Virginia Personal Injury and Medical Malpractice Blog

Lawsuit win by Gulf Stream Coach May Come Back to Haunt McGeorge's Rolling Hills RV Superstore

An interesting "win" by a Virginia RV dealer may turn out to be a big loss in the long run.

According to a decision out of the federal court in Richmond, Virginia, a couple purchased an RV from McGeorge's Rolling Hills RV SuperStore in Ashland, Virginia. The RV was manufactured by Gulf Stream Coach, Inc.

A dispute arose over an alleged defect in the vehicle and the purchaser eventually sued for damages.

This is where it gets interesting:

In the contract of sale was a clause that said, in essence "if you sue us because you are dissatisfied with this vehicle, you have to sue us only in Indiana."

When they sued the company said, even though you bought it right here in Virginia and even though you don't live in Indiana the ONLY place you can sue us is in Indiana.

The court accepted the argument (the purchase had, after all, signed the agreement) and transferred the case.

I'll bet they were  breaking out the champaign bottles with this "victory."

The company is, of course, free to state the terms of doing business with them but this has to be one of the dumbest moves in corporate history!

Who would buy knowing that if there is a dispute (and we always hope there is no dispute), you can't litigate it unless you can afford to litigate it hundreds if not thousands of miles from your home.

Gulf Stream Coach has just said to the world, "we are putting up one more barrier to prevent sales."

Next, they'll be looking for a bailout and wondering why.

The case is Garrett v. Gulf Stream Coach, Inc.