Ohio couple blames GM for defective vehicle

CHARLESTON -- A Lawrence County, Ohio, couple is suing General Motors after they claim the vehicle they purchased was defective.

Moses, Inc. and Branch Banking & Trust Company were also named as defendants in the suit.

On Dec. 23, 2011, James White and Ashlie White entered into a vehicle purchase contract with the defendants for the purchase of a 2012 GMC Terrain, according to a complaint filed Sept. 17 in Kanawha Circuit Court.

The Whites claim after purchasing the vehicle, the discovered and experienced repeated non-conformities that substantially impaired the use, value and/or safety of the vehicle.

As a result, the Whites returned the vehicle to the defendants for repair and the vehicle remained at the dealer’s location for diagnosis and repair opportunities for more than 30 days, but the defendants were unable to diagnose and repair the vehicle, according to the suit.

The Whites claim since the vehicle’s defects are not repaired, the are afraid to use it as they intended due to its unreliable and dangerous condition.

The defendants failed and refused to provide a comparable replacement vehicle and to reimburse the Whites pursuant to West Virginia law, according to the suit.

The Whites claim the defendants attempted to conceal information abut the vehicle’s defects by deleting stored electronic data concerning the vehicle’s defects, or the defendants negligently deleted stored electronic data concerning the defects.

The defendants’ actions were willful, wanton and/or carried out with reckless disregard for the rights of the Whites and their actions caused the Whites monetary loss; damages; emotional and mental distress; loss of use of the vehicle; anxiety; annoyance; and inconvenience, according to the suit.

The Whites are seeking for the contract to be canceled and compensatory and punitive damages with pre- and post-judgment interest. They are being represented by David L. Grubb and Cameron S. McKinney.

The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Louis H. Bloom.

Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 12-C-1885