Motion for Writ in ARELLANO vs FCA US LLC, et al.| Trellis.Law

On April 15, 2024 a Complaint,Petition was filed involving a dispute between Alexus K Arellano, and Does 1-10, Fca Us Llc, for (Breach of Contract/Warranty) in the District Court of Sacramento County.

Preview
1 Kimberli C. Zazzi (SBN 249638)
Vincent M. Onorio (SBN 117699)
2 LaDawna Fleckenstein (SBN 330538)
LEMON LAW PRO
3 1098 Melody Lane, Building 200
Roseville, CA 95678
4 Telephone: (916) 836-8565
Facsimile: (916) 836-8583
5
Attorneys for Plaintiff
6 ALEXUS K ARELLANO
7

8 SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
FOR THE COUNTY OF SACRAMENTO
9

10 ALEXUS K ARELLANO, CASE NO.:
11 Plaintiff, COMPLAINT FOR VIOLATION OF THE
SONG-BEVERLY CONSUMER
12 v. WARRANTY ACT
13 FCA US LLC; and DOES 1 - 10, Unlimited Civil Jurisdiction -
Damages Exceed $35,000
14 Defendants.
JURY TRIAL DEMANDED
15

16 Plaintiff ALEXUS K ARELLANO (hereafter “Plaintiff”), by and through her attorneys,
17 hereby alleges the following upon information and belief:
18 GENERAL ALLEGATIONS
19 1. Plaintiff is a natural person residing in Lodi, California.
20 2. Plaintiff is a “buyer” as defined in Civil Code §2981(c) and §1791(b).
21 3. FCA US LLC (hereafter “Defendant” or “FCA”) is and was a corporation and
22 registered to do business in the State of California and doing business in the County of
23 SACRAMENTO.
24 4. Defendant FCA is a “manufacturer” and/or “distributor” under the Act.
25 ///
26 ///
27 ///
28 ///
______________________________________________________________________________
Complaint for Violation of The Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act
1
1 5. Defendants DOES 1-10 inclusive are sued herein pursuant to California Code of

2 Civil Procedure §474. The true names, capacities and nature and extent of participation in the

3 alleged activities complained of herein by DOES 1-10, inclusive, are currently unknown to

4 Plaintiff. Therefore, Plaintiff sues these defendants by such fictitious names and will amend the

5 Complaint to allege their true names and capacities when ascertained.

6 6. On or about April 1, 2023 Plaintiff leased a brand new 2023 Jeep Wrangler VIN:

7 1C4JJXP69PW513369 (hereinafter “vehicle”) at Lodi Chrysler dodge located in Lodi,

8 California. The subject vehicle is a new motor vehicle that was leased primarily for personal,

9 family, or household purposes or it is a new motor vehicle with a gross vehicle weight under

10 10,000 pounds that was leased or used primarily for business purposes by an entity to which not

11 more than five motor vehicles are registered in this state. The subject vehicle is a “new motor

12 vehicle” under the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, Civil Code §§1790 et seq. (the

13 “Act”).

14 7. Defendant FCA issued an “express warranty” to Plaintiff pursuant to the Act.

15 8. The sale of the subject vehicle was also accompanied by an implied warranty

16 which represented that the vehicle was merchantable. The sale was also accompanied by

17 Defendant’s implied warranty of fitness.

18 9. The subject vehicle has suffered from serious defects and nonconformities to

19 warranty, including, but not limited to, recurrent and/or intermittent issues with the hybrid

20 component. The vehicle will not hold a charge while driving or charge while plugged in. The

21 vehicle has also experienced the check engine light appearing, issues with the braking system,

22 and was in service for over 30 days while the ABS module was replaced.

23 10. The aforementioned nonconformities and defects manifested themselves within

24 the applicable express warranty period. Said nonconformities have substantially impaired the

25 vehicle’s use, value, or safety to Plaintiff.

26 11. From the time of purchase until the present, the vehicle has suffered ongoing

27 problems including but not limited to the following:

28 ///
______________________________________________________________________________
Complaint for Violation of The Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act
2
1 Problems Date Odo. Days RO #
Hybrid/Electrical – 1st Repair Attempt – 8/17/2023 6,280 5 75032
2 Customer states that EV charging port is – 75032 Lodi
not working message popped up saying 8/21/2023 CDJR
3 charging is not available

4 Cause – Stored radio DTC U0293 Lost
com with hybrid control module A- no
5 other DTCS present- all modules on this
vehicle are up to date – see printouts-
6 checked for TSBS/ starcases-none found-
ran VSR report for warranty-checked HEV
7 battery-shows depleted-below 1 %- plugged
vehicle into level 2 charger in shop-
8 charged ok to full 100% without any issues-
charged indicator if working and no
9 warning messages in the cluster-cleared
DTC-code did not return-re hooked up
10 charge cable 3 times- to charge-works ok-
did perform a vehicle reconfiguration- see
11 attachment-some settings did change-no
other problems found at this time-road
12 tested ok
See cause line-will have QC tech GP do
13 final road test for clearance to return to
customer
14
Engine – 1st Repair Attempt – Customer 2/07/2024 13,303 8 26579
15 states check engine light is on. Check and – Sacramento
advise. 2/13/2024 Chrysler
16 Dodge Jeep
Cause – Confirmed that CEL is on. Only Ram
17 code found in PCM is P140B left rear
wheel speeds sensor. See line 3 for
18 recommendation.
19 Hybrid/Electrical – 2nd Repair Attempt –
Customer states vehicle will not charge
20 while driving or plugged in when trying
charge. Check and advise.
21
Cause – Found when ABS light is on that
22 vehicle will dissable max charging. Vehicle
will still charge during decell but not as
23 quickly. Safety feature due to left rear
wheel possible lock up not being detectable
24 due to wheel sensor failure. Normal
condition. Connected vehicle to HV
25 charger, found is charging normally.
Unable to duplicate customer concerns or
26 cause is from low voltage home charger or
third party high voltage charger
27
Brakes – 1st Repair Attempt – Customer
28 states traction control light and ABS light
______________________________________________________________________________
Complaint for Violation of The Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act
3
1 came on. States 4WD unavailable. Check
and advise
2
Cause – Confirmed that traction control
3 light is on. Founde codes C0557, C050D
and C0511 all set against left rear wheel
4 speed sensor. Inspected sensor. No damage
found to sensor and it is securely plugged
5 in. Monitored ABS data for left rear wheel
speed sensor. Found that sensor does not
6 show wheel speed. Recommend replace
sensor and retest. Removed left rear wheel.
7 Removed left rear wheel speed sensor.
Installed new sensor. Cleared codes and test
8 drove vehicle. Lights did not return and
vehicle now driving normally.
9
Engine/Brakes – 2nd Repair Attempt – 2/19/2024 13,353 46 27097
10 Customer states after service on 2/7/24, – Sacramento
check engine light is back on. Check and 4/04/2024 Chrysler
11 advise. Dodge Jeep
Ram
12 Cause – Found vehicle with no warning
lights on. Connected vehicle to witech.
13 Found code C008E-00 abso internal is
active in vehicle along with returning codes
14 for wheel speed sensor. Recommend
replace ABS module for internal failure
15 then retest
Removed left front fender liner. Removed
16 abso. Installed new abso. Reinstalled fender
liner. Ran ABS initialization, will not run.
17 Performed battery disconnect. Reconnected
battery and reattempted initialization, will
18 not run. Opened star case. Star request what
abso is reporting that brake pedal is pressed
19 when it is not pressed. Star request to
inspect brake module connector for loose or
20 damaged pins in connector body. Found
that some circuits in connector body and be
21 pulled out of connector. Recommend
replace connector and retest. Transfired all
22 circuits to new connector body. Attempted
to run abso initialization, negative response.
23 Updated star. Star ordered part for vehicle.
Removed knee blocker. Removed brake
24 pedal retainer clip. Removed ABS booster
assembly from vehicle. Installed new ABS.
25 Reassembled vehicle. Performed brake
bleed, performed ABS initialization.
26 Performed brake bleed, performed ABS
initialization. Performed prove out test,
27 vehicle now operating correctly.
28
______________________________________________________________________________
Complaint for Violation of The Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act
4
1 12. Plaintiff has delivered the vehicle to FCA or its authorized repair facility(s) for

2 repairs of said defects and nonconformities. Defendant has been unable and/or refused to

3 conform Plaintiff’s vehicle to the applicable express and implied warranties under the Act after a

4 reasonable number of repair attempts; to begin repairs within a reasonable time; and/or to

5 complete repairs within thirty (30) days.

6 13. Defendant breached the implied warranty of merchantability and implied

7 warranty of fitness in that the subject vehicle was not fit for the ordinary purposes for which such

8 goods are used and was not of the same quality as those generally acceptable in trade. Therefore,

9 the Plaintiff is entitled to revoke acceptance of the subject vehicle under the Act.

10 14. Notwithstanding knowledge of Plaintiff’s entitlement, Defendant intentionally

11 failed to comply with its obligations under the Act to repurchase the vehicle and make

12 restitution.

13 15. By failure of Defendant to comply with its obligations under the Act to

14 repurchase the vehicle and make restitution, Defendant is in breach of its obligations under the

15 Act.

16 16. Plaintiff is entitled to justifiably revoke acceptance of the aforementioned vehicle

17 under the Act.

18 17. Pursuant to the Act, Plaintiff is entitled to restitution in an amount equal to the

19 actual price paid or payable by Plaintiff and collateral charges such as sales tax, license fees,

20 registration fees, and other official fees less an amount directly attributable to use by Plaintiff

21 prior to the time Plaintiff first delivered the vehicle for repair.

22 18. Plaintiff is entitled to recover incidental, consequential, and general damages

23 actually incurred by Plaintiff resulting from Defendant’s failure to comply with its obligations

24 under the Act.

25 19. Plaintiff is entitled to recover a sum equal to the aggregate amount of costs and

26 expenses, including attorney’s fees based on actual time expended and reasonably incurred in

27 connection with the commencement and prosecution of this action.

28 ///
______________________________________________________________________________
Complaint for Violation of The Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act
5
1 20. Plaintiff is entitled to recover, in addition to the amounts recovered, a civil

2 penalty up to two times the amount of actual damages for Defendant's willful refusal to comply

3 with its responsibilities under the Act.

4 WHEREFORE, Plaintiff prays for judgment against Defendant as follows:

5 (1) For rescission of the contract and restitution of all consideration;

6 (2) For actual compensation and general damages according to proof at time of trial;

7 (3) For civil penalty up to two times the amount of actual damages;

8 (4) For prejudgment interest from the date of rescission;

9 (5) For actual attorney fees, reasonably incurred;

10 (6) For costs and expenses reasonably incurred with the commencement and

11 prosecution of this action; and

12 (7) For such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper.

14 Dated: April 10, 2024 LEMON LAW PRO

16 LaDawna Fleckenstein, Esq.
Attorneys for Plaintiff
17 ALEXUS K ARELLANO
18

22
23

26
27

Complaint for Violation of The Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act
6
1 JURY TRIAL DEMANDED

2 Plaintiff demands a trial by jury on all issues so triable.

4 Dated: April 10, 2024 LEMON LAW PRO

6
Attorneys for Plaintiff
7 ALEXUS K ARELLANO
8

22
23

26
27

Complaint for Violation of The Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act
7

For full print and download access, please subscribe at https://www.trellis.law/.

Complaint,Petition: ARELLANO vs FCA US LLC, et al.

Preview

Case Info

Parties