VALPARAISO, Ind., June 11, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — On June 8, 2018 after a 4 day jury trial, a verdict was delivered in favor of long-time former Valparaiso resident, Jared Thieme, against Toyota Motor Sales USA in a breach of warranty action brought in the Superior Court of Porter County. The case involved a new 2012 Toyota Tundra that Mr. Thieme purchased on August 13, 2012 for $43,838. As the winter approached, Mr. Thieme experienced difficulty starting the vehicle, malfunction warning lights illuminating, and the vehicle chugging and riding rough. After giving Toyota 3 chances to fix the problem, he was told by Toyota’s dealer that the computer in the vehicle was incorrectly reading the alcohol density content of the fuel. Mr. Thieme was also told that Toyota had no fix for the problem and that they were “working on a recalibration for the computer.” For months, Mr. Thieme called Toyota seeking an update for when his vehicle would be fixed. In May of 2013, an update was performed pursuant to Toyota’s Technical Service Bulletin 58-13, but that did not repair the condition, which reappeared in the winter. On March 8, 2014, Toyota advised Mr. Thieme that no further repairs could be performed. Mr. Thieme then retained Krohn & Moss, Ltd. Consumer Law Center ®, a consumer protection firm that has handled over 45,000 “lemon law” actions nationwide, including over 2,500 in Indiana. Instead of settling Mr. Thieme’s well-founded claims, Toyota fought the case for over 4 years claiming that Mr. Thieme’s problems were caused by contaminated fuel. A Porter County jury saw through Toyota’s defense and awarded Mr. Thieme $31,000 representing the amount he overpaid for the vehicle. The jury also awarded $279,000 for Mr. Thieme’s incidental and consequential damages. Additionally, federal law will allow Mr. Thieme to recover his attorneys’ fees and costs. John Barker, Mr. Thieme’s counsel, commented, “This verdict sends a message to Toyota to not ignore its customers. If they sell a bad vehicle they need to do the right thing or there will be repercussions.” Mr. Barker may be reached at (800) 875-3666 ext. 252 or at jbarker@consumerlawcenter.com.
About Krohn & Moss, Ltd.
Krohn & Moss, Ltd. Consumer Law Center® was founded in 1995 by Adam Krohn and Gregory Moss, providing legal representation to consumers with defective vehicles. The firm may be found at www.yourlemonlawrights.com or contacted at 800 US-LEMON (800-875-3666).