Cases

A jury found defendant manufacturer FCA US, LLC to be in willful violation of the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act (Civ. Code, § 1790, et seq.), when it refused to repurchase or replace a defective Dodge Ram truck.  The truck owner was forced to sell the truck to CarMax for $17,000, and received a little more than $3,000 than he owed on the loan to purchase the truck.  The jury awarded the truck owner $30,154 in damages.

On appeal, the manufacturer contended that it was entitled to a credit for the $3,000 plaintiff received on the loan, complaining that plaintiff received a windfall at the manufacturer’s expense.  The Court of Appeal disagreed with the manufacturer and affirmed.  It doing so, it noted that the manufacturer refused to acknowledge that any such windfall was the direct result of its willful violation of the Song-Beverly Act.

The Court of Appeal also disagreed with Niedermeier v. FCA US LLC (2020) 56 Cal.App.5th 1052—which permitted an offset, and which the California Supreme Court is currently reviewing at GMSR’s urging.

To read the Court of Appeal opinion, click HERE.