Norman Taylor & Associates Wins Another Important Ca. Lemon Law Case
In Rolfs vs. Kia Motors America & Hi Desert Kia, a dealership, San Bernadino County, Victorville Court, Case # VCVVS 041487, Stephanie Tatar, trial attorney with Norman Taylor & Associates, a well-known California Lemon Law firm, took on the Korean Auto manufacturing giant and won. It was one of those rare occasions when the jury awarded the plaintiff a double civil penalty. The total settlement requires Kia to pay $7,990.80 for the repurchase of the vehicle and $15,981.60 damages awarded by the jury: additionally, subject to the courts consideration there will be a motion for pre-judgment interest plus attorney's fees and costs. Says Attorney Tatar, we feel that this case is important because it gives proof that there is more at stake than the money. Ordinary citizens must know that they are not helpless when faced by the resources of an international corporate giant. Presiding at trial was the Honorable Thomas Garza.
San Bernadino, CA (PRWEB) June 18, 2008 -- In Rolfs vs. Kia Motors America & Hi Desert Kia, a dealership, San Bernadino County, Victorville Court, Case # VCVVS 041487, Stephanie Tatar, trial attorney with Norman Taylor & Associates, a well-known California Lemon Law firm, took on the Korean Auto manufacturing giant and won. It was one of those rare occasions when the jury awarded the plaintiff a double civil penalty. The total settlement requires Kia to pay $7,990.80 for the repurchase of the vehicle and $15,981.60 damages awarded by the jury: additionally, subject to the courts consideration there will be a motion for pre-judgment interest plus attorney's fees and costs. Presiding at trial was the Honorable Thomas Garza.
Heather Rolfs, the driver of the car in question, is a diminutive, soft-spoken young lady with a cheerful smile and considerable poise for her age. Currently Heather Rolfs is in the Army stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Her job in the Army is truck driver. Since joining the Army she has been to several schools where she was taught to drive Semi's (18-wheelers), five--ton trucks and other heavy vehicles. Most of these vehicles have manual transmissions. Driving vehicles with a manual transmission was not foreign to Heather Rolfs. She had been driving her father's Mazda and other vehicles with manual transmissions since she was 14 years old. If you met her you'd have no trouble imagining her at the wheel of one of these big military vehicles. Certainly the Army has confidence in Heather as she is scheduled to ship out to Afghanistan to pursue her career. This young woman is self reliant and possessed of good common sense. She worked from an early age to support herself while attending classes at college.
In 2005 Terri and Lorri Rolfs bought their daughter Heather a 2005 Kia Rio for her 18th birthday. Within a couple months the clutch failed. The vehicle was towed to the dealership for repairs. At no time during this process did anyone from the dealership ever call Heather Rolfs to let her know what was wrong with her car, or suggest that she was the cause of the defect. Mr. Rolfs picked up the car when repairs were complete and brought it home. Not long after the 1st repair attempt, the clutch failed again. When the vehicle was presented for the 2nd repair attempt, the dealership refused to repair the vehicle asserting the defect was caused by driver abuse. Remember Heather had been driving manual transmission vehicles since the age of fourteen. To suggest that she did not know how to drive a manual shift vehicle was disingenuous at best. Perhaps someone at the dealership hoped to support their accusation based on Heather Rolf's age and gender. Anyone speaking with Heather Rolfs for a few moments would dismiss this idea.
Dealership personnel further stated, after the fact, that the 1st defect had also been caused by driver abuse. It is odd that they wouldn't have mentioned this at the time of the first defect, but then this case is filled with these peculiar inconsistencies. For example, service personnel never took the vehicle out for a test drive or made any other attempt to ascertain the exact cause of the defect; they simply asserted that the defect was caused by driver abuse.
It should be noted that the 1st repair order said that it had been repaired under warranty. Miraculously, the dealership produced another repair order nine months after the second repair stating that the first repair had been done as a "good will gesture." With this miracle document in hand the dealership could claim that although the vehicle defect was caused by Heather Rolfs abuse, they went ahead with repairs out of the goodness of their hearts rather than as required under the terms of the warranty. However, after the second clutch malfunction Kia's extraordinary charity came to an end. The dealership absolutely refused to repair the vehicle. At this point Norman Taylor & Associates took the case. This was in February of 2006. Over two years later, during which time Heather did not have her vehicle, the case went to trial.
Why did this happen? It is difficult to understand. Why did Kia bring out the full weight and power of its legal apparatus? Perhaps they thought, "If we crush this individual who has dared to complain, it will intimidate others who have similar problems with their vehicles and they will be less willing to come forward and take advantage of California's excellent Lemon Law."
Says Attorney Tatar, "This was one of those cases where you wonder why Kia let this case go to trial in the first place. The facts were clear, the amount of money negligible, and the plaintiff a responsible member of our country's military. Heather Rolfs simply wanted her car to work properly so that she could get on with her life. Instead she lost the use of her car, wasted her time and that of her parents and all the others involved in the case. Fortunately common sense and the law prevailed. Although Heather Rolfs doesn't have her car she can take satisfaction in having the personal integrity to remain steadfast through this test."
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