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Irreguler News for 12.16.05
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A lawsuit filed against a car dealership in Boise contends that an 82-year-old man with dementia who mistakenly turned into the dealership's lot was persuaded to trade his new SUV for an economy car worth less than half as much.
"The case does not pass the smell test," Boise attorney Paul Fitzer, who is representing the family, told The Idaho Statesman. "The question is whether (the transaction) offends the senses, whether it is so unconscionable as to offend the ordinary person."
The lawsuit, filed Monday by the man's daughter and legal guardian in 4th District Court, says that Lithia Ford of Boise violated an Idaho law designed to protect consumers from "unconscionable contracts" by taking advantage of Frank Baxter's "inability to understand, and other factors due to his age and dementia."
The suit also alleges that the dealership should have realized Baxter, a World War II veteran, was not capable of making an agreement to trade vehicles because he was so disoriented a Lithia Ford employee had to drive him home.
The lawsuit says that Baxter was on his way to Peterson Toyota on Sept. 9 to have the battery checked in his 2005 Toyota RAV-4, which he had bought from that dealership less than a month earlier and had driven only 16 miles.
But he ended up at the Lithia Ford lot where he traded his $31,000 vehicle for a $15,000 economy car.
"They told him the deal (for a 2006 Ford Focus) was going to solve all his problems, and talked him out of taking the car elsewhere," said Fitzer.
A spokesman for Lithia said the company has tried to settle the dispute. Lithia Ford Inc. is based in Medford, Ore. It is a Fortune 1000 company with 94 dealerships in 12 western states. It had $2.7 billion in sales last year.
"Lithia has been willing to resolve this issue from the beginning, and we are still willing to unwind this transaction; all we have asked is that Mr. Baxter or a legal representative sign the necessary paperwork," spokesman Dan Retzlaff said in a prepared statement.
Fitzer said the company has never offered to resolve the dispute. He also said that Lithia Ford has already sold the RAV-4 that Baxter traded.
Fitzer said Baxter's family was not aware he had made the earlier purchase of the Toyota. He said family members were trying to have Baxter's license suspended at the time of the trade with Lithia Ford.
According to the lawsuit, Baxter called his son, Forrest, after the trade to tell him his Toyota had been stolen. Forrest Baxter noticed paperwork from Lithia Ford at his father's home and called the dealership asking that the transaction be canceled. Officials at Lithia Ford refused, the lawsuit says.
Brett T. DeLange, chief of the consumer protection unit in the Idaho attorney general's office, said that Idaho has no law that allows people to return a vehicle once they have purchased it.
But he added that because of Frank Baxter's dementia, the allegations against Lithia Ford will "raise the eyebrows" of any court.
Fitzer agreed.
"I can't imagine (the dealership) would want to take this to trial," said Fitzer. "The publicity is awful."
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BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A lawsuit filed against a car dealership in Boise contends that an 82-year-old man with dementia who mistakenly turned into the dealership's lot was persuaded to trade his new SUV for an economy car worth less than half as much.
"The case does not pass the smell test," Boise attorney Paul Fitzer, who is representing the family, told The Idaho Statesman. "The question is whether (the transaction) offends the senses, whether it is so unconscionable as to offend the ordinary person."
The lawsuit, filed Monday by the man's daughter and legal guardian in 4th District Court, says that Lithia Ford of Boise violated an Idaho law designed to protect consumers from "unconscionable contracts" by taking advantage of Frank Baxter's "inability to understand, and other factors due to his age and dementia."
The suit also alleges that the dealership should have realized Baxter, a World War II veteran, was not capable of making an agreement to trade vehicles because he was so disoriented a Lithia Ford employee had to drive him home.
The lawsuit says that Baxter was on his way to Peterson Toyota on Sept. 9 to have the battery checked in his 2005 Toyota RAV-4, which he had bought from that dealership less than a month earlier and had driven only 16 miles.
But he ended up at the Lithia Ford lot where he traded his $31,000 vehicle for a $15,000 economy car.
"They told him the deal (for a 2006 Ford Focus) was going to solve all his problems, and talked him out of taking the car elsewhere," said Fitzer.
A spokesman for Lithia said the company has tried to settle the dispute. Lithia Ford Inc. is based in Medford, Ore. It is a Fortune 1000 company with 94 dealerships in 12 western states. It had $2.7 billion in sales last year.
"Lithia has been willing to resolve this issue from the beginning, and we are still willing to unwind this transaction; all we have asked is that Mr. Baxter or a legal representative sign the necessary paperwork," spokesman Dan Retzlaff said in a prepared statement.
Fitzer said the company has never offered to resolve the dispute. He also said that Lithia Ford has already sold the RAV-4 that Baxter traded.
Fitzer said Baxter's family was not aware he had made the earlier purchase of the Toyota. He said family members were trying to have Baxter's license suspended at the time of the trade with Lithia Ford.
According to the lawsuit, Baxter called his son, Forrest, after the trade to tell him his Toyota had been stolen. Forrest Baxter noticed paperwork from Lithia Ford at his father's home and called the dealership asking that the transaction be canceled. Officials at Lithia Ford refused, the lawsuit says.
Brett T. DeLange, chief of the consumer protection unit in the Idaho attorney general's office, said that Idaho has no law that allows people to return a vehicle once they have purchased it.
But he added that because of Frank Baxter's dementia, the allegations against Lithia Ford will "raise the eyebrows" of any court.
Fitzer agreed.
"I can't imagine (the dealership) would want to take this to trial," said Fitzer. "The publicity is awful."
Full Story