Preview
Electronically
by Superior Court of California, County of San Mateo
Kimberli C. Zazzi (SBN 249638) ON 10/24/2023
Vincent M. Onorio (SBN 117699)
By /sLAnthony Berini
LaDawna Fleckenstein (SBN 330538)
LEMON LAW PRO
1098 Melody Lane, Building 200
Roseville, CA 95678
Telephone: (916) 836-8565
Facsimile: (916) 836-8583
Attorneys for Plaintiffs
MARYANNA RODERICK and
KYLE RODERICK
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
FOR THE COUNTY OF SAN MATEO
23-CIV-05059
10 MARYANNA RODERICK AND CASE NO.:
KYLE RODERICK,
11 COMPLAINT FOR VIOLATION OF THE
Plaintiffs, SONG-BEVERLY CONSUMER
12 Vv. WARRANTY ACT
13 FORD MOTOR COMPANY; Unlimited Civil Jurisdiction -
and DOES 1 - 10, Damages Exceed $25,000
14
Defendants. JURY TRIAL DEMANDED
15
16 Plaintiffs MARYANNA RODERICK and KYLE RODERICK (hereafter “Plaintiffs”), by
17 and through their attorneys, hereby allege the following upon information and belief:
18 GENERAL ALLEGATIONS
19 1 Plaintiffs are natural persons residing in Millbrae, California.
20 2. Plaintiffs are a “buyer” as defined in Civil Code §2981(c) and §1791(b).
21 3 FORD MOTOR COMPANY (hereafter “Defendant” or “FORD”) is and was a
22 corporation and registered to do business in the State of California and doing business in the
23 County of SAN MATEO.
24 4 Defendant FORD MOTOR COMPANY is a “manufacturer” and/or “distributor”
25 under the Act.
26 5 Defendants DOES 1-10 inclusive are sued herein pursuant to California Code of
27 Civil Procedure §474. The true names, capacities and nature and extent of participation in the
28 alleged activities complained of herein by DOES 1-10, inclusive, are currently unknown to
Complaintfor Violation of the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty
Act
1
Plaintiffs. Therefore, Plaintiffs sue these defendants by such fictitious names and will amend the
Complaint to allege their true names and capacities when ascertained.
6 On or about May 3, 2022, Plaintiffs purchased a brand new 2022 Ford Explorer,
VIN: 1FMSK8DH8NGB27400 (hereinafter “vehicle”) at BWNVT Motors, LLC located in
Colma, California. The subject vehicle is a new motor vehicle that was purchased primarily for
personal, family, or household purposes or it is a new motor vehicle with a gross vehicle weight
under 10,000 pounds that was purchased or used primarily for business purposes by an entity to
which not more than five motor vehicles are registered in this state. The subject vehicle is a “new
motor vehicle” under the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, Civil Code §§1790 et seq. (the
“Act”),
10
11 7 Defendant FORD MOTOR COMPANY issued an “express warranty” to
12 Plaintiffs pursuant to the Act.
13 8 The sale of the subject vehicle was also accompanied by an implied warranty
14 which represented that the vehicle was merchantable. The sale was also accompanied by
15 Defendant’s implied warranty of fitness.
16 9. The subject vehicle has suffered from serious defects and nonconformities to
17 warranty, including, but not limited to, recurrent problems with the vehicles transmission
18 resulting in harsh shifting and shuddering and infotainment issues where the system remains
19 active and does not completely turn off the vehicle.
20 10. The aforementioned nonconformities and defects manifested themselves within
21 the applicable express warranty period. Said nonconformities have substantially impaired the
22 vehicle’s use, value, or safety to Plaintiffs.
23 ll. From the time of purchase until the present, the vehicle has suffered ongoing
24 problems including but not limited to the following:
25 Mit
26 Mit
27 Mit
28 Mit
Complaintfor Violation of the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty
Act
2
Problems Date Odo. Days RO#
Transmission — 1“ Repair Attempt — 5/1/2023 21482 51 331408
Customer states excessive shuddering harsh Serramonte
engagment. Happens duringacceleration. 6/23/2023 Ford
Please check and advise
Cause — Performed diagnoses as requested
and found the following results:
Confirmed customer concern tech checked
for codes, no codes related to this concern,
checked for TSBS and found TSB 22-2428
checked for any updates and found none.
Next step is to is to check for codes found
none. Next step is to perform accelerated
break in for clutched A,C,D. 3 times each.
Tech performed an adaptive drive cycle and
found vehicle still having concern. Next
step is to overhaul main control valve body.
10
Transmission - 2” Repair Attempt — 6/6/2023 23584 15 333282
11 Customer states transmission still Serramonte
experiencing harsh downshifting and 6/20/2023 Ford
12 shuddering. Please check and advise
13 Cause — Confirmed customer concern.
Accelerated break in had already been
14 performed is previous RO next step is to
over haul main control valve body.
15 Removed pan and removed main control
valve body. During pan removal tech found
16 a lot of metal in pan, next tech air checked
transmission and found clutch A, C, D, F, E
17 leaking. Tech recommends a transmission
tear down for further diagnosis. Vehicle is
18 under Itis next step is to install new
transmission.
19 Perform transmission removal and
installation. Disconnect the battery, raise
20 the vehicle, remove the bolts and the
underbody protection. Remove screws and
21 bolts and set the transmission fluid cooler
aside. Set the manual park release cable
22 aside. Disconnect the manual control lever
rod. Remove and discard the screws from
23 the cable assembly. Remove the catalytic
converter, remove the starter, remove and
24 discard the torque converter nuts.
Disconnect the breather tube from the
25 transmission. Remove the bracket nuts.
Remove the bracket and the catalytic
26 converter. Remove and discard the bolts
holding the driveshaft flexible coupling to
27 the drive flange. Disconnect the
transmission electrical connector. Remove
28 the hold bolts. Slide the transmission back
Complaint for Violation of the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act
3
enough to install the special tool and remove
the transmission from the vehicle. Use
Special Service Tool: 307-346 (T97T-
7902A) holding plate, torque converter.
Flushed transmission cooler lines with ULV
fluid before installing new transmission
**** Reassemble vehicle in reverse
procedure. Updated trans strategy and id,
cleared transmission adaptive learning.
Cleared call DTCS, and topped off fluid to
spec, road tested vehicle and shifts
normally. At this time, the concern is no
longer present after the repair.
Infotainment — 1” Repair Attempt — 6/12/2023 23813 30 333637
Customer states when turning vehicle off - Serramonte
and locking it touch sceen at time will stay 7/11/2023 Ford
lit. Does not always turn off. Please cheke
10 and advise
11 Cause — Could not confirm customer
concern. Tech checked for codes not codes
12 found related to this concern. Tech
attempted to verify customer concern, even
13 left vehicle overnight to attempt to verify.
Tech recommends to have customer bring
14 vehicle back when concern is present
15 Infotainment - 2"" Repair Attempt — 7/21/2023 25680 1 335462
Customer states media/navigation/audio Serramonte
16 screen stays illuminated does not turn off Ford
when just exits vehicle and locks. Screen
17 remains on. Fordpass code U015S5lost
communication with instrument panel
18 cluster (ipc) control module and touch
screen is operative. Please check and advise
19
Cause — Checked and verified the concern.
20 Checked oasis no technical service bulletin
and special service message. Scanned for
21 DTC ABS U0155:00:6D lost
communication with instrument panel
22 cluster. Pinpoint test M: the display unit
(touchscreen) is inoperative or does not
23 operate correctly. Direct point test FDRS
guided routine diagnosis. Doing diagnosis
24 to perform APIM software update. After
couple tried fail to update APIM with
25 different FDRS. Recommend to replace
APIM
26 Removed trim panel and instrument panel
center trim panel. Replaced sync module
27 (APIM). Programmed APIM- sync module
replacement complete successful. Cleared
28 DTC, checked the concern operate properly.
Complaint for Violation of the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act
4
Infotainment — 3” Repair Attempt — 8/1/2023 26329 50 336516
Customer states when exiting vehicle and Serramonte
locking doors vehicle not powering down on 9/19/2023 Ford
screen. Screen stays on or lite up. Please
check and advise
Cause — Checked and verified the concern.
Checked oasis no technical bulletin but
special service message 51845 relate to
DTC BCM B1533:08:0A. Scanned for
DTC, ABS U0155:00:6D. BCM
B1533:08:0A. Recommend to perform
SSM 51845 to replace headlamp switch.
Replaced headlamp switch and cleared
DTC, checked the concern operate properly.
12. Plaintiffs have delivered the vehicle to FORD or its authorized repair facility(s)
10 for repairs of said defects and nonconformities. Defendant has been unable and/or refused to
11 conform Plaintiffs’ vehicle to the applicable express and implied warranties under the Act after a
12 reasonable number of repair attempts; to begin repairs within a reasonable time; and/or to
13 complete repairs within thirty (30) days.
14 13. Defendant breached the implied warranty of merchantability and implied
15 warranty of fitness in that the subject vehicle was not fit for the ordinary purposes for which such
16 goods are used and was not of the same quality as those generally acceptable in trade. Therefore,
17 the Plaintiffs are entitled to revoke acceptance of the subject vehicle under the Act.
18 14. Notwithstanding knowledge of Plaintiffs’ entitlement, Defendant intentionally
19 failed to comply with its obligations under the Act to repurchase the vehicle and make
20 restitution.
21 15. By failure of Defendant to comply with its obligations under the Act to
22 repurchase the vehicle and make restitution, Defendant is in breach of its obligations under the
23 Act.
24 16. Plaintiffs are entitled to justifiably revoke acceptance of the aforementioned
25 vehicle under the Act.
26 Mit
27 Mit
28 Mit
Complaint for Violation of the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty
Act
5
17. Pursuant to the Act, Plaintiffs are entit
led to restitution in an amount equal to
the
actual price paid or payable by Plaintiffs
and collateral charges such as sales tax,
license fees,
registration fees, and other official fees
less an amount directly attributable to use
by Plaintiffs
prior to the time Plaintiffs first delivered
the vehicle for repair.
18. Plaintiffs are entitled to recover incidental, conse
quential, and general damages
actually incurred by Plaintiffs resulting from
Defendant’s failure to comply with its obligation
s
under the Act.
19. Plaintiffs are entitled to recover a sum equal to
the aggregate amount of costs and
expenses, including attorney’s fees based on actual
time expended and reasonably incurred in
10 connection with the commencement and prose
cution of this action.
11 20. Plaintiffs are entitled to recover, in addition to the
amounts recovered, a civil
12 penalty up to two times the amount of actual damages
for Defendant’s willful refusal to comply
13 with its responsibilities under the Act. °
14 WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs pray for judgment against Defendant as follow
s:
15 (1) For rescission of the contract and restitution of all consideratio
n;
16 (2) For actual compensation and general damages according
to proof at time of trial; 3
17 (3) For civil penalty up to two times the amount of actual damage
s;
18 (4) For prejudgment interest from the date of rescission;
19 (5) For actual attorney fees, reasonably incurred;
20 (6) For costs and expenses reasonably incurred with the commencement and
21 prosecution of this action; and
22 ” For such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper.
23
24 Dated: October 24, 2023 LEMON LAW PRO
25
26
LaDawna Fleckensteil?, Esq.
27 Attorneys for Plaintiffs
MARYANNA RODERICK and
28 KYLE RODERICK
Complaint
for Violation of the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act
6
JURY TRIAL DEMANDED
Plaintiffs demand a trial byjury on all issue
s so triable.
Dated: October 24, 2023
LEMON LAW PRo
On
LaDawna Fleckenstein, Esq.
Attorneys for Plaintiffs
MARYANNA RODERICK and
KYLE RODERICK
10
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Complaint
for Violation of the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act
7
Preview
Electronically by Superior Court of California, County of San Mateo Kimberli C. Zazzi (SBN 249638) ON 10/24/2023 Vincent M. Onorio (SBN 117699) By /sLAnthony Berini LaDawna Fleckenstein (SBN 330538) LEMON LAW PRO 1098 Melody Lane, Building 200 Roseville, CA 95678 Telephone: (916) 836-8565 Facsimile: (916) 836-8583 Attorneys for Plaintiffs MARYANNA RODERICK and KYLE RODERICK SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FOR THE COUNTY OF SAN MATEO 23-CIV-05059 10 MARYANNA RODERICK AND CASE NO.: KYLE RODERICK, 11 COMPLAINT FOR VIOLATION OF THE Plaintiffs, SONG-BEVERLY CONSUMER 12 Vv. WARRANTY ACT 13 FORD MOTOR COMPANY; Unlimited Civil Jurisdiction - and DOES 1 - 10, Damages Exceed $25,000 14 Defendants. JURY TRIAL DEMANDED 15 16 Plaintiffs MARYANNA RODERICK and KYLE RODERICK (hereafter “Plaintiffs”), by 17 and through their attorneys, hereby allege the following upon information and belief: 18 GENERAL ALLEGATIONS 19 1 Plaintiffs are natural persons residing in Millbrae, California. 20 2. Plaintiffs are a “buyer” as defined in Civil Code §2981(c) and §1791(b). 21 3 FORD MOTOR COMPANY (hereafter “Defendant” or “FORD”) is and was a 22 corporation and registered to do business in the State of California and doing business in the 23 County of SAN MATEO. 24 4 Defendant FORD MOTOR COMPANY is a “manufacturer” and/or “distributor” 25 under the Act. 26 5 Defendants DOES 1-10 inclusive are sued herein pursuant to California Code of 27 Civil Procedure §474. The true names, capacities and nature and extent of participation in the 28 alleged activities complained of herein by DOES 1-10, inclusive, are currently unknown to Complaintfor Violation of the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act 1 Plaintiffs. Therefore, Plaintiffs sue these defendants by such fictitious names and will amend the Complaint to allege their true names and capacities when ascertained. 6 On or about May 3, 2022, Plaintiffs purchased a brand new 2022 Ford Explorer, VIN: 1FMSK8DH8NGB27400 (hereinafter “vehicle”) at BWNVT Motors, LLC located in Colma, California. The subject vehicle is a new motor vehicle that was purchased primarily for personal, family, or household purposes or it is a new motor vehicle with a gross vehicle weight under 10,000 pounds that was purchased or used primarily for business purposes by an entity to which not more than five motor vehicles are registered in this state. The subject vehicle is a “new motor vehicle” under the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, Civil Code §§1790 et seq. (the “Act”), 10 11 7 Defendant FORD MOTOR COMPANY issued an “express warranty” to 12 Plaintiffs pursuant to the Act. 13 8 The sale of the subject vehicle was also accompanied by an implied warranty 14 which represented that the vehicle was merchantable. The sale was also accompanied by 15 Defendant’s implied warranty of fitness. 16 9. The subject vehicle has suffered from serious defects and nonconformities to 17 warranty, including, but not limited to, recurrent problems with the vehicles transmission 18 resulting in harsh shifting and shuddering and infotainment issues where the system remains 19 active and does not completely turn off the vehicle. 20 10. The aforementioned nonconformities and defects manifested themselves within 21 the applicable express warranty period. Said nonconformities have substantially impaired the 22 vehicle’s use, value, or safety to Plaintiffs. 23 ll. From the time of purchase until the present, the vehicle has suffered ongoing 24 problems including but not limited to the following: 25 Mit 26 Mit 27 Mit 28 Mit Complaintfor Violation of the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act 2 Problems Date Odo. Days RO# Transmission — 1“ Repair Attempt — 5/1/2023 21482 51 331408 Customer states excessive shuddering harsh Serramonte engagment. Happens duringacceleration. 6/23/2023 Ford Please check and advise Cause — Performed diagnoses as requested and found the following results: Confirmed customer concern tech checked for codes, no codes related to this concern, checked for TSBS and found TSB 22-2428 checked for any updates and found none. Next step is to is to check for codes found none. Next step is to perform accelerated break in for clutched A,C,D. 3 times each. Tech performed an adaptive drive cycle and found vehicle still having concern. Next step is to overhaul main control valve body. 10 Transmission - 2” Repair Attempt — 6/6/2023 23584 15 333282 11 Customer states transmission still Serramonte experiencing harsh downshifting and 6/20/2023 Ford 12 shuddering. Please check and advise 13 Cause — Confirmed customer concern. Accelerated break in had already been 14 performed is previous RO next step is to over haul main control valve body. 15 Removed pan and removed main control valve body. During pan removal tech found 16 a lot of metal in pan, next tech air checked transmission and found clutch A, C, D, F, E 17 leaking. Tech recommends a transmission tear down for further diagnosis. Vehicle is 18 under Itis next step is to install new transmission. 19 Perform transmission removal and installation. Disconnect the battery, raise 20 the vehicle, remove the bolts and the underbody protection. Remove screws and 21 bolts and set the transmission fluid cooler aside. Set the manual park release cable 22 aside. Disconnect the manual control lever rod. Remove and discard the screws from 23 the cable assembly. Remove the catalytic converter, remove the starter, remove and 24 discard the torque converter nuts. Disconnect the breather tube from the 25 transmission. Remove the bracket nuts. Remove the bracket and the catalytic 26 converter. Remove and discard the bolts holding the driveshaft flexible coupling to 27 the drive flange. Disconnect the transmission electrical connector. Remove 28 the hold bolts. Slide the transmission back Complaint for Violation of the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act 3 enough to install the special tool and remove the transmission from the vehicle. Use Special Service Tool: 307-346 (T97T- 7902A) holding plate, torque converter. Flushed transmission cooler lines with ULV fluid before installing new transmission **** Reassemble vehicle in reverse procedure. Updated trans strategy and id, cleared transmission adaptive learning. Cleared call DTCS, and topped off fluid to spec, road tested vehicle and shifts normally. At this time, the concern is no longer present after the repair. Infotainment — 1” Repair Attempt — 6/12/2023 23813 30 333637 Customer states when turning vehicle off - Serramonte and locking it touch sceen at time will stay 7/11/2023 Ford lit. Does not always turn off. Please cheke 10 and advise 11 Cause — Could not confirm customer concern. Tech checked for codes not codes 12 found related to this concern. Tech attempted to verify customer concern, even 13 left vehicle overnight to attempt to verify. Tech recommends to have customer bring 14 vehicle back when concern is present 15 Infotainment - 2"" Repair Attempt — 7/21/2023 25680 1 335462 Customer states media/navigation/audio Serramonte 16 screen stays illuminated does not turn off Ford when just exits vehicle and locks. Screen 17 remains on. Fordpass code U015S5lost communication with instrument panel 18 cluster (ipc) control module and touch screen is operative. Please check and advise 19 Cause — Checked and verified the concern. 20 Checked oasis no technical service bulletin and special service message. Scanned for 21 DTC ABS U0155:00:6D lost communication with instrument panel 22 cluster. Pinpoint test M: the display unit (touchscreen) is inoperative or does not 23 operate correctly. Direct point test FDRS guided routine diagnosis. Doing diagnosis 24 to perform APIM software update. After couple tried fail to update APIM with 25 different FDRS. Recommend to replace APIM 26 Removed trim panel and instrument panel center trim panel. Replaced sync module 27 (APIM). Programmed APIM- sync module replacement complete successful. Cleared 28 DTC, checked the concern operate properly. Complaint for Violation of the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act 4 Infotainment — 3” Repair Attempt — 8/1/2023 26329 50 336516 Customer states when exiting vehicle and Serramonte locking doors vehicle not powering down on 9/19/2023 Ford screen. Screen stays on or lite up. Please check and advise Cause — Checked and verified the concern. Checked oasis no technical bulletin but special service message 51845 relate to DTC BCM B1533:08:0A. Scanned for DTC, ABS U0155:00:6D. BCM B1533:08:0A. Recommend to perform SSM 51845 to replace headlamp switch. Replaced headlamp switch and cleared DTC, checked the concern operate properly. 12. Plaintiffs have delivered the vehicle to FORD or its authorized repair facility(s) 10 for repairs of said defects and nonconformities. Defendant has been unable and/or refused to 11 conform Plaintiffs’ vehicle to the applicable express and implied warranties under the Act after a 12 reasonable number of repair attempts; to begin repairs within a reasonable time; and/or to 13 complete repairs within thirty (30) days. 14 13. Defendant breached the implied warranty of merchantability and implied 15 warranty of fitness in that the subject vehicle was not fit for the ordinary purposes for which such 16 goods are used and was not of the same quality as those generally acceptable in trade. Therefore, 17 the Plaintiffs are entitled to revoke acceptance of the subject vehicle under the Act. 18 14. Notwithstanding knowledge of Plaintiffs’ entitlement, Defendant intentionally 19 failed to comply with its obligations under the Act to repurchase the vehicle and make 20 restitution. 21 15. By failure of Defendant to comply with its obligations under the Act to 22 repurchase the vehicle and make restitution, Defendant is in breach of its obligations under the 23 Act. 24 16. Plaintiffs are entitled to justifiably revoke acceptance of the aforementioned 25 vehicle under the Act. 26 Mit 27 Mit 28 Mit Complaint for Violation of the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act 5 17. Pursuant to the Act, Plaintiffs are entit led to restitution in an amount equal to the actual price paid or payable by Plaintiffs and collateral charges such as sales tax, license fees, registration fees, and other official fees less an amount directly attributable to use by Plaintiffs prior to the time Plaintiffs first delivered the vehicle for repair. 18. Plaintiffs are entitled to recover incidental, conse quential, and general damages actually incurred by Plaintiffs resulting from Defendant’s failure to comply with its obligation s under the Act. 19. Plaintiffs are entitled to recover a sum equal to the aggregate amount of costs and expenses, including attorney’s fees based on actual time expended and reasonably incurred in 10 connection with the commencement and prose cution of this action. 11 20. Plaintiffs are entitled to recover, in addition to the amounts recovered, a civil 12 penalty up to two times the amount of actual damages for Defendant’s willful refusal to comply 13 with its responsibilities under the Act. ° 14 WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs pray for judgment against Defendant as follow s: 15 (1) For rescission of the contract and restitution of all consideratio n; 16 (2) For actual compensation and general damages according to proof at time of trial; 3 17 (3) For civil penalty up to two times the amount of actual damage s; 18 (4) For prejudgment interest from the date of rescission; 19 (5) For actual attorney fees, reasonably incurred; 20 (6) For costs and expenses reasonably incurred with the commencement and 21 prosecution of this action; and 22 ” For such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper. 23 24 Dated: October 24, 2023 LEMON LAW PRO 25 26 LaDawna Fleckensteil?, Esq. 27 Attorneys for Plaintiffs MARYANNA RODERICK and 28 KYLE RODERICK Complaint for Violation of the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act 6 JURY TRIAL DEMANDED Plaintiffs demand a trial byjury on all issue s so triable. Dated: October 24, 2023 LEMON LAW PRo On LaDawna Fleckenstein, Esq. Attorneys for Plaintiffs MARYANNA RODERICK and KYLE RODERICK 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Complaint for Violation of the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act 7