Legal Question in Consumer Law in Illinois
catch 22
We are a new car dealer, for some twenty years we have scored among the 10% best in customer satisfaction surveys from Chrysler and have always fixed every auto problem professionally using the same mecnanic. This year we get our warranty claims not paid by Chrysler because we have not sent someone to school even though we fixed the specific problem to everyones expectations and having been doing so and getting paid for the same rapairs for twenty years. Can this be legal? Are there any injunctions which can be initiated on our behalf? Should not the repairs be based on getting it fixed right for many years other than going to school and not being able to fix it? What course of action could we have against this practise? Is there an implied grandfather clause here somewhere?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: catch 22
The terms and conditions of your relationship with Chrysler should be contained in written documentation which you received from them. If they are not complying with those terms, then you may have a valid claim. Please feel free to contact an attorney who can review the relevant papers.
Re: catch 22
Based on your message, I gather the following: (1) you have a written agreement with Chrysler which reimburses you for money/time spent due to repairs from warranty claims, (2) one of the conditions of that contract is that your repairmen fullfill some sort of education requirement, (3) Chrysler has never previously relied on this condition as an excuse not to reimburse you, and (4)Chrysler is now refusing to reimburse you.
In order to give complete answers to your questions, I would have to see the relevant contracts and find out some more details.
However, if my assumptions stated above are correct, you definitely have some legal arguments that should be explored.
First of all, it may be that, by not attempting to enforce this education requirement in the past, Chrysler has now waived its right to do so.
Second, it appears that you have a strong argument that, even if you did breach the agreement by not making sure your employee fullfilled the educiational requirement, your failure to do so was not significant enough to justify Chrysler's refusal to make any reimbursements. In legal terms, we call that a "non-material breach".
The terms of the contract you entered into with Chrysler are crucial to both of these issues, and might reveal other possible arguments available to you.
The other issues that you raised (i.e. the possibility of an injunction and the potential argument that there is some implicit grandfather clause) can't be fully answered without knowing more facts.
If you think you might want to pursue some sort of legal action (e.g. having an attorney talk to Chrsyler on your behalf and/or filing suit). I would be happy to provide you with an initial consultation free of charge.
My phone number is 312-913-9400.
Best of luck to you.
Jay Edelson
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