A recent jury verdict in the Circuit Court of Jefferson County, Ky., highlights the importance of correctly completing consumer disclosure forms. In Brown v. Kentuckiana Auto Mart, LLC, No. 14-CI-005864, the jury awarded the purchasers of a motor vehicle damages of $3,442 plus an additional $25,000 in punitive damages based upon a claim that the motor vehicle seller failed to disclose that the vehicle was the subject of a “branded title” reflecting that it had been rebuilt from a salvaged vehicle.
According to the customers, a husband and wife, the dealer had supplied them with a disclosure form about the nature of the vehicle’s title, but the box disclosing that the vehicle had a “branded title” was not checked when it was given to them. When the customers later received their title certificate which reflected it was a branded title, they sued claiming that they had been defrauded into purchasing the vehicle.
M&P did not represent any of the parties to the lawsuit, but we became interested in the case as it highlights the importance of correctly completing consumer disclosure forms. Had the motor vehicle dealer correctly completed the form, the customers might not have had a case. M&P recommends that clients who are required to make consumer disclosures have both (a) a sound system for training the personnel that complete the forms and provide them to the consumer, and (b) a post-transaction audit system that works to verify that the required consumer disclosures are being correctly given.
If you need help with consumer financial disclosures or disputes over consumer transactions, M&P is here to help. Click here to contact us.
