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Friday 1 August 2014

US: Legal action over warranty reimbursement law dropped

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers has dropped a legal action in Florida in which it challenged a dealer-friendly law which required them to pay the same rates for warranty work as retail customers. The suit, filed six years ago, was in the discovery phase when the court ordered the Alliance to disclose what it insisted was confidential business information. It was withdrawn on 2 July, according to Automotive News.
The trade association promised to continue to oppose state legislation “that is anti-consumer … [and] anti-competitive and could result in higher process for vehicles and repairs” - words the meaning of which, as we know, can differ greatly from one person to the next. In any event, the Alliance went on, after it filed the suit the legislature had made a couple of important changes to the law (unspecified in the reports I have read) so when they were removed from the legal claim what remained was narrow and confined to interstate commerce – the Alliance’s implication being that withdrawing the whole suit really isn’t a big deal. Perhaps the big deal in the story is that any lawmakers anywhere could pass legislation so generous to dealers!

This earlier story is also of interest: http://politics.heraldtribune.com/2014/04/19/suit-car-repairs-move-bill-public/
 

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