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Chmill v. Friendly Ford-Mercury of Janesville, Inc.

424 N.W.2d 747, 144 Wis. 2d. 796 (1988)

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Chmill v. Friendly Ford-Mercury of Janesville, Inc.

Wisconsin Court of Appeals
424 N.W.2d 747, 144 Wis. 2d. 796 (1988)

  • Written by Heather Whittemore, JD

Facts

In November 1983 Leonard and Ruth Chmill (plaintiffs) purchased a car manufactured by Ford Motor Company (Ford) (defendant) at Friendly Ford-Mercury of Janesville, Inc. (Friendly) (defendant). Soon after purchasing the car, the Chmills experienced a pulling problem. From the purchase date to December 1984, the Chmills took their car to Friendly six times, but the pulling problem persisted. A Friendly employee told the Chmills that the car needed to be replaced because the pulling problem could not be repaired, and a salesman at a different car dealership told the Chmills that the pulling problem significantly lowered the value of the car. On July 15, 1985, the Chmills filed a lawsuit against Friendly and Ford in Wisconsin state court under Wisconsin’s lemon law, seeking a replacement car or a refund of the car’s purchase price. On June 27, 1986, the trial concluded. By then, the Chmills had driven their car 78,000 miles. The trial court held that the pulling problem experienced by the Chmills was a defect that substantially impaired the use and value of the car. Because the defect could not be repaired after the reasonable attempts by Friendly, the court ordered Ford and Friendly to either refund the purchase price of the car to the Chmills or replace the car. Friendly and Ford appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Sundby, J.)

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