Jennings, Strouss & Salmon, P.L.C., a leading Phoenix-based law
firm, announced that it secured a favorable verdict in a three-year
“lemon law” litigation with BMW of North America (BMW N.A.). This is the
first verdict in Arizona (and possibly the United States) where a jury
found that excessive brake noise is a defect under a governing “lemon
law” statute.
In 2012, while residing in Oregon, Dr. Nordean and
his wife took delivery of a custom ordered 2013 BMW M6 coupe, a luxury
high performance vehicle that was hand built in Germany. The vehicle was
ordered through, and delivered to, a BMW-authorized dealer in Nevada.
After approximately 1,500 miles, the Nordeans noticed excessive brake
noise and howling, as well as brake vibration when coming to a stop.
They reported the problem to an authorized dealer in Oregon. Upon
relocating to Arizona in 2013, The Nordeans again reported the problem
to an authorized dealer in Scottsdale, where an attempt was made to fix
the brake problems by installing updated and re-designed brake pads that
would allegedly reduce the brake noise. The re-designed brake pads,
also manufactured by BMW N.A., eliminated the brake howling and
vibration problem; however, they caused the brake noise to be louder and
more frequent. After four failed attempts to correct or repair the
excessive brake noise, the Nordeans requested in writing that the
manufacturer repurchase the M6 under Arizona’s “lemon law” statute. The
manufacturer refused. In response, the Nordeans hired Jennings Strouss
attorney Christopher D. Lonn to file a lawsuit against BMW N.A., under
the consumer protection-focused Arizona “lemon law” statute.
During
a four day jury trial in the Maricopa County Superior Court, Mr. Lonn
was able to establish, without being required to have an expert witness
testify, that there was a defect in materials or workmanship regarding
the excessively noisy brakes that did not conform to the express
warranty from BMW N.A. Another interesting fact in the case was that BMW
N.A. had previously repurchased two other 2013 BMW M6s in another state
for the exact same brake noise issues. These buybacks occurred just a
few months before the Nordeans requested the repurchase of their
vehicle, which was denied by BMW N.A.
After deliberating for 2.5
hours, the jury found in favor of the Nordeans and ordered BMW N.A. to
repurchase the vehicle, with a modest offset of the purchase price for
use of the vehicle. This is believed to be the first “lemon law” verdict
issued by a jury against BMW N.A. in Arizona.
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About Jennings, Strouss & Salmon
Jennings, Strouss & Salmon, P.L.C., has been providing legal counsel for 75 years through its offices in Phoenix and Peoria, Arizona; and Washington, D.C.
The firm's primary areas of practice include advertising and media law;
agribusiness; automobile dealership law, bankruptcy, reorganization and
creditors’ rights; construction; corporate and securities; employee
benefits and pensions; energy; family law and domestic relations; health
care; intellectual property; labor and employment; legal ethics;
litigation; professional liability defense; real estate; surety and
fidelity; tax; and trust and estates. For additional information please
visit www.jsslaw.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.
The
firm’s affiliate, B3 Strategies, assists clients with lobbying and
public policy strategy at the local, state, and federal levels. For more
information please visit www.b3strategies.com.
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