An Ohio detailer has lost its case alleging breach of contract and fraudulent misrepresentation by Honda and Hyundai dealerships and their dealership group.
The state Court of Appeals refused to reinstate a lawsuit that accused Rick Case Honda in Euclid, Rick Case Hyundai in Cleveland and Rick Case Automotive Group, headquartered in Sunrise, Fla., of breaching an exclusive arrangement to provide auto detailing services.
The suit also alleged fraudulent misrepresentation. The detailer, Spit Shine A One Detailer in Cleveland Heights, will not appeal the decision, its lawyer said.
Spit Shine began servicing the two Case dealerships in 2011. But by 2015, the court decision said, both stores had stopped using the company.
The suit, filed in Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, contended that the dealerships violated their contractual obligations and failed to provide the required 30-day cancellation notice. The detailer claimed lost revenue of more than $160,000, according to its lawyer, Jason Carter, of Shaker Heights, Ohio.
The stores denied liability and said they gave proper notice of cancellation. A lower court judge dismissed the case without a trial.
In upholding that ruling, the appeals court cited a series of flaws in the lawsuit. It said Spit Shine hadn't provided copies of a contract with the Hyundai store or the dealership group. It also said the detailer presented no factual allegations that could make the dealership group liable.
In addition, a contract that the detailer did present had no provision for exclusivity, the three-member court panel said in an opinion written by Judge Frank Celebrezze Jr.
As for fraudulent misrepresentation, the court said Spit Shine offered no details on who made allegedly misleading statements about exclusivity, what those statements purportedly were and when they were made.
The Case group declined to comment on the court ruling.
Lawsuit over service text messages dismissed
A proposed class-action lawsuit that accused a Florida Volkswagen dealership of illegally using automated text messages to contact service customers has been dismissed.
The plaintiff, April Gillmore, voluntarily dropped the case against Lokey Volkswagen, of Clearwater, Fla., after her lawyer received information "about the extensive preventative compliance audits and painstaking steps taken to conform with Telephone Consumer Protection Act guidelines," according to Recall Masters Inc., which sent the text messages on behalf of the dealership.
Recall Masters has helped about a half-dozen client dealerships successfully resolve complaints related to compliance with the federal law, President Christopher Miller said.
Top The Best Shoes for Back Pain 2018 (Everything You Need to Know) - Dealerships need to be aware that automated recall notifications aren't considered telemarketing under TCPA, but they should avoid including service or sales solicitations in such messages, Miller said.
Although TCPA litigation against automakers and lenders is more common, Lokey VW isn't the only dealership to have faced a service-related suit. Last August, a federal judge in New Jersey threw out a similar case against Greek Brook Mitsubishi by a former service customer who received a robocall to confirm his satisfaction with accident-related repairs.
Dealership sued in fatal crash over floor mat
What happens when a crash victim blames a manufacturing defect for a fatal accident, but the automaker blames a dealership's service department?
In one such case, a British Columbia judge let plaintiff Jessica Zhu add claims against a Vancouver dealership even though she doesn't believe it negligently serviced her 2007 Aston Martin DB9, causing it to accelerate suddenly to over 124 mph. The 2013 accident killed one person and injured three others.
Zhu is seeking damages from MCL Motor Cars, claiming the dealership didn't properly inspect her DB9 to determine whether an aftermarket mat was properly fastened to the floor. The store also didn't warn her that the mat could interfere with the accelerator pedal or recommend its removal, she alleges.
Zhu primarily blames alleged defects by Aston Martin Lagonda, Ford Motor Co. and other companies involved in designing and manufacturing her vehicle's engine management system.
Justice Nitya Iyer of the British Columbia Supreme Court ruled that Zhu can add the dealership to her lawsuit because Aston Martin and Ford previously accused it of negligent service.
Court: Injured tech not entitled to workers' comp
A service technician with a history of back and knee problems failed to show he is entitled to workers' compensation benefits, the Mississippi Court of Appeals has ruled.
Charles Wright, who worked at Turan-Foley Motors Inc. in Gulfport, Miss., for about 13 years, didn't provide medical evidence or expert opinion that a work-related injury aggravated his pre-existing medical conditions, the court said.
It upheld a state Workers' Compensation Commission ruling in favor of the dealership.