More than four years after an industry trade association first filed its challenge to a November 2020 ballot initiative in Massachusetts, a federal judge issued an order in Alliance for Automotive Innovation v. Campbell denying all remaining claims and dismissing the case. The case involved a challenge to the Massachusetts Data Access Law, which requires that commencing with Model Year 2022 (MY22), vehicles sold in Massachusetts that “utilize” a telematics systems must be equipped with “an inter-operable, standardized and open access platform” to enable customers and independent repair shops to access “mechanical data” from those systems.
The court issued a single sentence order declaring its memorandum decision was being “initially entered under seal” and stating that “the Court DISMISSES Counts I and II, the remaining counts in this case.” The judge emphasized that she had tried to avoid reference to confidential record information, but invited the parties to submit proposed redactions by noon on February 13, 2025, suggesting that a public version of the decision should be available before the end of this week.
Arguments Made by the Parties
At a June 2021 trial in the case, manufacturers argued that compliance with the statute was impossible because the required technology did not exist. In June 2023, with no decision yet having been entered by the trial court, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) sent a letter to manufacturers informing them that the Data Access Law “conflicts with and is therefore pre-empted by the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act” to the extent it requires manufacturers to disable telematics systems for vehicles in Massachusetts. NHTSA subsequently seemed to backtrack from that position, suggesting that OEMs could comply with the Data Access Law by making vehicle data accessible through a short range wireless connection.
At the June 2021 trial and in subsequent proceedings, the Massachusetts Attorney General argued that compliance with the Data Access Law was not impossible. Rather, she argued, immediate compliance was possible by simply disabling the installed telematics systems of vehicles sold in Massachusetts so that those vehicles did not “utilize” those systems. The Massachusetts Attorney General also argued that “within months” manufacturers could comply “by using a wireless-equipped ‘dongle’ plugged into the vehicle’s J-1962 connector,” i.e. the onboard diagnostic port, to give owners and independent repair facilities wireless access to mechanical data. In an August 2023 letter to NHTSA filed with the court, the Massachusetts Attorney General argued that OEMs could use “any type of wireless communication technology, so long as it provides the features, capabilities, and access required by the Data Access Law,” and that “the types of wireless communication technology that such a platform might utilize include, but are not limited to, cellular, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth.”
Options for OEMs Going Forward
The decision comes only a month after the case was reassigned from the judge who presided over the trial in this action in June 2021 and allows the Alliance for Automotive Innovation to pursue an appeal, should it choose to do so. Presumably, industry participants might also seek amendments to Mass. Gen. Laws c. 93K, where the Data Access Law is codified. One bill filed in the new legislative session already has proposed an exemption for “heavy duty vehicles built to customer specifications sold in the commonwealth for commercial purposes” from the requirements for other vehicles that “utilize” a telematics system.
In the meantime, it appears the federal court has endorsed the argument by the Massachusetts Attorney General that immediate compliance with the Data Access Law is possible by manufacturers simply disabling the telematics systems of vehicles sold in Massachusetts. OEMs presumably also can comply with the Data Access Law by developing and making available a “dongle” that plugs into the onboard diagnostic port of vehicles to give owners and independent repair facilities wireless access to mechanical data. Other than a legislative fix, these appear to be the options available to OEMs while they decide whether to develop the technology called for by Massachusetts voters.
Are Owners and Repair Facilities “Denied Access”?
Even if a manufacturer were not to disable its telematics systems, however, one issue that seems unresolved is whether the Data Access Law provides a remedy to owners and independent repair facilities who are able to access “mechanical data” from the vehicle despite not being able to obtain that data through a “wireless technology.” Under Mass. Gen. Laws c. 93K, § 6(e), an owner or independent repair facility “who has been denied access to mechanical data” may initiate a civil action and seek “any remedies under law,” including under the Massachusetts Unfair Trade Practices Act, Mass. Gen. Laws c. 93A, and each denial is compensable “by an award of treble damages or $10,000, whichever amount is greater.”
Telematics-equipped vehicles today typically do provide owners the ability to receive real-time wireless updates concerning the status of their vehicles. Moreover, independent repair facilities have long had access to mechanical data and diagnostic tools under a 2014 Memorandum of Understanding between trade associations representing manufacturers and independent repair facilities, and in a 2023 Automotive Repair Data Sharing Commitment, OEMs reaffirmed their promise not to use telematics systems to “circumvent” aftermarket access to mechanical data. While independent repair facilities may not be able to obtain mechanical data wirelessly, it remains to be seen whether this is means they have been “denied access to mechanical data” when that mechanical data is readily available by simply plugging a diagnostic tool into the on-board diagnostic port.
