A California resident has taken legal action against a major automobile manufacturer, alleging multiple breaches of warranty and violations of consumer protection laws. The complaint was filed by Kyle Crates on July 24, 2024, in the Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento, targeting General Motors, LLC.
According to the court documents, Crates purchased a new 2021 Chevrolet Corvette on July 31, 2021. Along with the vehicle came several express and implied warranties promising that the car would be free from defects in material and workmanship. These warranties included a three-year or 36,000-mile basic warranty and a five-year or 60,000-mile powertrain warranty. However, Crates alleges that the vehicle was delivered with serious defects related to its electrical system and transmission.
Crates claims that despite numerous attempts to have these issues resolved by authorized service centers, General Motors failed to repair the vehicle adequately. "Each time Plaintiff delivered the nonconforming Vehicle to Defendants' authorized service and repair facility," states the complaint, "Defendants represented to Plaintiff that they could and would conform the Vehicle to the applicable warranties." However, according to Crates, these assurances were not met as the defects persisted even after multiple repair attempts.
The lawsuit cites violations under California's Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act—commonly known as the "Lemon Law"—including breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty, and failure to repair within a reasonable time frame as stipulated by law. The plaintiff argues that these failures have significantly impaired the vehicle's value and usability.
In addition to seeking general damages exceeding $25,000 for financial losses incurred due to repeated repairs and diminished vehicle value, Crates is also demanding specific remedies under the Song-Beverly Act. These include rescission of the sales contract, restitution for all monies spent on purchasing and maintaining the defective vehicle, incidental and consequential damages according to proof at trial, civil penalties amounting up to twice his actual damages due to willful non-compliance by General Motors with their legal obligations.
The case underscores ongoing issues between consumers and large automobile manufacturers over product reliability and customer service standards. Crates is represented by Heidy Garcia from American Lemon Law Group LLP. The case has been assigned Case ID [specific ID not provided], with Judge [name not provided] presiding over it.