Facts

Nicasio David and Myra David sued Winn Automotive Inc. individually and dba Winn Volkswagen, and Americredit Financial Services Inc., asserting claims under the "lemon law" under the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act. Americredit brought a counter-claim against the Davids.

PLAINTIFFS' CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiffs contended that they purchased a 2008 Infinity G37 from Winn Volkswagen in Newark in 2010. Within six months, they began having problems with it. Then, 12,0000 miles later, the engine failed.

Plaintiffs then attempted to have it fixed at Peninsula Infinity, which determined that the engine had failed due to oil buildup. They then attempted to have it fixed under the warranty, but Infinity refused to honor the warranty due to plaintiffs' alleged failure to properly maintain the vehicle. As a result, plaintiffs stopped paying their car loan. Then, plaintiffs sued Winn and Americredit, which financed their car loan. They alleged that the car was a lemon and that defendants negligently and intentionally misrepresented the vehicle. Plaintiffs also alleged that the car loan agreement with Americredit was unenforceable under the Rees-Levering Motor Vehicle Sales and Finance Act due to Winn's unlawful conduct.

Plaintiffs alleged that the oil sludge buildup occurred prior to their purchase of the vehicle, and that Winn represented to them that the warranty still applied. Despite those representations, Infinity failed to honor the warranty. Plaintiffs also asserted other unlawful conduct by defendants.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS:
Defendants denied violating the law. Particularly, Winn denied making any specific representations regarding the sale of the used car. It also agreed with Infinity's assessment that the warranty, although it was still in effect at the time the engine failed, was voided due to neglect. Defendants denied any liability.

Damages

The Davids sought rescission of the car deal, in other words the dealer would have to refund all of plaintiff's car payments and payoff the car loan in full. The Davids also requested $7,358 in damages for the car loan and attorney fees. In its counter-claim, Americredit sought recovery of the vehicle and the remaining balance on the loan, which was about $29,000.

Result

The jury found that defendants did nothing wrong and awarded Americredit a judgment against plaintiff for the unpaid balance of the car loan they defaulted on, and the judge ordered them to turn the car over to Americredit. In addition, the court entered judgment in favor of AmeriCredit for $29,004.50 plus fees and costs.