The named company, AutoNation, calls the legal action "garbage" and points to a similar case dismissed by a judge as frivolous.
By WILLIAM R. LEVESQUE
Published October 22, 2004
CLEARWATER - A Tarpon Springs couple has filed a class-action lawsuit against AutoNation, accusing the nation's largest auto retailer of inflating the price of an extended warranty beyond the rate allowed by law.
The suit, filed by Ronald and Elizabeth Moeller, said the auto dealer packed their $26,668 deal to buy a 2002 Dodge Ram truck with numerous extras without the couple's knowledge, including a vehicle theft-protection program.
The couple bought the truck on Sept. 7, 2002, from AutoWay Dodge on U.S. 19 in Clearwater, which is owned by AutoNation.
Jeff Shelquist, the Tampa attorney who filed the suit in Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court, said the warranty cost the couple $2,368 but the state capped the cost of the plan at $970.
"This is a practice followed by many dealerships, not just AutoNation," Shelquist said Thursday. "It's basically become a way of doing business, unfortunately."
The suit, filed Wednesday, alleges deceptive trade practice and seeks unspecified damages in excess of $15,000.
Marc Cannon, a spokesman for Fort Lauderdale-based AutoNation, called the case a "garbage lawsuit" that should never have been filed.
"We vehemently deny the allegations in the complaint and look forward to trying this case in court instead of the press," the company said in a written statement.
Cannon pointed to what he said was an almost identical lawsuit filed in Pinellas-Pasco court in 2002 that a judge dismissed as frivolous and ordered the plaintiff and his attorney to pay AutoNation's legal fees.
He said the decision to toss that case against AutoNation was affirmed on appeal.
Cannon said a judge ordered the plaintiff in that case and his attorney to pay the company's legal fees. Shelquist was not involved in that suit, which was filed on behalf of Charles Gibson, and declined to comment on it.
The attorney representing Gibson could not be reached for comment.
In an order dismissing the Gibson lawsuit, Circuit Judge Crockett Farnell chastised the plaintiff's for "smearing" the company in the press and for showing "egregious bad faith."
"We anticipate reaching the same result in this case," AutoNation said in its statement.
