Md. woman says car dealer guilty of fraud

KEYSER -- A Maryland woman says an automotive sales company engaged in fraud and breached warranties when she purchased a used 2009 Ford Escape from their automotive dealership.

Margie Sutherland of Westenport, Md., filed a lawsuit July 23 in Mineral Circuit Court against Timbrook Automotive and Timbrook Ford.

According to the complaint, Sutherland purchased a 2009 Ford Escape from Timbrook Ford on July 18, 2012. Mechanical problems began shortly after Sutherland drove the Ford Escape off the dealership lot, the plaintiff says, and the vehicle broke down and was inoperable at least four times in less than four weeks.

On Aug. 6, 2012, the vehicle broke down in traffic in Midlothian, Md., and the plaintiff had her vehicle towed to Timbrook, the suit states.

At that time, the plaintiff told company representatives of the repeated mechanical failures and that she was dissatisfied. She demanded her money back, according to the filing, but Timbrook’s sales manager told the plaintiff she could not take the car back or return the plaintiff’s money; her only option was to trade-in the vehicle.

After some time, the plaintiff’s option was to accept a trade-in from Timbrook’s Hobson dealership – she asked for her initial down payment of $7,500 to be applied to the purchase of a properly functioning vehicle and the request was denied, according to the filing.

The plaintiff alleges Timbrook Automotive knew the vehicle was not in warrantable condition when she purchased the vehicle and the requirement that she trade in the defective vehicle rather than a full refund caused the plaintiff to lose money.

Sutherland also alleges the defendants acted to commit fraud by misrepresenting the condition of the car and that the car could not have been returned or the plaintiff’s money returned. She also alleges fraud based on statements made after the incidents that Timbrook would have repaired the vehicle at their own cost.

The plaintiff asks for a judgment against the defendants for actual and punitive damages as well as costs and attorney’s fees.

She is represented by attorney Matthew A. Jividen and Erin A. Clark from Legal Aid of West Virginia in Martinsburg.

Mineral Circuit Court Case 14-C-105