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Dean Malone prosecuted a case for our law firm’s client through an arbitration hearing on January 25, 2012.  Arbitration is similar to a lawsuit, and the arbitration “hearing” is the trial.  However, a jury does not get to decide the consumer’s claims.  Instead, an arbitrator acts as judge and jury.  The arbitrator for consumer cases is usually a lawyer or retired judge.

In the case of our client, the arbitrator awarded damages, attorneys’ fees, and pre-judgment interest against Defendant, Empire Motorcars in Garland, Texas.  The arbitrator awarded $5,500.00 in diminished value damages for Empire Motorcars’ alleged failure to disclose prior wreck damage to a vehicle sold to our client.  The arbitrator awarded these damages through the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices – Consumer Protection Act, finding no knowing or intentional violation.  The arbitrator also awarded $6,500.00 in attorneys’ fees through the hearing and additional attorneys’ fees for any appeals.

Our firm filed in court a motion to confirm the arbitration award and in substance turn the award into a judgment.  The court signed a final judgment this morning, on February 20, 2012.  As of this post, Empire Motorcars has not paid any monies toward satisfaction of the judgment.  Here is a link to the judgment -

Final Judgment Against Empire Motorcars

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We represent a consumer in a lawsuit against Fazeli Mitsubishi in Mesquite, Texas.  After being sued, Fazeli Mitsubishi filed a motion in the trial court asking that the trial court compel our client to submit her claims to arbitration instead of a judge or jury.  Arbitration is a proceeding similar to a lawsuit.  However, consumers in arbitration might not be able to discover needed facts before the arbitration hearing.  An arbitration hearing is similar to a trial except that a consumer does not have the right to have a jury of his or her peers hear the case.  Instead, the arbitrator is usually a lawyer or retired judge, and the hearing takes place in a conference room.

In the case against Fazeli Mitsubishi, the Dallas County District Court trial judge denied Fazeli Mitsubishi’s motion to force our client to participate in arbitration.  Fazeli Mitsubishi appealed to the Dallas Court of Appeals, and the Court of Appeals found for our consumer-client and against the car dealer.  We are now asking the trial court to set the case for a jury trial.  Here is a link to the Dallas Court of Appeals opinion -

 Dallas Court of Appeals Opinion

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Our Dallas consumer protection law firm has reviewed a number of cases in which a dealer sells a certified pre-owned car but fails to disclose a prior wreck of and damage to the car.  When a car has been wrecked, diminished market value usually results even if the car has been repaired.  When a dealer sells a car as “certified pre-owned,” it usually represents that it has performed a multi-point inspection.  It is difficult at best for a car dealer to argue that it did not know about prior damage to a vehicle after allegedly doing such an extensive inspection.  If you purchased a certified pre-owned vehicle in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and later learned about undisclosed damage, our law firm might be able to help.  Call us at (214) 670-9989 or complete the contact form at this website.

Our Dallas law firm represents Dallas-Fort Worth area consumers for fraud and Texas Deceptive Trade Practice Act claims against local car dealers.  Most of the cases we take are those in which a car dealer lies about or fails to disclose that a vehicle it is selling has previously been in a wreck.  If you purchased a car in the North Texas area and later found out that it had serious prior damage, we might be able to help.  Call us at (214) 670-9989 or complete the contact form at this website.

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Dean Malone tried in a case in a Fort Worth State District Court, on October 31, 2011, against Neal Autoplex, Inc. d/b/a Neal Suzuki.  Mr. Malone represented two Tarrant County consumers.  The court found for the Plaintiffs-consumers on the alleged “cash price” claim.  A “cash price” violation occurs, under Texas law in existence at the time that Mr. Malone’s clients purchased the vehicle, when a dealer establishes a cash price for sale of a vehicle to the public but then sells the same vehicle to a consumer for a higher price due to the consumer obtaining financing.  There is a link to the judgment below.  Neal Autoplex, Inc. d/b/a Neal Suzuki has filed a motion for new trial and has not paid anything toward satisfaction of the judgment as of this post.

Final Judgment (conformed)

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There are plenty of honest car dealers.  However, the few dealers that choose to cheat consumers should be held accountable.  Our Dallas law firm has represented a number of consumers over the last few years for auto fraud claims.  The most common type of case we take is that in which a car dealer sells a previously-wrecked car or truck and fails to disclose the prior damage.  We have seen a number of cases in which an auto dealer purchased a car at auction after the car was announced by the auction as having frame damage or unibody damage.  Our Dallas law firm has also handled cases where vehicles were previously damaged to such a point that the car dealer should have known about the damage after conducting its usual inspection.  If you are looking for a Dallas auto fraud attorney, consider our firm.  You can complete the contact form at our website, or you can call us at (214) 670-9989.  We take cases throughout the north and central Texas areas.

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We recently reported about a verdict obtained by attorney Jacob Jones against a Dallas-area car dealer.  Automotive News, a car industry publication, has published a story about the verdict and subsequent settlement.  Here is a link to the story -

Dallas-Area Car Dealer Settles Lawsuit

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In a perfect world, all damage to a car would be reflected on its title record, but in the real world, accidents sometimes go unreported, especially if they involve just one vehicle and the driver wants to avoid increased insurance premiums.

A vehicle that has been repaired after a major accident may look all right during your inspection of it, and it may have a clean vehicle history report due to an accident going unreported, but if the accident involved airbag deployment or damage to the car’s frame, the car could be unsafe to drive, even if it looks and handles like new.

A car’s frame is designed to behave in a certain way during an accident. Cars are rigorously crash-tested before going to market, and they are known to react to accident forces in a certain way to keep you safe. Once the frame has been bent and unbent, the car’s structural integrity has been compromised, and it may not react as it should in a subsequent accident, putting you and your family at risk.

Another problem that you might find with a used car with undisclosed damage is that airbags were not properly replaced after being deployed in a prior accident. Replacing deployed airbags is expensive—hundreds or even thousands of dollars. This leads some car owners (or even unscrupulous mechanics) to simply stuff the used, nonfunctional air bag back in the steering wheel or remove the airbag altogether. You may not find out that the airbag is nonfunctional until you get in an accident.

If you bought a used car with damage the seller knew about but failed to disclose, you may be eligible for financial compensation. Contact Texas auto fraud lawyer Dean Malone for more information.

- Guest Contributor

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We previously posted about the jury verdict in the case against Plano Lincoln-Mercury, Inc. d/b/a David McDavid Lincoln Mercury of Plano (“David McDavid”).  After the jury’s verdict, attorney Jacob Jones filed a motion for judgment.  The judge signed a final judgment in the case yesterday, and a conformed copy of the judgment is at the link below.  David McDavid has promosed to appeal the judgment and has not paid any money toward satisfaction of the judgment as of this post.

Final Judgment Against David McDavid Lincoln Mercury of Plano

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When you buy a car from a Texas used car dealer, you’re inherently at a disadvantage in terms of what you know about the car versus what the dealer knows. A car might look to be in good shape (no dents or dings, a new paint job), and it might handle well on the test drive, but the dealer knows something you don’t: The car was wrecked in a crash or damaged in a flood.

Cars that have been in serious accidents are sometimes sold at auction for parts. Sometimes, unscrupulous dealers pick up these cars for cheap, perform minor cosmetic repairs to make them look like new, and sell them to unknowing buyers without disclosing the car’s history.

There’s no law against selling a car that has been damaged and repaired, but the dealer needs to disclose this information if he knows it. When a car dealer affirmatively misrepresents or fails to disclose a known material fact (a fact that would have affected your decision to buy the car if you had known about it), this is a violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. This basically means that if a car dealer knows that a car has been damaged, he must disclose this information to you, and may not tell you that the car hasn’t been damaged.

If you have purchased a used car with prior damage that the dealer failed to disclose, Texas auto fraud lawyer Dean Malone may be able to help you get the compensation you deserve.

- Guest Contributor