Lamont v. Winnebago Industries, Inc.

• Decision Date: 07 August 2008
• Docket Number: Case No. 07-C-1160.
• Citation: Lamont v. Winnebago Industries, Inc., 569 F.Supp.2d 806 (E.D. Wis. 2008)
• Parties: Lawrence J. LAMONT and Carol A. Lamont, Plaintiffs, v. WINNEBAGO INDUSTRIES, INC., Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Wisconsin

569 F.Supp.2d 806

Lawrence J. LAMONT and Carol A. Lamont, Plaintiffs, v. WINNEBAGO INDUSTRIES, INC., Defendant.

Case No. 07-C-1160.

United States District Court, E.D. Wisconsin.

August 7, 2008.

Vincent P. Megna, Jastroch & Labarge SC, Waukesha, WI, for Plaintiffs.

Nathaniel Cade, Jr., Michael Best & Friedrich LLP, Milwaukee, WI, for Defendant.

DECISION AND ORDER

WILLIAM C. GRIESBACH, District Judge.

Wisconsin residents Lawrence and Carol Lamont ("the Lamonts") purchased a new 2005 Winnebago Sightseer from Crystal Valley RV, a motor home dealership located in Island Lake, Illinois. The Lamonts allege the motor home had a number of mechanical difficulties and was repeatedly repaired under the provisions of a limited warranty provided by the manufacturer, Winnebago Industries, Inc. ("Winnebago"). Claiming the repair work was unsuccessful, the Lamonts notified Winnebago of the defects in the motor home and demanded that Winnebago accept return of the vehicle and provide a comparable new motor home in its place pursuant to Wisconsin's "Lemon Law," codified at section 218.0171 of the Wisconsin Statutes (2005-06).¹ When Winnebago failed to comply with their demands, the Lamonts filed suit in Brown County Circuit Court under the Lemon Law and the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, 15 U.S.C. § 2301 et seq. Winnebago removed the case to this Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1441, asserting federal jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1332, and filed a motion for summary judgment on all claims. For the reasons that follow, Winnebago's motion will be granted in part and denied in part.

BACKGROUND

Lawrence Lamont and his wife Carol live in Malone, Wisconsin. (Lawrence A. Lamont Aff. at ¶ 2.) In the summer of 2005, Mr. Lamont accompanied his sister to Crystal Valley RV in Island Lake, Illinois, where she purchased a 2005 Winnebago Sightseer. (Id. ¶¶ 3-4.) Mr. Lamont was interested in purchasing a similar motor home and spoke with salesman Tim McCloyn. (Id.) On September 26, 2005, Mr. Lamont spoke with Mr. McCloyn by telephone about a 2005 Winnebago Sightseer that was available for purchase. (Id. ¶ 5.) The price was negotiated over the phone, with Mr. Lamont at his home in Malone, Wisconsin and Mr. McCloyn at Crystal Valley RV in Island Lake, Illinois. (Id.) Mr. Lamont agreed to purchase the motor home and paid a $1,000 deposit over the phone with his Discover credit card. (Id.)

The Lamonts traveled to Crystal Valley RV on September 28, 2005 and paid the remaining $66,955 due on the motor home with a cashier's check and their Mastercard and Discover credit cards. (Id. ¶¶ 7, 9.) When the Lamonts arrived, the motor home had a "SOLD" tag in the window bearing their name and signed by Mr. McCloyn, dated September 26, 2005. (Id. ¶ 8, Ex. B.) The Lamonts signed all of the required paperwork, including the purchase order, at Crystal Valley RV on September 28, 2005. (Id. ¶ 10; Def.'s PFOF at ¶ 4.) They arranged to pick up the vehicle at a later date, returning to Crystal Valley RV on October 27, 2005 to pick up the keys and again on November 2, 2005 to take possession of the motor home. (Lawrence A. Lamont Aff. at ¶¶ 11-12.)

Winnebago Industries, Inc. manufactured the Sightseer motor home and provided a one-year 15,000 mile New Vehicle Limited Warranty as well as Winnebago Industries' Coach-Net Roadside Assistance program with the purchase of the Sightseer. (Id. ¶¶ 13-14; Def.'s PFOF at ¶ 8.) The Lamonts also purchased an extended warranty from the dealer, called the FreedomCare Motorhome & Travel Trailer Service Agreement. (Def.'s PFOF at ¶ 12.)

Following their purchase of the motor home, the Lamonts filled out and returned a Wisconsin Title and License Plate Application dated December 27, 2005. (Lawrence A. Lamont Aff. at ¶ 16, Ex. O.) They received a letter from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation dated February 15, 2006 requesting an additional ten dollars to process the application, and, after they paid the additional fee, a Wisconsin Certificate of Title was issued in their name on March 16, 2006. (Id. ¶¶ 18-20, Ex. P-Q.)

The Lamonts allege they experienced a number of problems with their new motor home. The engine bucked, misfired, ran roughly, and stalled while running. (Id. ¶ 21.) The vehicle failed to start, there were problems with the turn signals, coach batteries, drive shaft, solenoid, temporary harness connector, CKP sensors, PCM, coils, a short due to a chaffed wire, and there were noises from the front end while the vehicle was moving. (Id.; Compl. ¶ 6.) Each time one of these problems occurred, the Lamonts called Winnebago's Coach-Net Roadside Assistance and drove the vehicle (or had it towed) to a repair facility chosen by Coach-Net. (Lawrence A. Lamont Aff. at ¶ 22.) Repairs were attempted from April 14-21, 2006; July 5-16, 2006; August 3-4, 2006; and August 11-15, 2006. (Id.)

On July 17, 2007, the Lamonts notified Winnebago of the defects and demanded that Winnebago accept return of the vehicle and provide them with a comparable new motor home under Wisconsin's Lemon Law, section 218.0171 of the Wisconsin Statutes. (Compl. at ¶ 8, Ex. B.) Winnebago provided neither a refund nor a new vehicle and the Lamonts filed this lawsuit claiming that Winnebago violated the Lemon Law as well as the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, 15 U.S.C. § 2301 et seq. (Id. ¶¶ 11, 16.)

ANALYSIS

I. Summary Judgment Standard

Summary judgment is appropriate when the "pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). Summary judgment should be granted when a party that has had ample time for discovery fails to "make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party's case and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial." 477 U.S. at 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548. Should the moving party establish the absence of a genuine issue of material fact, the nonmoving party must demonstrate that there is a genuine dispute over the material facts of the case. Id. at 323-24, 106 S.Ct. 2548. "In determining whether a genuine issue of material fact exists, all facts are construed in favor of the nonmoving party." Springer v. Durflinger, 518 F.3d 479, 483-84 (7th Cir.2008).

II. Lemon Law Claim

Wisconsin's "Lemon Law" is a remedial statute, which, like similar laws nationwide, provides for the protection of consumers who purchase new motor vehicles that turn out to be defective (colloquially known as "lemons"). Garcia v. Mazda Motor of America, Inc., 2004 WI 93, ¶ 1, 273 Wis.2d 612, 682 N.W.2d 365. In its motion for summary judgment, Winnebago does not address whether the motor home it manufactured was defective, or a "lemon," recognizing that this is a disputed issue of fact that cannot be resolved on summary judgment. Instead, Winnebago argues that the Lamonts may not recover under the Lemon Law in any event, because the motor home is not a "motor vehicle" within the meaning of the statute.

For purposes of Wisconsin's Lemon Law, the term "motor vehicle" is defined as "any motor driven vehicle required to be registered under Ch. 341 ... which a consumer purchases or accepts transfer of in this state." Wis. Stat. § 218.0171(1)(d). As residents of Wisconsin, the Lamonts were required to register their motor home under Chapter 341 in order to operate it upon the highway. Wis. Stat. § 341.04(4). Thus, for Wisconsin's Lemon Law to apply, they must have either purchased the motor home or accepted transfer of it in Wisconsin.

Winnebago claims that the Lamonts neither purchased nor accepted transfer of the motor home in Wisconsin because they paid the balance of the purchase price in Illinois, signed the contract in Illinois, and picked the vehicle up in Illinois. (Def.'s Br. Supp. Mot. Summ. J. 2-3.) In addition, it contends that the Lamonts were not "consumers" within the meaning of the statute. (Def.'s Reply Br. 2-3.)

A. Place of Purchase

Despite the fact that they purchased their motor home from an Illinois dealer, the Lamonts contend that the place of purchase was Wisconsin. In support of their argument, they rely on Henry ex rel. Weis v. General Casualty Co. of Wisconsin, 225 Wis.2d 849, 593 N.W.2d 913 (Wis. Ct.App.1999), in which the Wisconsin Court of Appeals addressed the transfer of ownership of a motor vehicle in the context of a dispute over whether insurance coverage existed under a automobile dealer's garage liability policy. In Henry, a woman who had agreed to purchase the loaner she was allowed to use by the dealer where she brought her truck for repairs was involved in a fatal accident while driving the car. Although she had not yet signed the purchase contract or paid for the car, the insurer for the dealer argued that ownership was transferred before the accident because the woman had agreed to purchase the vehicle and had already taken possession. The Court of Appeals disagreed and held that "to transfer ownership when a dealer is one of the parties to an automobile sale, the parties must sign the contract or the dealer must accept a down-payment deposit or title for trade unit from a prospective customer." 593 N.W.2d at 916. The Lamonts argue from this that they purchased the motor home when they made the initial down payment and, because they made the down payment via credit card over the telephone from their home in Wisconsin, they contend the purchase occurred in Wisconsin.

But Henry deals with the question of what is necessary to transform a customer's consensual use of a vehicle into a transfer of ownership from an automobile dealer for insurance purposes; it does not address the issue raised here of where a purchase occurs. The ordinary meaning of the word "purchase" is "to...