Lawsuit filed on behalf of all Iowa new car buyers
Posted: Sunday, October 19, 2003
DES MOINES (AP) -- Anyone who bought a new car in Iowa in the last four years would get a refund of thousands of dollars if a Des Moines attorney's lawsuit is successful.
Roxanne Conlin has filed a class-action lawsuit that accuses all major car manufacturers doing business in Iowa of gouging consumers by blocking access to cheaper cars intended for sale in Canada.
Conlin's lawsuit seeks a refund for any Iowan who has bought a new car since Oct. 17, 1999.
Court papers contend that over the past four years, Canadian cars have been priced more than 10 percent cheaper than their identical counterparts in America -- a sticker-price difference of more than $2,500 per vehicle, according to a 1999 study.
Documents say carmakers have threatened to withhold certain models and colors from Canadian dealers who won't comply with their efforts to limit imports. Manufacturers also have joined forces to track vehicle-identification numbers and create policies that financially penalize Canadian dealers for every car they sell that ends up registered in the United States.
"It is a conspiracy to deprive Iowa citizens of free-market prices," Conlin said. "The ultimate outcome is to keep prices higher in Iowa."
The case mirrors lawsuits filed earlier this year in Massachusetts, California, Illinois and New York.
In February, a Ford Motor Co. spokeswoman cited those cases as "egregious examples of abusive class-action litigation."
Jim Moors, spokesman for the National Automobile Dealers Association, declined Friday to comment on Conlin's charges, other than to say, "We're going to deny the allegations at the appropriate time."
Roxanne Conlin has filed a class-action lawsuit that accuses all major car manufacturers doing business in Iowa of gouging consumers by blocking access to cheaper cars intended for sale in Canada.
Conlin's lawsuit seeks a refund for any Iowan who has bought a new car since Oct. 17, 1999.
Court papers contend that over the past four years, Canadian cars have been priced more than 10 percent cheaper than their identical counterparts in America -- a sticker-price difference of more than $2,500 per vehicle, according to a 1999 study.
Documents say carmakers have threatened to withhold certain models and colors from Canadian dealers who won't comply with their efforts to limit imports. Manufacturers also have joined forces to track vehicle-identification numbers and create policies that financially penalize Canadian dealers for every car they sell that ends up registered in the United States.
"It is a conspiracy to deprive Iowa citizens of free-market prices," Conlin said. "The ultimate outcome is to keep prices higher in Iowa."
The case mirrors lawsuits filed earlier this year in Massachusetts, California, Illinois and New York.
In February, a Ford Motor Co. spokeswoman cited those cases as "egregious examples of abusive class-action litigation."
Jim Moors, spokesman for the National Automobile Dealers Association, declined Friday to comment on Conlin's charges, other than to say, "We're going to deny the allegations at the appropriate time."
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