Iwoi, LLC v. Monaco Coach Corp.

890 F.Supp.2d 965

IWOI, LLC, Plaintiff,

v.MONACO COACH CORP., et al., Defendants.

Case No. 07–CV–3453.

United States District Court,

N.D. Illinois,

Eastern Division.

Aug. 20, 2012.

Andrew Charles Murphy, Patrick Doyle Austermuehle, Ditommaso–Lubin, P.C., Oakbrook Terrace, IL, for Plaintiff.

Paul E. Wojcicki, Natacha Dominique Von Will, Segal, McCambridge, Singer & Mahoney, Christina Schmucker, Cray Huber Horstman Heil & Vanausdal LLC, Chicago, IL, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

ROBERT M. DOW, JR., District Judge.

Defendants' Barrington Motor Sales RV, Sean Bransky and Bryan Bransky move for summary judgment [251] on Counts III–VII of Plaintiff's Third Amended Complaint. For the following reasons, Defendants' motion [251] is granted as to Count III in its entirety and as to Counts VI and VII to the extent that they seek recovery on the basis of the federal Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act (“MMWA”). Defendants' motion [251] is denied without prejudice in all other respects; as explained in detail below, given that there are no remaining viable federal claims against any Defendant, the Court adheres to the “usual practice” in this circuit of dismissing without prejudice all remaining state law claims.

I. Background¹

On April 29, 2006, Plaintiff IWOI, LLC—a Montana limited liability company formed by Robert Woischke ²—ordered a new 2006 Beaver Monterey motor home ³ (“RV”) from Defendant Barrington Motor Sales RV (“BMS”) for $222,500.00.⁴

The RV arrived at BMS from the factory in Oregon on May 8, 2006. From the time that it arrived, the RV had problems. When it arrived, BMS service personnel, including Bryan Bransky, visually inspected and test-drove the RV. On May 8, Woischke visited BMS to see the RV. At that time, Sean Bransky advised him that there were a couple a problems with it. Specifically, the Caterpillar engine was making a lot of noise, the oil pressure was reading low, and there was a lot of black exhaust smoke. Sean informed Woischke that BMS was taking the RV to a Caterpillar facility to have it evaluated. On May 16, Woischke went to Patten Power Systems Co., a Caterpillar facility, to meet with service technicians about the RV and receive a report on their findings and actions.

A few days later, Woischke went back to BMS to see the RV. Sean Bransky advised him that it was exhibiting “bump steer” issues and had been taken to Champion Frame Align, Inc. for service. Sean told Woischke that “bump steer” is when you hit a bump and the steering wheel jerks. Woischke then went to Champion and spoke with an employee who confirmed that the RV exhibited bump steer. Champion worked on the bump steer for a week, but could not determine its cause and was unable eliminate it.

BMS then contacted Monaco for assistance, and on May 25, 2006, Monaco sent a chassis specialist to Champion to investigate and resolve the bump steer issue. The Monaco specialist observed the bump steer issue and made several attempts at fixing it, including readjusting leveling pressures, leveling the vehicle, and realigning the front wheels. The parties disagree as to what Defendants actually told Woischke about the problems and if they could be fixed or whether any modifications took the RV out of the manufacture's specifications.

At this point, Sean told Woischke that the RV may have to go to Indiana, and that if Woischke was not happy and satisfied he did not have to accept it. The parties dispute whether this meant that Plaintiff could recover the $10,000 deposit that IWOI had put down for the RV. The next day, Woischke informed Sean that he “could not accept the present coach with modifications to ‘treat’ a symptom * * * and that [he] would walk away from the present coach—it was not acceptable.” Sean told Woischke that he would call Monaco and request an identical replacement vehicle. Later that day, the Monaco specialist told Woischke that the bump steer problem was not resolved and he did not know what was causing it. He did not tell him about any other problems with the RV.

Woischke again test drove the RV with Sean Bransky and experience the bump steer and heard bumping and clunking noises. In the next few weeks, between May 26 and June 14, Sean and Woischke discussed replacing the RV's shocks. The parties dispute whether BMS had authorization from Monaco to have Champion replace the shocks with KONI shocks and whether changing the shocks caused additional damage and new problems for the RV. After the shocks were replaced by Champion, Woischke again test drove the RV and heard the same noises. The parties dispute whether Defendants told Woischke that the noises he heard during the test drive were normal and whether Plaintiff continued to feel the bump steer.

On June 14, 2006, after the test drive, Monaco agreed to cover the cost of an extended engine warranty for the RV and Sean Bransky agreed to provide a letter indicating that modifying the RV by installing the KONI shocks would not alter the applicable warranty. The parties disagree over whether Woischke ever received this letter.

On June 21, Woischke, on behalf of IWOI, purchased the 2006 Beaver Monterey RV, VIW 1RFC9544261039973 from BMS. IWOI purchased the RV under an Illinois Standard Buyers Order, which was signed by Woischke. The provision states that:

DISCLAIMER OF IMPLIED WARRANTY: Unless prohibited by law * * * the vehicle is sold “AS IS” and (dealer) hereby expressly disclaims all warranties, either express or implied, including any IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

* * *

PURCHASER AGREES THAT THIS ORDER INCLUDES ALL OF THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS ON BOTH THE FRONT AND BACK SIDE HEREOF AND THAT THIS CONTRACT CANCELS AND SUPERCEDES ANY PRIOR AGREEMENT INCLUDING ORAL AGREEMENTS.

Woischke does not deny that he read the Buyers Order or that BMS expressly disclaimed all warranties.

On June 22, the day after purchasing the RV, Woischke returned to BMS complaining that the RV drove “wishy” and “dog-tracked” on the highway. The parties dispute whether Woischke complained about the bump steer at this time. BMS agreed to transport the RV to Monaco's Indiana repair facility, but first took it to Champion, where the rear end was realigned. The parties also dispute whether the Defendants knew that frame was twisted. On July 18, Woischke again test drove the RV and found that there was still some bumping under the front suspension when going over bumps and that there was still “dog tailing” but not as much as before. The next day, Woischke experienced severe bumping that jerked the steering wheel out of his hands and continued to hear clunking noises.

On July 20, 2006, Woischke gave Sean Bransky a letter outlining his complaints, indicating that he is not happy with the vehicle and gave BMS three options: (1) place the vehicle in your inventory and replace it with a new identically equipped vehicle; (2) refund all monies that he has paid or; (3) return the vehicle to the manufacturer to have the problems completely resolved. Woischke also alleges that he refused to take the RV back at this point. BMS agreed to return the RV to Monaco's Indiana facility and have Woischke go to the facility to discuss the problems with the Monaco personnel.

On August 16, Woischke and the RV arrived at the repair facility. Monaco service personnel met and test drove the RV with Woischke and performed repairs. Repairs continued until September 27, 2006. During that time, Woischke sent a letter, dated September 9, 2006, to Brian Sporner in Monaco's service department complaining that the bumping noise had not been satisfactorily repaired and he was refusing to accept the return of the RV from Monaco. Yet just over a month later, on October 17, 2006, Monaco returned the RV to BMS. According to Woischke, BMS transported the RV back to Illinois only after assuring him that they would check the condition of the RV. After October 17, 2006, Plaintiff did not request that any repairs be preformed on the RV.

Plaintiff filed this action on June 20, 2007. On October 8, 2008, the Court granted in part and denied in part Defendants' motion to dismiss. Specifically, the Court granted Defendant Monaco's motion as to Claims I and IV of Plaintiff's Second Amended Complaint, but denied its motion as to the rest of the claims and denied BMS' motion as to all of Plaintiff's claims. Plaintiff filed a Third Amended Complaint on May 5, 2009, which included seven claims. Claims I and II are directed only against Defendant Monaco, and therefore are not currently at issue. Count III claims revocation of acceptance against BMS under § 2–608 of the Uniform Commercial Code (“UCC”), 810 ILCS 5/2–608, and the Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act (“MMWA”), 15 U.S.C. § 2301, et seq. Counts IV and V allege violations of the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act (“ICFA”), 815 ILCS 505/1 et seq. In Counts VI and VII, Plaintiff seeks conversion of money and the recovery of the purchase price from BMS under the UCC and the MMWA in the event it is found to have properly revoked acceptance. On June 7, 2011, Defendants BMS, Sean and Bryan Bransky filed a motion for summary judgment on Claims III–VII. Earlier this year, the Court requested and received supplemental briefing on the status of any claims that Plaintiff may have asserted in the Monaco Coach bankruptcy proceedings. As explained below, whether Plaintiff's claims against Monaco Coach remain viable bears on this Court's continuing jurisdiction over the entire lawsuit.

II. Standard of Review

Summary judgment is proper if “the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a). In determining whether there is a genuine issue of fact, the Court “must construe the facts and draw all reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party.” Foley v. City of Lafayette, Ind., 359 F.3d 925, 928 (7th Cir.2004). To avoid summary judgment,...