O'Connor v. Bmw of North America, LLC

905 So. 2d 235, 2005 Fla. App. LEXIS 9667, 2005 WL 1457718
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedJune 22, 2005
Docket2D04-2016
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 905 So. 2d 235 (O'Connor v. Bmw of North America, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
O'Connor v. Bmw of North America, LLC, 905 So. 2d 235, 2005 Fla. App. LEXIS 9667, 2005 WL 1457718 (Fla. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

905 So.2d 235 (2005)

Jennifer O'CONNOR, Appellant,
v.
BMW OF NORTH AMERICA, LLC, Appellee.

No. 2D04-2016.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District.

June 22, 2005.

*236 Alex D. Weisberg, Theodore F. Green III, and Scott Cohen of Krohn & Moss, Ltd., Sunrise, for Appellant.

Bruce W. Bennett and Lori A. Heim of Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP, Tampa, for Appellee.

WHATLEY, Judge.

Jennifer O'Connor appeals an order granting summary judgment and final judgment in favor of BMW of North America ("BMW") on her claim for breach of written warranty under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty—Federal Trade Commission Improvement Act ("Magnuson-Moss Act" or "the Act"), 15 U.S.C. §§ 2301-12. O'Connor argues that the trial court erred in finding that the Magnuson-Moss Act did not apply to her transaction because she leased, rather than purchased, the vehicle. We agree and reverse.

In March 2001, O'Connor visited a BMW dealership and decided to lease a new 2001 BMW X5. The BMW dealership sold the vehicle to a financial institution, BMW Financial Services, which in turn immediately leased the vehicle to O'Connor. The lease agreement states that the vehicle is subject to the standard manufacturer's warranty.

Shortly after O'Connor took possession of the vehicle, she began to experience problems with the vehicle. Pursuant to the warranty, O'Connor took the car to an authorized BMW dealership for repair on numerous occasions. At no time did BMW assert that the vehicle was not covered by the written warranty. BMW's attempts to repair the vehicle were unsuccessful and O'Connor eventually attempted to revoke her acceptance of it. However, BMW refused to take the vehicle back, and O'Connor thereafter brought suit under the Magnuson-Moss Act.

The Magnuson-Moss Act permits "a consumer who is damaged by the failure of a supplier, warrantor, or service contractor to comply with any obligation under this chapter, or under a written warranty, implied warranty, or service contract" to file suit for damages. 15 U.S.C. § 2310(d)(1). The Act was intended to increase the enforceability of warranties, Dekelaita v. Nissan Motor Corp., 343 Ill.App.3d 801, 278 Ill.Dec. 649, 799 N.E.2d 367, 369 (2003), appeal denied, 207 Ill.2d 599, 283 Ill.Dec. 133, 807 N.E.2d 974 (2004), and protect the "ultimate user of the product," Peterson v. Volkswagen of Am., Inc., 272 Wis.2d 676, 679 N.W.2d 840, 846 (2004), review granted, 273 Wis.2d 654, 684 N.W.2d 136 (2004).

BMW asserts that because the transaction was a lease, O'Connor does not fall within Magnuson-Moss's definition of consumer. The Magnuson-Moss Act defines three categories of consumers. A category one consumer is "a buyer (other than for purposes of resale) of any consumer *237 product"; a category two consumer is "any person to whom such product is transferred during the duration of an implied or written warranty (or service contract) applicable to the product"; and a category three consumer is "any other person who is entitled by the terms of such warranty (or service contract) or under applicable State law to enforce against the warrantor (or service contractor) the obligations of the warranty (or service contract)." 15 U.S.C. § 2301(3). A plaintiff need only meet one of the above definitions to qualify as a consumer under the Act. Parrot v. DaimlerChrysler Corp., 210 Ariz. 143, 108 P.3d 922, 924-25 (2005); Mangold v. Nissan N. Am., Inc., 347 Ill.App.3d 1008, 284 Ill.Dec. 129, 809 N.E.2d 251, 253 (2004); Ryan v. Am. Honda Motor Corp., 376 N.J.Super. 185, 869 A.2d 945, 949 (2005). O'Connor contends that she qualifies as a category two and a category three consumer under the Act. BMW disagrees, arguing that both categories refer to a "written warranty" which the Act defines as requiring a sale.

The Magnuson-Moss Act defines "written warranty" as follows:

(A) any written affirmation of fact or written promise made in connection with the sale of a consumer product by a supplier to a buyer which relates to the nature of the material or workmanship and affirms or promises that such material or workmanship is defect free or will meet a specified level of performance over a specified period of time, or
(B) any undertaking in writing in connection with the sale by a supplier of a consumer product to refund, repair, replace, or take other remedial action with respect to such product in the event that such product fails to meet the specifications set forth in the undertaking, which written affirmation, promise, or undertaking becomes part of the basis of the bargain between a supplier and a buyer for purposes other than resale of such product.

15 U.S.C. § 2301(6).

Florida Cases

There have been only two cases in Florida addressing the application of the Magnuson-Moss Act to a lease. In Sellers v. Frank Griffin AMC Jeep, Inc., 526 So.2d 147, 156 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988), the appellants leased the automobile directly from the dealership. The First District held that the Magnuson-Moss Act did not apply to "a pure lease of automobiles or other consumer goods unless the lease bears a significant relationship to an actual purchase and sale." Id. In so holding, the Sellers court noted that the Magnuson-Moss Act "speaks in terms of an initial sale to a buyer in which warranties are made by the seller." Id.; see DiCintio v. DaimlerChrysler Corp., 97 N.Y.2d 463, 742 N.Y.S.2d 182, 768 N.E.2d 1121, 1127 (2002) (holding that the Magnuson-Moss Act did not apply to a lease transaction where there was no other relevant sale); Alpiser v. Eagle Pontiac-GMC-Isuzu, Inc., 97 N.C.App. 610, 389 S.E.2d 293, 295 (1990) (concluding that Magnuson-Moss did not apply to a true lease).

However, in Mesa v. BMW of North America, 904 So.2d 450 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005), the Third District recently aligned itself with those courts holding that the Magnuson-Moss Act may be applied to a lease and that the Act does not require a sale to an ultimate consumer. See Cohen v. AM Gen. Corp., 264 F.Supp.2d 616 (N.D.Ill.2003); Mangold, 347 Ill.App.3d 1008, 284 Ill.Dec. 129, 809 N.E.2d 251. In Mesa, as in the present case, the BMW dealership sold the vehicle to BMW Financial Services, which thereafter leased it to the appellant. The circuit court granted summary judgment in favor of BMW, finding *238 that the Magnuson-Moss Act did not apply to the lease. The Mesa

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Bluebook (online)
905 So. 2d 235, 2005 Fla. App. LEXIS 9667, 2005 WL 1457718, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/oconnor-v-bmw-of-north-america-llc-fladistctapp-2005.