Semitekol v. Monaco Coach Corp.

582 F. Supp. 2d 1009, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 84283, 2008 WL 4646046
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedOctober 21, 2008
Docket06 C 6424
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 582 F. Supp. 2d 1009 (Semitekol v. Monaco Coach Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Semitekol v. Monaco Coach Corp., 582 F. Supp. 2d 1009, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 84283, 2008 WL 4646046 (N.D. Ill. 2008).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

BLANCHE M. MANNING, District Judge.

Bill and Marie Semitekol’s desire for their dream motorhome turned sour when the 2006 Beaver Monterey 40 Laguna III *1014 motorhome they purchased in 2005 allegedly was beset by numerous defects and nonconformities. The plaintiffs contend that these problems substantially impaired their use and enjoyment of the moto-rhome. Accordingly, they have sued the various defendants, including the dealer and select manufacturers of certain moto-rhome parts, for breach of warranty and other causes of action under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 2801, et seq. (also, “the Act” or “MMWA”) 1 , as well as one state law claim for violation of the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act, 815 ILCS 505/2 et. seq.

Defendants Caterpillar, Inc., Dometic Corporation, Monaco Coach Corporation, and Barrington Motor Sales, Inc., have moved to dismiss certain of the MMWA claims against them. 2 For the following reasons, the motions are denied.

I. Facts

The court takes the following factual allegations from the Second Amended Complaint (“SAC”).

Monaco

On or around July 14, 2005, the plaintiffs placed a special factory order with Monaco Coach Corporation (“Monaco”) for a new motorhome. The plaintiffs placed the order through Barrington Motor Sales, Inc. (“BMS”), one of Monaco’s authorized dealers. Monaco has given BMS authority to distribute certain materials to customers, including warranties, owners’ manuals, and informational pamphlets. Indeed, BMS gave some of Monaco’s pamphlets to the plaintiffs, which noted that the plaintiffs could contact either BMS or Monaco with any customer service concerns. Moreover, Monaco advertises its affiliation with BMS on its website and provides a link to the BMS sales website, which allows customers to email one of the BMS representatives from the Monaco website. Further, Monaco arranged for BMS to install certain items requested by the plaintiffs on their motorhome.

In response to the plaintiffs’ July 2005 factory order, Monaco designed and produced a 2006 Beaver Monterey 40 Laguna III motorhome. Monaco provided the plaintiffs with the option of picking up the motorhome at either the dealership or Monaco’s factory in Indiana. Monaco provided a written warranty that covered the motorhome for a time period of either one year or twenty-four thousand miles. According to the plaintiffs, “[t]he warranty comprised an affirmation of fact, a promise to perform, and/or an undertaking by Monaco to correct any and all defects or non-conformities in the materials and/or workmanship of the Beaver [motorhome] through the performance of either repairs, replacements, refunds, or other corrective measures free of charge to the owner for the duration of the Warranty.” At all relevant times, the written warranties provided by Monaco were marketed and sold by Monaco through various dealerships, including BMS. The plaintiffs claim that, “[b]ased on the position that Monaco put [BMS] in vis-á-vis its promotional materials such as Monaco’s website, owner manuals, and brochures, the Plaintiffs reasonably believed that [BMS] was an agent of Monaco, authorized to act on Monaco’s behalf.”

On or about November 26, 2005, the plaintiffs purchased the motorhome from *1015 BMS for a total sale price of $514,663.37. The plaintiffs state that their purchase of the motorhome was accompanied with, induced by, and ultimately consummated due to the affirmations, promises, and/or undertakings specified in all of defendants’ warranties, including Monaco’s. The plaintiffs further allege that these warranties were the basis of the bargain of their contract. On or about November 26, 2005, the plaintiffs took possession of the moto-rhome.

Since their purchase, the plaintiffs have experienced numerous defects and noncon-formities with the motorhome. According to the plaintiffs, these defects could not have been reasonably discovered by them prior to their acceptance of the moto-rhome. Among the problems were (1) a heating issue (the vehicle’s water supply to the bathroom froze), (2) an air conditioning issue (the vehicle’s air conditioning unit did not adequately cool the vehicle during normal summer weather), and (3) numerous electronic and finishing issues.

The plaintiffs allege that they “delivered the motorhome to Defendants’ authorized service center for repairs on numerous occasions ...but do not specify which “Defendants” they are referencing. The “Defendants” (again unspecified) were unable to fix or determine the cause of the problems. The plaintiffs allege that “[o]f the 341 days the vehicle was owned by Plaintiffs, prior to revocation on November 8, 2006, the vehicle was in for repairs

roughly for 180 of those 341 days.” On October 5, 2006, the plaintiffs sent Monaco’s agent, April Klein, a detailed written account of the problems and a request to fix the situation, but they did not receive a response.

According to the plaintiffs, Monaco’s failure to repair the motorhome or pay for its repair has prevented them from utilizing it for its intended use. The defects and nonconformities remain uncorrected and uncured, and the plaintiffs allege that as a result, the value and safety of the motorhome has been substantially impaired.

BMS

As noted above, the plaintiffs purchased the motorhome from BMS. According to the plaintiffs, during their negotiations with BMS, BMS made several promises regarding the motorhome at issue. First, BMS promised to install “patriot style mirrors” 3 on the motorhome, though patriot style mirrors are typically installed by the manufacturer rather than the retailer. This promise was recorded on a July 14, 2005 order for the motorhome in the form of a handwritten note: “Dealer to supply Patriot Style mirrors at no charge if possible.” Second, the “Buyers [sic] Order” of November 26, 2005 (a document separate from the July 14, 2005 order discussed immediately above) contains a handwritten note stating “Warranty Received” in the section entitled “Dealer Installed Options or Services.”

*1016 The plaintiffs further allege that 'BMS orally promised to the plaintiffs that the motorhome was warranted by BMS. According to the plaintiffs, BMS’ putative oral warranty was important to the plaintiffs’ decision to purchase the motorhome and that they “would never have ordered the motorhome from Barrington Motor had anyone from Barrington Motor told them that they would not be receiving a warranty from Barrington Motor.”

Despite these alleged oral and written promises, the Buyers Order of November 26, 2005, contains several disclaimers. The disclaimers purport to nullify any implied warranties — including the implied warranty of merchantability — and purport to limit consequential and incidental damages.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
582 F. Supp. 2d 1009, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 84283, 2008 WL 4646046, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/semitekol-v-monaco-coach-corp-ilnd-2008.