In a class action, plaintiff consumers alleged that certain of defendant car manufacturer’s odometers over registered mileage approximately two percent and that the alleged miscalibration violated consumer protection law, even though the odometers were within the recommended four percent tolerance. The Superior Court of Los Angeles County, California, granted summary judgment for the manufacturer, and the consumers appealed.
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Overview
The court of appeal held that vehicle odometers were “correct” under Bus. & Prof. Code, § 12500, subd. (c), if they registered actual mileage within the four percent tolerance recommended the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the designer or manufacturer did not deliberately miscalibrate them to under register or over register mileage. Section 12500, subd. (c), was a safe harbor provision under which odometers were, as a matter of law, correct if they met the relevant tolerance standard and were not deliberately miscalibrated. Such deliberate miscalibration was not shown in the current case. Therefore, § 12500, subd. (c), barred claims under consumer protection statutes (Bus. & Prof. Code, §§ 17200, 17500; Civ. Code, § 1750, et seq.) based on the alleged inaccuracy or based on a failure to disclose. The manufacturer did not breach any contractual obligations to the consumers. As to claims for negligent or intentional misrepresentation, the consumers provided no evidence of any affirmative misrepresentation and the manufacturer had no duty to disclose that its odometers might be slightly miscalibrated.
Outcome
The court affirmed the grant of summary judgment.
