South Carolina H 5242: Noncompete covenant

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 5242 Text of Previous Version (Feb. 24, 2026) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 5242

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING 
SECTION 56-28-10, RELATING TO TERMS AND THEIR DEFINITIONS REGARDING THE 
ENFORCEMENT OF VEHICLE EXPRESS WARRANTIES, SO AS TO REDEFINE THE TERM "MOTOR 
VEHICLES" AND TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL TERMS AND THEIR DEFINITIONS; AND BY ADDING 
SECTION 56-28-15 SO AS TO PROVIDE MANUFACTURERS OF RECREATIONAL VEHICLES MUST 
REPLACE OR REPURCHASE CERTAIN VEHICLES THAT ARE FOUND TO CONTAIN DEFECTS OR 
HAVE CONDITIONS THAT IMPAIR THEIR USE, VALUE, OR SAFETY.

Be it enacted by the 
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. Section 56-28-10 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

 Section 
56-28-10. As used in this chapter:

 (1) 
"Consumer" means the purchaser or lessor, other than for purposes of resale, of 
a motor vehicle normally used for personal, family, or household purposes and 
subject to the manufacturer's express warranty, and any other person entitled 
by the warranty to enforce the obligations of the warranty.

 (2) 
"Manufacturer" means any person, resident, or nonresident, who manufactures or 
assembles or imports or distributes new motor vehicles which are to be sold in 
the State.

 (3) 
"Manufacturer's express warranty" or "warranty" means the written warranty, so 
labeled, of the manufacturer of a new motor vehicle, including any terms or 
conditions precedent to the enforcement of obligations under that warranty.

 (4) 
"Motor vehicle" means: a new 
motor vehicle that is sold in this State and is primarily used for personal, 
family, or household purposes and that is required to be registered and titled 
under the laws of this State. The term includes passenger vehicles, pickup 
trucks, vans, and recreational vehicles, as defined in this section. The term 
does not include motorcycles, off-road vehicles, commercial vehicles with a 
gross vehicle weight rating of more than ten thousand pounds, or vehicles used 
primarily for business or commercial purposes.

 (a) a private passenger motor vehicle, as classified by Section 
56-3-630, but excluding the living portion of recreational vehicles and 
off-road vehicles, which is sold and registered in this State; and

 (b) a motorcycle as defined in Section 
56-1-10(8), including a motorcycle three-wheel vehicle as defined in Section 
56-1-10(18), which is sold and registered in this State.

 (5) A 
"new motor vehicle" means a motor vehicle which has been sold to a new motor 
vehicle dealer by a manufacturer and which has not been used for other than 
demonstration purposes and on which the original title has not been issued from 
the new motor vehicle dealer.

 (6) 
"Nonconformity" means a defect or condition that substantially impairs the use, 
value, or safety of a motor vehicle, but does not include a defect or condition 
that results from an accident, modification, or alteration of the motor vehicle 
by persons other than the manufacturer or its authorized service agent.

 (7) "Recreational vehicle" means a 
vehicle designed or adapted to provide temporary living quarters for 
recreational, camping, or travel use and that is required to be titled or 
registered in this State. The term includes:

 (1) a travel trailer;

 (2) a fifth-wheel trailer;

 (3) a motor home; and

 (4) a truck camper.

 (8) "Travel trailer" means a vehicular 
unit, mounted on wheels, designed to be towed by a motor vehicle and used 
primarily for temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, or travel 
purposes.

 (9) "Fifth-wheel trailer" means a 
recreational vehicle designed to be towed by a pickup truck or similar vehicle 
by means of a fifth-wheel coupling device.

 (10) "Truck camper" means a structure 
designed to be mounted in or on a pickup truck and used as temporary living 
quarters.

SECTION 2. Chapter 28, Title 56 of the S.C. Code is amended by 
adding:

 Section 
56-28-15. (A) For purposes of 
recreational vehicles covered under this chapter, a manufacturer shall replace 
or repurchase the recreational vehicle if:

 (1) 
the recreational vehicle has a defect or condition that substantially impairs 
its use, value, or safety; and

 (2) 
the manufacturer, its agent, or its authorized dealer has been unable to repair 
the defect after a reasonable number of attempts.

 (B) A 
reasonable number of attempts is presumed to have been undertaken if, within 
the first twelve months following delivery to the consumer or the first twelve 
thousand miles of use, if applicable, whichever occurs first:

 (1) 
the same nonconformity has been subject to repair three or more times and 
continues to exist; or

 (2) 
the recreational vehicle is out of service by reason of repair for a cumulative