 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Thiedemann v. Mercedes-Benz USA.5/18/2005
ot persuaded as to the correctness or appropriateness of the Appellate Division's resort to common knowledge or common sense to provide the needed additional support for plaintiffs' claim of loss of benefit-of-the-bargain based on a vehicle problem that required warranty service. The warranty program was part of plaintiffs' bargain and it was provided, as required, by defendants. Plaintiffs needed to produce specific proofs to support or infer a quantifiable loss in respect of their benefit-of-the-bargain claim; subjective assertions without more are insufficient to satisfy the requirement of an ascertainable loss that is expressly necessary for access to the CFA remedies. The trial court in this matter correctly assessed the quality of proofs in respect of this claim and found them wanting.
Lam's failure to present adequately as a viable class representative is more fundamental. Assuming, without agreeing, that her vehicle's problems were attributable to a defective fuel gauge, she too had no out-of-pocket loss attributable to that alleged defect. We refuse to conclude that her payment for the gas used during technicians' efforts to diagnose her car's problem constituted a "loss" of the sort that would support a CFA private claim in this setting. That claim of "loss" is simply unreasonable. Moreover, because she leases her vehicle and does not own it, she is unable to advance an argument that she might be able to demonstrate loss in future resale value due to alleged, potentially defective replacement parts, assuming some proof to support that claim. At the end of the lease, the party who receives back the leased vehicle is the one that arguably receives a vehicle having some diminution in future value. Again, we agree with the reasoning of the trial court and conclude that Lam did not demonstrate a prima facie CFA cause of action. In sum, the trial court correctly dismissed the individual claims of putative class representatives.
IV.
The CFA is not the only remedy available to automobile consumers. There is also the New Jersey Lemon Law Act, N.J.S.A. 56:12-29 to -49 (Lemon Law). Finding that "the purchase of a new motor vehicle is a major, high cost consumer transaction and [that] the inability to correct defects in these vehicles creates a major hardship and an unacceptable economic burden on the consumer," in 1988 the Legislature enacted the New Jersey Automobile Lemon Law to require the manufacturer of a new motor vehicle to correct defects originally covered under the manufacturer's warranty . . .[,] to provide procedures to expeditiously resolve disputes between a consumer and a manufacturer when defects in a new motor vehicle are not corrected within a reasonable time, and to provide . . . specific remedies where the uncorrected defect substantially impairs the use, value, or safety of the new motor vehicle.
[N.J.S.A. 56:12-29.]
To effectuate those goals, " f a consumer reports a nonconformity in a motor vehicle to the manufacturer or its dealer during the first 18,000 miles of operation or during the period of two years following the date of original delivery to a consumer," the manufacturer is required to make all of the necessary repairs. N.J.S.A. 56:12-31. The manufacturer then has three attempts or a cumulative total of 20 calendar days, whichever occurs first, to repair the nonconforming vehicle.
N.J.S.A. 56:12-33. If the manufacturer is unable to repair the vehicle within the statutory timeframe, the consumer is entitled to a full refund of the purchase price of the vehicle in addition to "any other charges or fees" associated with the ownership of the vehicle. N.J.S.A. 56:12-32.
Thus, the Legislature has provide
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 New Jersey Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|