Hey Michigan: Tightening Lug Nuts Not Included In Your Tire Rotation?

I was first sent this case from one of my listeners and had a hard time believing it.  I could only find this being reported by Power Nation TV, the source the listener sent me.

It appears to be correct from what I can tell.

What are we talking about is a couple by the name of Samuel Anaya and Doris Myricks who took their car to a dealership in Grand Rapids for what they are calling basic maintenance.  Part of that basic maintenance was a tire rotation.

On the way home one of their wheels actually fell of due to the fact that the mechanic did not tighten the lug nuts on that wheel, he admitted that in court.  The couple sued the dealership for negligence under the 1974 Motor Vehicle Service and Repair Act (MVSRA) law.

The MVSRA is supposed to protect vehicle owners against “unfair and deceptive practices” by mechanics and their businesses. If the court determines the defendant violated the MVSRA law they must pay damages as well as the plaintiff’s legal and court fees.

The court found that the law was violated and the jury awarded $40,000 in damages and $70,000 in attorney and legal fees to the couple.

The dealership appealed the ruling, stating that the MVSRA law only protects drivers from “charge for repairs that are in fact not performed”.  The question came down to; was the tire rotation actually performed.  Here is where normal, common sense people have trouble with the law, lawyers and judges.  Was the tire rotation “performed”, well the judge decided the following:

We conclude, under the plain language of MCL257.1307a, that defendants “performed” a tire rotation, albeit negligently…There is no support for the trial court’s determination that a tire rotation is not “performed” if a service person fails to sufficiently tighten the lug nuts on one tire.

So the question is; who are the less than intelligent ones? Is it the politicians and their bureaucrats who wrote the law, the judge that interpreted the law in that manner or the rest of us who just use common sense?

The dealership does not have to pay the judgement and the couple is out of luck, unless they take this up to the Michigan Supreme Court and deal with more judges and lawyers.

God help us common sense, intelligent people.