The Alliance for Automotive Innovation has filed an emergency motion to prevent a June 1 enforcement of Massachusetts’ updated right-to-repair law, according to a court document filed Thursday.
The action comes after state Attorney General Andrea Campbell said in a March filing that terminating her office’s nonenforcement stipulation was “in the public interest” and that enforcement would begin in June.
A spokesperson for Campbell’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In its filing, the alliance argues that a June 1 enforcement would cause its members “irreparable harm,” as any attempt to comply with the law would require automakers “to remove essential cybersecurity protections from their vehicles.”
Additionally, attempts to avoid compliance — either by disabling telematics systems as some automakers have done or withdrawing from the Massachusetts market — “would harm consumers and cause incalculable harm” to automakers’ brands and reputation, the group said.
A hearing on the alliance’s request for a temporary restraining order is scheduled for Tuesday.
The alliance is representing automakers in the lawsuit seeking to block the voter-approved measure that revised and expanded the state’s right-to-repair law.
The group has argued the amended law conflicts with several federal laws, poses cybersecurity and vehicle safety risks and sets an impossible timeline for compliance.
Former Attorney General Maura Healey, who is now governor of Massachusetts, previously said her office will not enforce the state’s revised law until after the federal court rules on claims brought by automakers challenging the legislation.
U.S. District Judge Douglas Woodlock has delayed ruling on the more than 2-year-old lawsuit at least six times.
The measure — referred to as the “data access law” in the suit — requires automakers with sales operations in the state to equip vehicles that use telematics systems with a standardized, open-access data platform, beginning with the 2022 model year. It gives vehicle owners and independent repair shops access to real-time information from the telematics, such as crash notifications, remote diagnostics and navigation.
A similar ballot initiative, backed by automotive aftermarket companies, is underway in Maine.
The alliance has been pushing for an alternative ballot measure that would codify into law the provisions of the 2014 national memorandum of understanding between automakers and the independent repair industry.
