Update to Class Action Lawsuit Against BMW and Mercedes-Benz

If you have imported a BMW or Mercedes-Benz vehicle from the United States into Canada and have had to pay fees for letters of admissibility, recall clearance and/or BMW and Mercedes-Benz mandated modifications, this update may affect you:

----------------------------

The class action lawsuit is awaiting scheduling of the certification hearing in Ontario. There are a few important stages in a class action proceeding, the first of which is known as certification. In the certification stage, the court determines whether the lawsuit can proceed as a class proceeding.

People do not have an automatic right to pursue class action lawsuits. The court has to first give permission to proceed as a class action. Otherwise claimants have to sue on their own. The court determines whether to give permission or certify a lawsuit as a class proceeding at the certification stage.

The court will examine several factors in making this decision and will certify a class proceeding if the following conditions are met:

* the pleadings disclose a cause of action;

* there is an identifiable class of two or more persons that would be represented by the representative plaintiff;

* the claims of the class members raise common issues;

* a class proceeding would be the preferable procedure for the resolution of the common issues; and

* there is a representative plaintiff who,

(i) would fairly and adequately represent the interests of the class,

(ii) has produced a plan for the proceeding that sets out a workable method of advancing the proceeding on behalf of the class and of notifying class members of the proceeding, and

(iii) does not have, on the common issues for the class, an interest in conflict with the interests of other class members.


These issues are adjudicated at the certification hearing, which has not yet been scheduled.

The claim is being put forward to represent all persons in all provinces and territories in Canada who have incurred losses as a result of the alleged conduct.

----------------------------

Questions and comments may be posted to this blog or e-mailed directly to info@ucanimport.com Your questions and responses - if determined to be relevant to other importers - may be posted on this blog for others to review.

Update to Class Action Lawsuit Against BMW and Mercedes-Benz

If you have imported a BMW or Mercedes-Benz vehicle from the United States into Canada and have had to pay fees for letters of admissibility, recall clearance and/or BMW and Mercedes-Benz mandated modifications, then this update may affect you:

----------------------------

Our partners in Ontario continue to move forward with the lawsuit against BMW and Mercedes-Benz. In the weeks following the last blog update from May 25, 2009, our partners have requested a case management judge who will work with them to schedule hearings for the motion to add and also for the certification motion. These processes are generally scheduled with the court and take into account each step in the lawsuit. Once the dates are determined with the scheduling judge, our partners will be able to progress on the lawsuit.

All updates to the lawsuit will continue to be posted to this blog and we encourage you to review this information periodically.

----------------------------

Questions and comments may be posted to this blog or e-mailed directly to info@ucanimport.com Your questions and responses - if determined to be relevant to other importers - may be posted on this blog for others to review.

BMW Recall Clearance Letter Fees Stump Immigrating Professors

Importers Stunned By $500 Recall Letter Fee From BMW

Get this: We live simply, with one car. Our ancient Camry finally broke down a couple of months before we were moving to Canada for jobs as lowly-paid professors (The US public sector, you'll notice, has now pretty much collapsed). We had to find a car just to move up to Canada.

A public service lawyer down the street had a basic 9-year-old BMW 325 wagon he was selling, and he'd kept it in good shape, so we innocently bought it. So, we've never emigrated with a car before.

At the Canadian border, as we're immigrating, we find out about this car importation thing, with the vehicle inspection. OK. It's another moving cost, but I can understand this. After a couple of weeks of moving into our new house, we initiate the importation process and lo and behold we find out about this $500 BMW recall-clearance letter extortion racket!

The BMW representative we called was wholly unsympathetic and told us that "since you knew you were moving to Canada" we were responsible for imagining what crazy fees BMW/Canada would fine us for buying this particular used car.

How does charging a couple of immigrating public school teachers $500 for a letter for their one and only, 9-year-old used car--how does this fit the spirit of clamping down on border abuse? Scam!

Where's the class-action lawsuit?

Submitted to UCanImport.com

-------------------------------------------------------------------

UCanImport's Comments:

BMW expressly prohibits its US dealerships from printing off the Vehicle Warranty Report which identifies any outstanding recalls on the vehicle being exported out of the US. This document was once available at no cost to importers and fully satisfies Transport Canada requirements.

The problem is that if a dealership in the US provides this document to an importer, that importer has no need to set foot inside a BMW dealership in Canada for any modifications or inspections. To compensate Canadian dealerships for the loss of sales, BMW North America initiated this practice. Now importers who are unsuccessful at obtaining the Vehicle Warranty Report from a US dealer face significant modification fees in addition to the $500 recall clearance letter.

We note that RIV receives Vehicle Warranty Reports from importers all the time as many importers are now savvy enough to negotiate this printout as part of their condition of purchase.

Mercedes Benz Importer Relates Experience With Modifications

Frustrated Importer Joins Class-Action Lawsuit Against
Mercedes-Benz, Complains To Minister of Transport

I am currently caught in the MB modification process for my 1998 SLK 230 and have been quoted $2582 for the modifications, $500 of which is applied to the roving MB Inspector who arrives once a month in Kelowna. They have also indicated that a further $1500 charge can be expected in the event my airbags are faulty. Since I am stuck with these directives, I have given the local MB dealer the authority to proceed, adding that I will be joining the class action lawsuit thereafter.

When I had mentioned that the running lights had been addressed through my provincial inspection, they responded that CT’s system is “rinky-dink” and would need to be taken out for MB’s system.

This unexpected journey has been documented and sent to my local MP – Ron Cannan, who has forwarded the concerns to the Minister of Transport’s office.

I have also indicated to my MP and Transport Canada that I will be pursing this issue through the Fair Trade route as well as any groups dealing with anti-competition as well as letters to daily newspapers across Canada, to “assist the government” in moving the issue forward.

I’m not sure if this will result in any movement but an effort must be made!

Submitted to UCanImport.

Lawsuit Against Auto Manufacturers Reduced To Claims Against BMW and Mercedes-Benz

Ontario Law Firm Proceeds With Certification
Application Against Two Auto Manufacturers

If you have imported a BMW or Mercedes-Benz vehicle from the United States into Canada and have had to pay fees for letters of admissibility, recall clearance and/or BMW and Mercedes-Benz mandated modifications, then this update may affect you:

Our partners, in Ontario are proceeding with the certification application in Ontario Superior Court. The key element of the certification application is to satisfy the court that there are common issues that are relevant to each member of the class. For this reason, the scope of the class action lawsuit has been reduced to a claim against BMW and Mercedes-Benz. While other manufacturers have also taken advantage of the Canadian purchasers the most serious transgressions have been committed by these two manufacturers.

Owing to the cost and amount of time it takes to win this litigation it has been necessary to scale down in this fashion. It is our hope that a successful claim against these two manufacturers will cause the government to force other manufacturers to rebate those Canadian the fees they have had to pay for unnecessary services they have been charged.

----------------------------

Questions and comments may be posted to this blog or e-mailed directly to info@ucanimport.com Your questions and responses - if determined to be relevant to other importers - may be posted on this blog for others to review.

Mercedes-Benz Imports From The US

Importer Stories Are Requested

If you have purchased a Mercedes-Benz vehicle and imported it from the US into Canada, you may have had to pay any or all of the following fees:

1. Fee for pre-import modification quote from Canadian dealership;

2. Fee for recall clearance confirmation before or after dealership had completed modifications to vehicle;

3. Instrument Cluster and/or Heater Module Conversion fees;

4. Fees for Letter of Compliance.

If you are interested in posting your story on this blog, please click on the word "comments" below and tell us about your experiences. Please keep your stories honest and to the point as they may be required for presentation to the courts.

BMW Imports From The US

Importer Stories Are Requested

If you have purchased a BMW vehicle and imported it from the US into Canada, you may have had to pay any or all of the following fees:

1. Letter of Admissibility fee (pre-July 2008);

2. Instrument Cluster Modification fees;

3. Heater Module Conversion fees;

4. Other administrative charges imposed by BMW.

If you are interested in posting your story on this blog, please click on the word "comments" below and tell us about your experiences. Please keep your stories honest and to the point as they may be required for presentation to the courts.

Snowbird Doesn't Escape BMW Modifications

Submitted by: UCanImport reader
Comments welcome

It looks like I will have no choice but to join the list of many on your suit. Here is my, what I believe to be unique, story.

I am a Canadian Snowbird with 2 homes and spend just under 6 months in the USA and the remainder in Canada. I am a Canadian Citizen.

I recently purchased a 2006 650 Convertible in Arizona. It is registered and insured in Arizona State. I had planned on driving it to Canada for July and August and then returning to Arizona.

Unfortunately, I found out that Canadian residents cannot drive a USA registered vehicle in Canada. No exceptions not even for 1 minute I was told by Canada Customs. Now I must import the vehicle if I want to use it in Canada for the summer months.

I do not want any warranty transfer as I'm not interested in dealing with BMW Canada for the 2 months the car will be in Canada. This was to be an annual thing for me.

Also, BMW Canada wants me to change the instrument cluster and heater controls. They want the KPH in large font instead of small and the heater controls in "C" instead of "F". As an older guy, I prefer "F" and I would rather have the MPH in large font as it's in the USA for most of the year.

If you have any suggestions...feel free as I find dealing with BMW Canada stressful.

Update on Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Auto Manufacturers

If you have imported a vehicle from the US into Canada, this update may affect you.
------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Vehicle Importer:

Thank you for your continued interest in the progress of our claim against the auto manufacturers.

At the time we commenced our lawsuit, a similar suit was commenced in Ontario, and we have been asked to join forces with that Ontario firm.

In order to join forces we have agreed to discontinue the claim in British Columbia. We believe that by this partnership we have a better chance of wining this David & Goliath battle.

These lawsuits are usually strenuously defended and can take years to wind their way though the legal system, so we ask you for your patience and continued interest. We will endeavor to provide monthly updates so that you can follow the progress of this lawsuit as it works its way through the court system.

Kindest regards,

Wm. Rory Lambert

Dinning Hunter Lambert & Jackson
E-mail: rlambert@dinninghunter.com
www.dinninghunter.com
-----------------------------
To learn more about the lawsuit, visit UCanImport.com or contact info@ucanimport.com for more information.

Welcome to the Blog for Lawsuit Information

If you have imported a vehicle from the United States, this information may concern you.

In February of 2008, a lawsuit was filed at Victoria, BC, alleging that a number of auto manufacturers have implemented unlawful policies designed to curtail imports from the United States into Canada.

The manufacturers' policies include:

• Preventing U.S. dealerships from selling new vehicles to Canadians;
• Implementing new mandatory documentation requirements with exploitive fees for distribution;
• Voiding OEM warranties;
• Dictating unnecessary modifications and/or charging exploitive labour rates for modifications and/or inspections;
• Forcing Canadians to wait up to ninety (90) days for the service and/or inspections deemed mandatory prior to vehicle registration;
• Refusing to provide the mandatory documentation to Canadians, effectively blocking their vehicle certification in Canada.

This blog serves as a mechanism for importers to share their experiences with each other and with the law firm heading the lawsuit. If you wish to participate by sharing your importing story, here are a few considerations to keep in mind:

1. Please tell us your story in a truthful manner, sticking to just the facts and the actual timeline of events;
2. We would like the opportunity to contact you for more details about your experiences. You may post your comments without disclosing your name. However, if you would like your details to become part of the lawsuit certification process, we will be required to contact you to provide a sworn affidavit. To enable us to do so, please follow up your blog posting by sending an e-mail to info@ucanimport.com and confirming your contact information including, name, address, contact numbers and the type of vehicle imported. This information will be used to contact you at a later time.
3. All postings will be moderated for content and relevancy to the lawsuit by UCanImport and the law firm prior to becoming publicly available online.

Regular postings will be made available on this site to keep importers updated on the progress of the lawsuit. You are invited to check back frequently for updates which may affect you.

Thank you,

UCanImport Publications