Lemon Law Attorney
Dealer off hook over car defect
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A man who bought a “loaner” car from a Volkswagen dealership that turned out to have major electrical problems isn’t entitled to protections under Ohio’s Lemon Law, the state Supreme Court declared yesterday. In a 6-1 ruling, justices held that neither the 1999 Lemon Law nor a federal law that establishes implied warranties can apply to someone who buys a lightly used car from a dealership. David Curl, a resident of Hubbard in Trumbull County, sued a local Volkswagen dealer after his 2002 Beetle, which he had purchased with 10,435 miles, developed serious electrical problems in its anti-lock braking system. The Trumbull County Court of Common Pleas and an appeals court had sided with Curl. Both courts concluded that Curl was entitled to relief under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, the 32-year-old federal law that holds manufacturers liable for fatal defects even if they aren’t spelled out in written warranties. The common pleas and appeals courts also ruled that Volkswagen should reimburse Curl for the value of the car under the state Lemon Law. In the ruling, the Supreme Court said that neither federal nor state law applies to Curl. Justice Paul E. Pfeifer offered the dissenting opinion. Although the car had fewer than 18,000 miles and was less than a year old when Curl bought it – both requirements under the state Lemon Law – it was more than a year old when he brought it in for service. That invalidated his Lemon Law claim, wrote Justice Terrence O’Donnell, the author of the majority opinion. The court also struck down Curl’s Magnuson-Moss claim, saying Volkswagen wasn’t responsible for the car because he had bought it used from the dealership. Curl’s attorney, Mitchel E. Luxenburg, said the ruling chips away protections Ohio buyers have enjoyed under the federal implied-warranty law. “It’s just a very bad decision for consumers,” Luxenburg said. Volkswagen’s attorney, Robert D. Kehoe, said the decision upholds the state Lemon Law but does not expand it, which a ruling in Curl’s favor would have done. “In terms of the buying public, it’s going to be the same status quo as since the Lemon Law passed,” Kehoe said. O’Donnell and the court majority absolved Volkswagen of responsibility for the Beetle’s electrical problems under a legal concept known as privity, which means that because the manufacturer did not sell the car to the buyer, it’s not directly liable for damages. Because the dealership first used the Beetle as a “loaner” car, the manufacturer is off the hook, O’Donnell wrote. Pfeifer wrote that the court has recognized that federal implied-warranty law can apply in some cases where there is not privity. |
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