Any lawyers in the house? | GTAMotorcycle.com

Any lawyers in the house?

boooya

boooya

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Already got some legal counsel on this matter but unsure of the lawyer at this point.
Long story short I'm in the process of suing Two Wheel Motorsports for breach of contract.
Here is the story:
Purchased my brand new still in the crate 2014 Yamaha FJR1300ES on March 11 2015.
My bill of sale clearly states 36 month manufacturers warranty.
Within my first year I am able to purchase Yamahas factory extended warranty for another 6 years.
Main reason for buying a new bike was with the intent to purchase the extended warranty not worry about it for the next 7 years.
Anyway, going about buying my warranty and I find out my warranty has been expired since July 2015.
So the 10 cent tour as to not bore you I was told by my sales guy that they registered the bike on July 2014 when they got the bike into stock so they could cash in on the dealer insentives at the time, that also kicked in the factory warranty.
Now I was never told about this and as far as I knew and as far as my bill of sale says I have 36 month manufacturers warranty from date of purchase dated March 11 2015. So my brand new bike only had 2 months warranty.
Not only did I not get a warranty with this bike now that I'm out of the 1 year I'm unable to puchase the extended.
So basically Two Wheel Motorsports is just giving me the run around even after multiple attempts at giving them the chance to fix this and make it rite.
All I'm after is the ability to purchase the Factory Yamaha warranty. Nothing else.
There best resolution from Two Wheel has been to offer me there in house warranty at the cost of $1700.... No not happening.
So I've been in contact with the BBC, Omvic, and yamaha.
I think at this point since they are in breach of contract and deliberately lieyed and falsified a bill of sale contract they will be taking the bike back and refunding me full purchase value plus my legal expenses or they will be purchasing my extended warranty.
So basically I'm now looking for a lawyer to take this to court for me.
So if anyone knows of a good lawyer that has experience in this matter please send them my way.


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IANAL, but isn't this a pretty clear cut case of fraud? If the shop registered the bike to claim the incentive, then they obviously had full knowledge of the vehicle being registered previously. Yet they withheld (or I assume they did) this information from you and sold the vehicle as "new".

I'm not familiar with how OMVIC operates, but this also seems like something that's directly under their overview. They essentially sold you a used vehicle under the pretense that it was brand new.

I don't know how much a lawyer would charge for a letter, but getting one of those might give them a little wake up call that you're willing to pursue legal action against them.
 
Yes it's gonna be a pretty simple case if it goes to court, but need a lawyer regardless.
It's definetly fraud of some sort or at the minimum trying to pull a fast one on me, either way they are wrong and thete excuse was "oops we must have made a mistake"

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I'm not a lawyer. I would 2nd what raginduck said. Granted getting anywhere with a multinational is bound to be a process. I would think if the right ears heard the case at Yamaha they would correct it with the least amount of agony. Perhaps the effort to get to the right person might equate to less time spent than the court route.

If that is unsuccessful, sounds like its quite cut and dried case. The contract sounds like it meets the 5 requirements and is grounds for Breach under Tort law. Provided you win, you'll have the legal side covered, but time and aggravation aren't. Even if they mentioned the warranty registration verbally during the sale (which I'd doubt), it's not about who said what, its about what you/they can prove. Hopefully the multiple inquiries to two wheel were documented which will support the case around reasonable effort to have this corrected prior to litigation.

If it was me, I'd give a good try towards Yamaha first then look at suing Two Wheel if that goes no where. A letter from a law firm should get a fire under their ***. Remember, start high, a judge can always go down, $25k is the max for small claims. We had a similar case of Tort for a contract breach, once the other party was served and saw the clear cut violation of the claim, things were resolved quickly without having to go to court. I'd hazard they'd be willing to settle fairly quickly once official notice comes down, it shows your serious.

Either way good luck.

P.S. Consider looking into the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, they are slow but I've had success with them as well
 
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Already contacted Ministry of Consumer Affairs.
Problem With Yamaha is every time I call there complaints department I get the same person, I think he is the only one that works there.
Id love to resolve this out of court but If I must I must.
I don't know how dealers still feel they can get away with this sort of thing now and days. Especially A big known dealer Like Two Wheel Motorsport.
They have much more to loose here then I do, I cant understand how they don't see that.
Great advise smergy I appreciate it.
 
boooya said:
So I've been in contact with the BBC, Omvic, and yamaha.
Click to expand...

And what was the response from them?

Personally, I wouldn't rush to lawyer up before exhaust all your other avenues first. Once you lawyer up, if the dealership decides to do the same (which they almost certainly will), even if you're right (as you probably are) and win (as you probably will), you're officially in a quagmire of lawyer fees that could end up costing you way more than you could ever imagine. Take it from someone who's paid $100 for a lawyer to sign a piece of paper and put a stamp on an envelope, next thing you know you'll be getting bills in the mail for thousands of dollars.

Completely exhaust the alternative (and likely FREE) routes first.

If you do decide to go with a lawyer, consider taking the shot across the bow route first - pay the cost of a letter and a stamp (prepare to be amazed) and have the lawyer send the dealership a letter detailing the situation, the case in front of them, and the desired outcome. They may (rightfully) **** their pants at that point and decide to make things right...and you'll save a metric butt-ton of money in the end.
 
There response was that they were willing to sell me there Two Wheel "in house" warranty for $1700.
Thats it....

I fully intend to add the legal fees to my damages owed if it goes that route.
Court is a last option for sure, but if they leave me no other choice o guess that's the road I will have to take.

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boooya said:
I fully intend to add the legal fees to my damages owed if it goes that route.
Click to expand...

That's a tough one to accomplish based on everything I've read, particularly in small cases, so don't automatically count on that. There's a good chance it'll still cost you a LOT of money in the end, you're not going to walk away with a $0 net end no matter what happens.

You didn't really answer my question though...what did all the other efforts so far result in?

Lawyering up would be the absolute last thing I'd be rushing to do at this point unless everything else has officially, completely, and totally dead ended, and I'd find it hard to believe that OMVIC dropped this one considering how clear cut it seems to be based on your side of the story. If they threatened to yank the dealerships licence that'd get their attention in a hurry I suspect.
 
Nothing so far, Omvic basically told me to email them to get it figured out and that I would have to lawyer up to go any further.
They will be taking action against them for breach of contract and falsified information.

BBB is looking into it, waiting to hear back.

I'm in discussions with yamaha, there looking into any dealer violations they may have committed. There was talk of them loosing some sort of dealer standing.

So now I'm getting legal advice in case/for when I need it.
That's pretty much all I want to disclose on here at this point.


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boooya said:
Nothing so far, Omvic basically told me to email them to get it figured out and that I would have to lawyer up to go any further.
Click to expand...

That sucks, and I'm kind of surprised. I'd be politely pestering them at higher levels (vs some 1st level phone droid) and asking for more - they most certainly should have other avenues of pressuring a dealership at their disposal. Have you filed an official complaint, or just talked on the phone and got brushed off?

If it comes to court...have you considered small claims and a paralegal vs a full blown lawsuit and major bucks lawyers? If it is as clear cut as your story suggests I don't think the dealership is going to have much of a leg to stand on and there's no reason you shouldn't slam dunk things as long as you follow court procedure effectively, so small claims (<$25K or less, so within your zone) is a much cheaper alternative.
 
Yea it's pretty simple cut and paste.
Bike purchased March 2015.
My bill of sale says 36 months manufacturers warranty.
Factory warranty expired 3 months after purchase July 2015
I should have warranty till March 28 2018.
They will not honour my warranty past the July 2015 date and will not offer me the chance to purchase the Yamaha extended.
They are making no effort to make things rite.
Pretty simple I would say

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I'd seriously consider small claims. I'd also seriously consider representing myself - small claims judges are used to this and don't expect lawyer level representation in most cases, although do your homework and make sure you have all your ducks in a perfect row, lay out your facts clearly and with substantiated proof (and have copies for the judge to see), and go at it.

If you're not sure you're up to that, consider a paralegal as mentioned. Typically half the hourly cost of a lawyer (or less), and incidentals (that aforementioned $100 letter and stamp) are typically dramatically less as well. As long as you get a reputable one they'll accomplish the same thing, this doesn't appear to be a complicated case, it just needs to be handled right.

In the end, going to a full blown lawsuit in a full court with a lawer...I'd be surprised if you get out with less than $5-$8K in legal and court costs by the time you're all done (possibly a lot more if the dealership decides to play hardball, or just be a dick about things), and don't assume or rely on getting 100% of that back - the judge can easily tell you to GFY depending on his mood, or more likely, what the dealerships lawyer tries to weasel. If you don't win court and legal costs...are you willing to pay that much? Doing the math, it doesn't make much financial sense to me when there are cheaper alternatives.

I'd just petition the court for an original price buy back, including your reasonable expenses involved in the bike to date - the taxes, the licensing and transfer fees, etc. They end up with the bike (so they at least have something to resell and recoup some of their loss), you get your money back and can go buy a new bike (with proper warranty) at another dealer, and hopefully everyone is happy.
 
Will definetly be small claims, it's not a claim over 25g so no need for the fancy pants lawyer.
I just want what's owed to me that's all.
If they are not willing to do that I'm told I have the option to peruse handing them back the bike for fill purchase price, that will require court or possibly omvic depending on the outcome.

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Fraud can be criminal and/or civil, call the cops and ask about pressing criminal charges, see what they say, be hilarious to see them escort someone out of the dealership in cuffs. Run your story by them, see what happens, sorry, cant give you any lawyer names or any real legal advice, just my 02.$. Nice bike though!!
 
I am not a lawyer. I know one case going through small claims court where the complainant offered to settle for ~$50,000 otherwise they would proceed with the court case. The defendant will likely spend at least double that fighting the claim and if they lose, the settlement will likely be for a negligible amount.

Personally I would file the claim (what's that worth these days $75?). After Two Wheel gets the letter, call them and offer to settle for a warranty as outlined in your contract (and/or including the extended warranty, that one is a little tougher to win but I understand your position). Fighting your claim will easily cost them more than an order of magnitude more. Following through with the filing shows them you are serious, I bet you lots of people huff and puff, but very few follow through with the paperwork.
 
How about the media?

Any chance anyone would pick up the story? The PR backlash may help.

Someone else I know had an issue with a minor exhaust repair, not entirely sure I'd recommend this place to anyone!
 
I have gone through the small claims process before, and I am in the process of compiling the required documentation to file another suit against someone.

This is basically how it proceeds.

You file the statement of claim, (you supply all supporting documentation, copies of emails, texts, etc etc etc). There is NO need for a lawyer to do this. The forms are pretty straight forward and available online. When you take it to the court to file the clerk will look it over, (they can NOT provide you with legal advice), but they will advise if something is filled out incorrectly etc. You will NEED some basic info. IE business owner name and registered address, as well as those for the business, (you will need the CORRECT LEGAL business name. IE 12345678 Ont Ltd O/A Two Wheels Motors). If you get this wrong the suit will be dismissed, (because basically your suing the wrong entity).
You then "serve" the other party, This can be done via several methods, (registered mail, hand service, hiring someone to serve etc).
You, (or who ever served them), go back to courthouse and swear that they have been served.
They then have 30 days to file a "defense", (this is where they show their hand, as you have shown yours when you filed)
Court will then assign a "mediator" and provide you with a date. Both parties attend, (a request for date change can be made in writing in advance if BOTH parties agree the date can be changed).
You attend the mediation session, (the mediator is "generally" a small claims judge, however NOT the one that would sit at trial). Both parties present their side and the mediator offers a suggested resolution, (quite often for about 50% of the claim). If either party rejects the proposed settlement, The mediator "may" suggest that one party, (normally the rejecting one), reconsider their position if the other party appears to have a strong case. If no resolution is achieved your advised the court will be in contact to set a trial date.
Either party may at any point pre trial offer a settlement. If the settlement is accepted you wait till the terms are satisfied, you then advise the court and file a resolution statement with the court.
If no settlement is reached you wait for your day in court.
If you win the court will generally, (if you ask), also assign interest on the settled amount from the date of the incident, (but the rate is VERY VERY low, might even be at .5% if that right now)

All the info is available on line, (as to what you can and can not ask for, IE court costs, etc)

As for Yamaha, You say you get the same person. That person has a superior, If they are not assisting as for the issue to be "escalated". That will likely entail a call back. ask when you can expect the call back IE 1 - 3 business days. If no call received, call again.
 
Good luck! And ill def stay away from them when i shop for my yamaha next :D
 
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