaughter
Today the Commission announced actions settling charges that
Harley-Davidson, LLC and MWE Investments, LLC (``Westinghouse'') have
engaged in unlawful repair restrictions. As stated in the complaints,
the Commission charged Harley-Davidson, which manufactures motorcycles
and related equipment, and Westinghouse, which makes and sells outdoor
generators and related products, with unlawfully conditioning their
warranties on the use of authorized parts in violation of both the
Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act and the FTC Act. The Commission also alleged
that Harley-Davidson failed to provide a clear description of warranty
terms in a single document, a violation of the Disclosure Rule.
The consent orders obtained in these matters bar both manufacturers
from continuing the unlawful tying of their warranties to the use of
authorized service or parts and prohibit them from misrepresenting any
material facts about the warranty. Importantly, the firms are also
required to note clearly and conspicuously in public statements that
using third-party parts or repair services will not void the warranty.
They must also provide customers with clear notice alerting them of the
change.
In July 2021, the Commission unanimously adopted a policy statement
that committed the agency to prioritizing enforcement actions tackling
unlawful repair restrictions.\1\
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Today's enforcement actions--the first addressing unlawful repair
restrictions since we adopted the policy statement--mark an important
step forward, demonstrating our commitment to vigorously protecting
Americans' right to repair. We are grateful to the Bureau of Consumer
Protection staff for their excellent work driving this effort forward.
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\1\ Press Release, Fed. Trade Comm'n, FTC to Ramp Up Law
Enforcement Against Illegal Repair Restrictions (July 21, 2021),
<a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2021/07/ftc-ramp-law-enforcement-against-illegalrepair-restrictions">https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2021/07/ftc-ramp-law-enforcement-against-illegalrepair-restrictions</a>. This policy
statement followed a July 2019 workshop that the FTC held on
unlawful repair restrictions and a May 2021 report documenting the
types of repair restrictions that firms frequently impose and the
various arguments criticizing and defending them. See Nixing the
Fix: A Workshop on Repair Restrictions, Fed. Trade Comm'n (July 16,
2019), <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/events/2019/07/nixing-fix-workshop-repairrestrictions">https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/events/2019/07/nixing-fix-workshop-repairrestrictions</a>; Press Release, Fed. Trad Comm'n, FTC
Report to Congress Examines Anti-Competitive Repair Restrictions,
Recommends Ways to Expand Consumers' Repair Options (May 6, 2021),
<a href="https://www.ftc.gov/newsevents/news/press-releases/2021/05/ftc-report-congress-examines-anti-competitive-repair-restrictions-recommendsways-expand-consumers">https://www.ftc.gov/newsevents/news/press-releases/2021/05/ftc-report-congress-examines-anti-competitive-repair-restrictions-recommendsways-expand-consumers</a>.
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Illegal repair restrictions can significantly raise costs for
consumers, stifle innovation, close off business opportunity for
independent repair shops, create unnecessary electronic waste, delay
timely repairs, and undermine resiliency--harms that can have an
outsized impact on low-income communities in particular.\2\ It is
critical that unlawful repair restrictions continue to be a key area of
focus for the Commission and that we continue to use all of our tools
and authorities to root out these illegal practices.
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\2\ Remarks of Chair Lina M. Khan Regarding the Proposed Policy
Statement on Right to Repair, at 1 (July 21, 2021), <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/cases-proceedings/public-statements/remarks-chair-lina-m-khanregarding-proposed-policy-statement-right-repair">https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/cases-proceedings/public-statements/remarks-chair-lina-m-khanregarding-proposed-policy-statement-right-repair</a>; Fed. Trade Comm'n, Nixing The Fix: An FTC
Report To Congress On Repair Restrictions, at 4-5, 9-15 (2021).
[FR Doc. 2022-14286 Filed 7-5-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on July 6, 2022.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.