2010-11 Dealer Defense Case Studies

Consumer class action covering over 22,000 sales of Window Etch theft deterrent at 15 dealerships alleging that sales were deceptive and misleading as part of dealer group unlawful plan.

Analysis for defendant dealer and dealer holding company included the following elements:

• Full Disclosure of Etch. Analyzed F&I menu, Etch contract and RISC disclosure of Etch characteristics and cost and whether full disclosure of Etch was discouraged.

• F&I Sales Training.  Analyzed F&I sales training for Etch and other F&I products with respect to full disclosure and accuracy.

• Profit per Retail Unit (PRU) Target.  Analyzed whether the PRU target was consistent with industry custom and practice.

• Dealer Certification.  Analyzed dealer group “dealer certification rating system” to demonstrate that customer satisfaction was a more important goal than F&I gross profit.

• F&I Pay Plans.  Analyzed F&I pay plans, training modules, corporate F&I staff emails and other dealership and dealer group documents to demonstrate Etch sales and F&I training and profit goals were reasonable and consistent with industry standards.

• RISC Disclosure.  Analyzed whether Etch disclosure conformed to Regulation Z requirements.

• Potential Damages.  Demonstrated plaintiff damage model errors related to Etch price, sales tax, interest and other variables including the methodology employed for leases that would create a windfall for Etch purchasers.

• Damage Calculation.  Created alternative damage model that reduced potential plaintiff damages by 43%.