Fixed Ops Journal - June 2020 - F17

FIXED OPS JOURNAL

LEGAL LANE
Service customer denied award
The Texas Court of Appeals has refused to
reinstate a $25,236 jury verdict in favor of a
service customer whose 2006 Chevrolet Equinox was hit by another vehicle backing out of
a service bay.
The three-judge panel unanimously found
that Millicent Edwards failed to provide evidence that Lynn Smith Chevrolet, in the suburban Fort Worth city of Burleson, was responsible for her injuries from the January
2014 collision.
According to the April opinion, Edwards
was at the dealership for an oil change. "As she
left, she noticed that the oil light was still on so
she flagged down an employee. While they
were talking, another car backed out of the
service bay and hit her car."
A jury found in favor of Edwards, but the trial judge overturned the award. The Court of
Appeals also sided with the dealership, saying, "There is no evidence that a Lynn Smith
employee ... was driving the car that struck

Edwards's." In fact, it continued, Edwards testified that she didn't see a dealership employee driving the other car and didn't believe an
employee deliberately struck her Equinox.

Only first fix is covered
A Fiat Chrysler Automobiles dealership in
British Columbia must pay a customer 346
Canadian dollars ($248.63) under its "Drive
Home Happy Guarantee" because a technician failed to replace the plastic engine cover
on his 2014 Dodge Ram, the British Columbia
Civil Resolution Tribunal ruled. However, the
tribunal said Abbotsford Chrysler-DodgeJeep-Ram doesn't have to pay the balance of
Jessie Chima's CA$1,746 ($1,254.65) claim.
Under the guarantee, customers who find
their repair incomplete can have the store
pick up the vehicle to finish the repairs. Customers also can use a loaner, have the vehicle
cleaned and get a free oil change. The tribunal
valued those services at CA$346 ($248.63).
The May decision said Chima had the Ram

towed in November 2017 after it lost power
and the throttle light came on. The store,
about an hour southeast of Vancouver, made
the repairs. But a week later, the owner noticed the missing engine cover, which the
store admitted it forgot to reinstall.
Two weeks later, the Ram had a problem
with oil in the coolant reservoir. The owner refused to replace the oil cooler. The store did
install the replacement engine cover and
cleaned the coolant reservoir.
His complaint alleged negligent repair of
the first issue caused the oil cooler problem.
The tribunal found the problems unrelated
and said no evidence of negligence was presented.
It awarded Chima the guarantee benefits for
only the first visit. By refusing to replace the
engine cooler, he "did not permit a sufficient
scope of work to fully address the problem," it
said.
- Eric Freedman,
foj@autonews.com

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JUNE 2020

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Fixed Ops Journal - June 2020

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