Haas v. Daimlerchrysler Corporation

611 N.W.2d 382, 41 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 1076, 2000 Minn. App. LEXIS 594, 2000 WL 760513
CourtCourt of Appeals of Minnesota
DecidedJune 13, 2000
DocketC7-99-1921
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 611 N.W.2d 382 (Haas v. Daimlerchrysler Corporation) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Haas v. Daimlerchrysler Corporation, 611 N.W.2d 382, 41 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 1076, 2000 Minn. App. LEXIS 594, 2000 WL 760513 (Mich. Ct. App. 2000).

Opinion

OPINION

SCHUMACHER, Judge.

The district court dismissed the lawsuit of appellant Janine K. Haas, individually and as representative for all others similarly situated, for failure to state a claim on which relief could be granted. We affirm.

FACTS

Haas bought a used Chrysler vehicle from respondent Bloomington Chrysler Plymouth Jeep Eagle, Inc. In keeping with corporate policy, the dealership charged Haas $150 to transfer to her the remainder of the factory warranty on the vehicle. Haas brought a class action lawsuit alleging that the fee violated both the Magnu-son-Moss Warranty Act and section 2-318 of the Uniform Commercial Code. The dealership, along with respondents Daim-lerChrysler Corporation and Daimler-Chrysler Motors Corporation (collectively, “Chrysler”), moved to dismiss the lawsuit, and the district court granted the motion.

ISSUES

1. Does the $150 transfer fee violate the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act’s prohibition on conditional warranties?

2. Is the $150 transfer fee an unlawful attempt to “limit or exclude” Chrysler’s warranty obligations in violation of section 2-318 of the UCC?

ANALYSIS

In reviewing a case dismissed for failure to state a claim, the only question before us is whether the complaint sets forth a legally sufficient claim- for relief. Elzie v. Commissioner of Pub. Safety, 298 N.W.2d 29, 32 (Minn.1980). We exercise de novo review of such a dismissal. Leonard v. Northwest Airlines, Inc., 605 N.W.2d 425, 428 (Minn.App.2000), review denied (Minn.Apr. 18, 2000).

1. Haas contends that Chrysler violated section 2302(c) of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, which prohibits placing conditions on warranties:

No warrantor of a consumer product may condition his written or implied warranty .of such product on the consumer’s using, in connection with such product, any article or service (other than article or service provided without charge under the terms of the warranty) which is identified by brand, trade,, or corporate name * * ⅜.

15 U.S.C. § 2302(c) (1994).

Chrysler’s warranty provides that it extends only to the first buyer of the vehicle:

Subsequent Buyer/Owner
The Chrysler “Owner’s Choice Protection Plan” Warranty is extended only to the first buyer/owner of the vehicle. If you’re the second buyer/owner of the vehicle, you may transfer the warranty coverage under the “Owner’s Choice Protection Plan” Warranty and the “7/100 Corrosion Warranty” * * * into your name.
To transfer the warranty, you must have an authorized Chrysler Corporation Dealer process a “Transfer of Coverage Application” for you. The cost for this service is $150. You pay this fee directly to the dealer. You must apply for a coverage transfer within 30- days from the date you buy the vehicle. As a Second Buyer/Owner, you may transfer *384 only the remaining “Owner’s Choice Protection Plan” coverage which the first buyer/owner elected, together with the remaining portion of the “7/100 Corrosion Warranty.”

But the regulations promulgated by .the Federal Trade Commission interpreting the Magnuson-Moss Act expressly recognize that a limited warranty may be limited to the initial purchaser of the item. In such a case, the seller must disclose the

identity of the party or parties to whom the written warranty is extended, if the enforceability of the written warranty is limited to the original consumer purchaser or is otherwise limited to persons other than every consumer owner during the term of the warranty.

16 C.F.R. § 701.3(a)(1) (1999) (emphasis added); see also 15 U.S.C. § 2302(a)(2) (1994) (FTC rules may require warranty to disclose the “identity of the party or parties to whom the warranty is extended”). Indeed, Haas concedes that a seller may offer a limited warranty.

Haas argues that the warranty is not conspicuously limited to the first purchaser as required by section 2302(a) of the Act because it offers to “transfer” any “remaining” warranty coverage to a second buyer on the payment of the $150 fee. According to Haas, “[i]f Chrysler in fact extended the * * * warranty only to the first purchaser, there could be no ‘remainder’ of the warranty to ‘transfer.’ ” Haas therefore argues that the warranty is not really a limited warranty, but a warranty that conditions its coverage on the payment of a $150 fee by a second buyer.

This semantic argument is too weak to overcome the clear language of the warranty that it is “extended only to the first buyer/owner of the vehicle.” Despite Haas’s attempts to recast the warranty’s limitation as a condition, the warranty provision is a legitimate limitation on the duration of the warranty as permitted by both the Magnuson-Moss Act and the regulations interpreting it.

Haas also contends that Chrysler may not limit the warranty to the initial purchaser because the warranty is not really a limited warranty, but is instead a “full warranty.” Section 2303 of the Magnu-son-Moss Act and federal regulations both require that a seller conspicuously designate a written warranty as either a “full warranty” or a “limited warranty.” 15 U.S.C. § 2303 (1994); 16 C.F.R. § 700.6(a) (1999). A full warranty is subject to restrictions that do not apply to a limited warranty. See 15 U.S.C. § 2304 (1994) (setting forth requirements for warranties that “meet the Federal minimum standards for warranty”); 15 U.S.C. § 2303(a)(1) (providing that warranty that “meets the Federal minimum standards for warranty set forth in section 2304” be designated “full” warranty).

Haas contends that because the warranty is really a full warranty, it violates the provision of section 2304(b)(1) that forbids a warrantor from imposing “any duty other than notification upon any consumer as a condition” of warranty coverage. 15 U.S.C. § 2304(b)(1). Haas contends that Chrysler impermissibly placed on her the “duty” of paying $150 in order to receive the benefit of the warranty.

Haas relies on Hughes v. Segal Enterprises, Inc., 627 F.Supp.

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611 N.W.2d 382, 41 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 1076, 2000 Minn. App. LEXIS 594, 2000 WL 760513, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/haas-v-daimlerchrysler-corporation-minnctapp-2000.