O'Neill v. The Home Depot U.S.A., Inc.

243 F.R.D. 469, 68 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 326, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 96394
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedDecember 27, 2006
DocketNo. 05-61931-CIV-ALTONAGA/Turnoff
StatusPublished
Cited by28 cases

This text of 243 F.R.D. 469 (O'Neill v. The Home Depot U.S.A., Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
O'Neill v. The Home Depot U.S.A., Inc., 243 F.R.D. 469, 68 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 326, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 96394 (S.D. Fla. 2006).

Opinion

ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION

ALTONAGA, District Judge.

THIS CAUSE came before the Court upon Plaintiff, Stephen Brent O’Neill’s (“O’Neillfs]”) Motion for Class Certification [D.E. 58], filed on May 24, 2006. On August 28, 2006, the Court heard oral argument on Plaintiffs Motion. The Court has carefully considered the parties’ written submissions, oral argument by counsel, and pertinent portions of the record.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Plaintiff’s Allegations

The First Amended Complaint (“FAC”) is brought as a purported class action on behalf of Florida customers who rented tools and other equipment from Defendant, The Home Depot U.S.A., Inc. (“Home Depot”) (See FAC [D.E. 45] at 111). The FAC alleges that Home Depot has a policy of adding a ten percent “damage waiver” charge to rental contracts, purporting to protect the customer if the item being rented is damaged. (See id. at 112). This policy allegedly is a deceptive and unconscionable practice in violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (the “FDUTPA”), §§ 501.201-213, Fla. Stat., because (1) the damage waiver is sold as a “negative option,” in that Home Depot automatically includes the charge in every contract, without asking customers whether they want it, and without disclosing that it is optional; (2) the damage waiver is virtually of no value, because it contains exclusions that negate the coverage being provided; and (3) Home Depot conceals the non-existent scope of the coverage provided by the damage waiver by placing the only statement of the coverage it provides in boilerplate contractual terms and conditions that customers are not given until after they have agreed to the rental contract. (See id.).

O’Neill, on behalf of himself and others similarly situated, seeks the following relief: a declaratory judgment (Count I) that the foregoing constitutes an unconscionable, unfair or deceptive act or practice; injunctive relief (Count II), permanently enjoining Home Depot from continuing to engage in acts and practices relating to the damage waiver, which constitute a violation of the FDUTPA; damages (Count III) sustained as a result of Home Depot’s alleged violation of the FDUTPA; and damages (Count IV) for Home Depot’s alleged violation of the Uniform Commercial Code, Fla. Stat. § 680.1081, because Home Depot’s practices are unconscionable.

B. The Factual Record Developed for Class Certification

Home Depot rents a wide variety of tools at 87 tool rental centers located throughout Florida. (See Opp. Mot. Class Cert, at 4; Lewis Decl., Exh. “1”). Before a customer may rent a tool, a Home Depot associate must determine that the customer meets certain criteria. (See id.). This process includes verifying the customer’s ability to pay, determining the work to be performed and the suitability of the tool for that work, and instructing the customer on the proper use and care of the tool. (See id.; Bogle Decl., Exh. “2”).

As part of the tool rental process, a written contract is created and executed at the time the customer rents a tool from Home Depot. (See id.) The rental agreement consists of three pages. First, there is the store copy, which includes the customer’s name, the rental rate, a special terms and conditions section, and a signature line. (See Standard Operating Procedures (“SOP”), Exh. “7,” pp. 46-48). Second, there is a customer copy, which contains the same information as the store copy (minus the signature line), some safety information, and a second page (the “Terms and Conditions page”). (See id.; Exh. “8”). Home Depot notes that, contrary to Plaintiffs allegations, it is Home Depot’s [472]*472policy to provide the customer all pages of the agreement, including the Terms and Conditions page, at the same time. (See id.; Lems Decl., Exh. “1,” 1114). The Terms and Conditions page describes the damage waiver and informs the customer that the damage waiver is optional. (See id.; Post March 2005 Rental Agr., Terms and Conditions, Exh. “8,” H11).

Prior to March 2005, Home Depot’s damage waiver stated as follows:

If I pay the damage waiver charge for any Equipment, this agreement shall be modified to relieve me of any liability for accidental damage to it, but not for any losses or damages due to theft, burglary, misuse or abuse, theft by conversion, intentional damage, disappearance or any loss due to my failure to care properly for such Equipment in a prudent manner (including without limitation by using proper fuel, oil and lubricants and not exceeding such Equipment’s rated capacity, if applicable).

(Opp. Mot. Class Cert, at 9; Exh. “10”). In March 2005, Home Depot modified the damage waiver provision in its rental contract to read as follows:

Damage Protection is an optional service offered by Home Depot to cover repair or replacement charges if the equipment rented from Home Depot is damaged during normal use. The charge for the Damage Protection service is 10% of the tool rental fee and will appear as a separate line-item on the invoice. Damage Protection is not insurance. Damage Protection only covers the costs of repair or replacement of the rented equipment damaged during normal use of the equipment. Damage Protection does not cover loss of or damage to the equipment during transport or loss or damage to the equipment caused by theft, abuse, misuse, neglect, intentional acts or failure to follow the instructions provided for proper use and care of the rented equipment.

(Id.; Exh. “8”).

According to Plaintiff, without the damage waiver offered by Home Depot, a renter is hable only for repairs caused by “improper use.” (See Mot. Class Cert. at 5). The damage waiver excludes coverage for all repairs necessitated by the renter’s “misuse.” (See id.). Thus, Plaintiff concludes, the damage waiver fully and completely excludes from its protection the only liability the renter even has under the contract — damage due to the renter’s “misuse” or “improper use” of the equipment. (See id.). Home Depot maintains that the damage waiver relieves the customer of liability for damage to the tool caused during its normal use. (See Opp. Mot. Class Cert. at 5 (citing McAreavey Dep. at 12:12-14, 27:16-18, Exh. “4”)).

In April of 2005, Home Depot introduced a new Terms and Conditions section. (See id.). According to Plaintiff, while the damage waiver language was modified, the substance remains the same. (See id. at 6). “The new ‘damage protection’ still excludes repairs necessitated by ‘misuse,’ which means the damage waiver provides no protection for the only potential liability the renter has under the contract.” (Id.).

It is Home Depot’s policy to ask the customer if he or she wants to purchase the damage waiver. (See Bogel Decl., Ex. “2,” H 8). The manner in which associates offer and explain the damage waiver varies, but Home Depot’s policy is to pose the question to the customer before the rental contract is created to make it clear that the damage waiver is optional. (See id. at 116; Lewis Decl., Exh. “1,” 11119,15).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
243 F.R.D. 469, 68 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 326, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 96394, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/oneill-v-the-home-depot-usa-inc-flsd-2006.