Call 800.405.4222 for the premier law firm in California for counsel on the sale of alcohol and alcohol licensing. The Law Offices of Solomon, Saltsman & Jamieson also provide civil litigation including business litigation and personal injury. SOLOMON, SALTSMAN & JAMIESON IS A NO holds- barred law firm with multiple areas of expertise, ranging from serious personal injury matters to business litigation. Partners Stephen Warren Solomon, Ralph Barat Saltsman, and Stephen Allen Jamieson, who have practiced civil and administrative trials together for over 20 years, also host a weekly radio show and weekly television show where they provide professional commentary. This is the second consecutive year that all three have been recognized as Super Lawyers by their peers. R. Bruce Evans has recently been made a partner in the firm. Law Offices of Solomon, Saltsman & Jamieson, P.C., located near Los Angeles, California, represent clients in administrative law, alcoholic beverage control hearings, civil Litigation and trial, personal injury, business disputes, employment law - employee and employer, government relations, land use planning, constitutional law, gaming, and appellate law. Key areas of law expertise include: Conditional Use Permit California, Variance California, Land Use Attorney, Entitlements Attorney, ABC Attorneys California, Alcohol Attorney California, Alcohol Licenses California, alcohol beverage licensing, alcoholic beverage licensing, alcohol beverage licensing attorneys, alcoholic beverage licensing attorneys, Liquor licenses California, liquor attorney, land use attorneys alcohol, ABC Attorneys, Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control Attorneys, ABC Attorneys, Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control laws, ABC law attorney, ABC license attorney, Liquor law attorney, Indian Gaming Attorney, Indian Alcohol Attorney, Indian Casino Attorney, Indian ABC licenses, Indian ABC licensing, Indian ABC Attorney, casino attorney, gaming attorney, Indian sovereignty attorney, tribal sovereignty attorney

Jury Sides With Course In Cart Warranty Case

by Mike Bailey, August, 2007

Textron Inc. has paid nearly $1.7 million to a California company after a 12-person jury found that its golf car division misrepresented the warranty on a fleet of golf cars.

In a six-week trial that ended in June, a Superior Court of California jury found that E-Z-GO, a division of Textron, was guilty of two counts of breaching its warranty and two counts of fraud in its dealings with Ridgetop Ranch Properties, former owner of Lake Elizabeth (Calif.) Golf and Ranch Club.

Kathy Searle, vice president of the communications for E-Z-GO, said Textron is not planning to appeal, but is disappointed with the decision.

“We maintain the lawsuit is simply a matter of the plaintiff's attempt to profit from a well-managed, market leader who has a well-documented record of providing high-quality golf cars and exceptional service,” she said.
Searle said Ridgetop Ranch’s claims are inconsistent with what really happened.

“The plaintiff clearly is blaming E-Z-GO for their lack of executing fundamental golf-car maintenance practices,” she said. “We did everything in our power to help the customer resolve the issues they were experiencing due to their lack of maintenance on the vehicles. Our focus always remained on ensuring a wonderful experience for the plaintiff's course customers.”

According to the complaint, over a period from 1997 to 2001, Lake Elizabeth’s 80 E-Z-GO golf cars broke down, failed, or were inoperable on a weekly basis, rendering numerous golf cars unfit for use. The alleged problems included trouble with their speed controls, which was particularly problematic on Lake Elizabeth’s elevation changes of up to 190 feet.

Ridgetop Ranch officials said in the complaint that E-Z-GO misrepresented claims that the speed controls could be set specifically for Lake Elizabeth. They also said that E-Z-GO employees told them that the golf cars were not defective – but knew all along that the speed controllers on the cars were defective, as they sought reimbursement and credit from Curtis Instruments Inc., which makes the speed controllers. Lake Elizabeth officials also said that E-Z-GO replaced failed speed controllers with similarly defective ones.

According to the complaint, rounds at Lake Elizabeth declined as it gained a reputation as a course that was “unreliable and dangerous,” and, as a result, the course closed in December 2001. The course and another 15 acres were sold six months later for $5.5 million, a figure Ridgetop Ranch officials said was far lower than it would have commanded had the course’s reputation not suffered from the faulty golf cars.

The jury awarded $1.67 million, plus legal fees and 10 percent post-judgment interest. The award compensated for lost rounds and the devaluation of the course, said Stephen Jamieson, lead attorney for Ridgetop Ranch and partner in the Los Angeles law firm Solomon, Saltsman & Jamieson.

“I think the biggest factor was that the jury decided that during the process of selling the cars, E-Z-GO lied to them,” Jamieson said. “I think the jury felt that during the process of the cars breaking down that E-Z-GO didn’t tell them the truth, and I think it also made a difference during the trial that E-Z-GO had tried to conceal things.”

Another reason for the large award, Jamieson said, is the ruling that E-Z-GO did not deliver its limited warranty when Ridgeview Ranch signed the contract in 1997. The limited warranty could have protected E-Z-GO against incidental and consequential damages.

“The lesson learned for our company is that we need to maintain better records of the vehicle-care training and service we provide to our customers,” Searle said. “Unfortunately, the plaintiff presented information about our customer-focused activities that was misinterpreted by the jury many years after the fact. Unfortunately we did not have all of the records to back up what truly happened.”

Solomon, Saltsman & Jamieson are attorneys practicing in the areas of ABC law, ABC Appeals Board cases, and all related Land Use Matters such as City and County Conditional Use Permits, Variances, Police and Fire permits, Entertainment law, and Gambling Law; as well as Business and Personal Injury litigation. Solomon, Saltsman & Jamieson can be reached at 800 405 4222."