24 C.F.R. § 3282.407 Notification and correction pursuant to administrative determination.
Title 24 - Housing and Urban Development
(a) Preliminary determinations. (1) Whenever the Secretary has information indicating the possible existence of an imminent safety hazard or serious defect in a manufactured home, the Secretary may issue a preliminary determination to that effect to the manufacturer. (2) Whenever the information referred to in paragraph (a)(1) of this section indicates that the manufacturer is required to correct the imminent safety hazard or serious defect under §3282.406, the Secretary may issue a preliminary determination to that effect to the manufacturer. (3) Whenever an SAA has information indicating that a defect or noncompliance may exist in a class of manufactured homes that is identifiable because the cause of the defect or noncompliance is such that the same defect or noncompliance would probably have been systematically introduced into more than one manufactured home during the course of production, and all manufactured homes in the class appear to have been manufactured in that State, the SAA may issue a preliminary determination of defect or noncompliance to the manufacturer. Information on which an SAA may base a conclusion that an appropriate class of manufactured homes exists may include, but is not limited to, complaints that can be traced to the same cause, defects known to exist in supplies of components or parts, information related to the performance of a particular employee, and information indicating a failure to follow quality control procedures with respect to a particular aspect of the manufactured home. If, during the course of these proceedings, evidence arises that indicates that manufactured homes in the same identifiable class were manufactured in more than one state, the SAA shall refer the matter to the Secretary. The Secretary may make a preliminary determination of noncompliance or defect where there is evidence that a noncompliance or defect may exist. (b) Notice and request for presentation of views and evidence. (1) Notice of the preliminary determination shall be sent by certified mail and shall include: (i) The factual basis for the determination and (ii) The identifying criteria of the manufactured homes known to be affected and those believed to be in the class of possibly affected manufactured homes. (2) The notice shall inform the manufacturer that the preliminary determination shall become final unless the manufacturer requests a hearing or presentation of views under subpart D of this part within 15 days of receipt of a Notice of Preliminary Determination of serious defect, defect, or noncompliance, or within 5 days of receipt of a Notice of Preliminary Determination of imminent safety hazard. (3) Promptly upon receipt of a manufacturer's request, a Formal or an Informal Presentation of Views shall be held in accordance with §3282.152. (4) Parties may propose in writing, at any time, offers of settlement which shall be submitted to and considered by the Secretary or the SAA that issued the Notice of Preliminary Determination. If determined to be appropriate, the party making the offer may be given an opportunity to make an oral presentation in support of such offer. If an offer of settlement is rejected, the party making the offer shall be so notified and the offer shall be deemed withdrawn and shall not constitute a part of the record in the proceeding. Final acceptance by the Secretary or an SAA of any offer to settlement shall automatically terminate any proceedings related thereto. (c) Final determinations. (1) If the manufacturer fails to respond to the notice of preliminary determination within the time period established in paragraph (b)(2) of this section, or if the SAA or the Secretary decides that the views and evidence presented by the manufacturer or others are insufficient to rebut the preliminary determination, the SAA or the Secretary, as appropriate, shall make a final determination that an imminent safety hazard, serious defect, defect, or noncompliance exists. In the event of a final determination that an imminent safety hazard, serious defect, defect or noncompliance exists, the SAA or the Secretary shall issue an order directing the manufacturer to furnish notification. If the Secretary makes a final determination that the manufacturer is required to correct, the Secretary shall issue an order directing the manufacturer to provide correction. (2) Appeals. When an SAA has made a final determination that a defect or noncompliance exists, the manufacturer may, within 10 days after receipt of the notice of such final determination, appeal to the Secretary under §3282.309. (d) Where a preliminary determination of defect or noncompliance has been issued, the manufacturer may, at any time during the proceedings called for in this section or after the issuance of a Final Determination and Order, request a waiver of the formal notification requirements. The manufacturer may request such a waiver from the SAA that is handling the proceedings, or if the Secretary is handling the proceedings, from the Secretary. When requesting such a waiver, the manufacturer shall certify and provide assurances that: (1) The manufacturer has identified the class of possibly affected manufactured homes in accordance with §3282.409; (2) The manufacturer will correct, at the manufacturer's expense, all affected manufactured homes in the class within a time period specified by the SAA or the Secretary but not later than 60 days after being informed of the acceptance of the request for waiver or issuance of the Final Determination, whichever is later; and (3) The proposed repairs are adequate to remove the failure to conform or imminent safety hazard that gave rise to the issuance of the Preliminary Determination. The SAA or the Secretary may grant the request for waiver if the manufacturer agrees under paragraph (b)(4) of this section to an offer of settlement that includes an order that embodies the assurances made by the manufacturer. [42 FR 2580, Jan. 12, 1977, as amended at 51 FR 34468, Sept. 29, 1986; 51 FR 37568, Oct. 23, 1986]
Title 24: Housing and Urban Development
PART 3282—MANUFACTURED HOME PROCEDURAL AND ENFORCEMENT REGULATIONS
Subpart I—Consumer Complaint Handling and Remedial Actions
§ 3282.407 Notification and correction pursuant to administrative determination.
