Law Office of Dana L. Manner, PL - Miami, Florida
Consumer Advocate Attorney - (305) 285-9495

A recent case in Florida’s 1st District Court of Appeals (Released for Publication March 6, 2012), illustrates the problems when Florida car buyers that enter into a “spot delivery” deal for the purchase of a vehicle. See: Lewis v. Morgan, 79 So. 3d 926 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1st Dist. 2012). Escambia County Sheriff’s deputies arrested, [...]

As reported in a prior MannerLaw Blog post, bills pending in the Florida legislature (Senate Bill 1512 and House Bill 0929) died in committee during March 2012, that if passed would have made it more difficult for consumers to sue car dealers that break the law. HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF – These most recent bills from the 2012 Session [...]

Florida Senator Alan Hays introduced SB 1894 seeking, among other things, to eliminate the licensing requirements and eliminating many of the penalties against  lenders making sales finance loans, and other types of consumer loans in Florida. The bill described as “An act relating to the Office of Financial Regulation of the Financial Services Commission…” contains text [...]

The Consumer complained that the rear defogger/defroster took too long to clear the rear window in his 2011 Lexus RX350. The Consumer testified there were times when he was up north and the weather conditions were such that ice formed on the vehicle’s windows. According to him, the rear defogger/defroster often was on for 15 [...]

The Federal Trade Commission issued a press release today that five car dealers from around the US have agreed to a settlement orders that require them to stop running ads where the car dealers promise to pay off a consumer’s trade-in vehicle, no matter what the consumer owes on the vehicle. The dealers named in the FTC’s complaints [...]

In these tough economic times, many consumers are buying used cars, versus new cars in an effort to save money. However, I have seen cases where a consumer buys a late-model car, that has been in an accident, and the airbag has been deployed, but the airbag was not properly replaced. In some of the most shocking cases, [...]

A careful reading of the Florida Statutes together with administrative rules promulgated by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DMV) reveals that Motor Vehicle Dealers are bound by a duty of good faith and fair dealing with the public. This duty of good faith has been laid out in the DMV’s Florida Motor Vehicle, [...]

TALLAHASSEE, FL – A division of Sonic Automotive, Inc.  (NYSE: SAH)  (SONIC SHOTTENKIRK, INC.) entered into a STIPULATION AND CONSENT AGREEMENT with the State of Florida Office of Financial Regulation (“OFR”) for engaging in the business as a Motor Vehicle Retail Installment Seller without a license. (State of Florida, Office of Financial Regulation Administrative Proceeding No: 1627-FR-1/12). Sonic [...]

The Executive Director of the Florida Independent Automobile Dealer’s Association (FIADA) reported on page 6 of the February 2011 issue of the Independent Dealer Magazine that according to the Florida Office of Financial Regulation (OFR) that 70% of used car dealers failed to renew their Motor Vehicle Retail Installment Sellers (MVRIS) Licenses, before the deadline of [...]

As part of the Federal Trade Commission’s ongoing project to gather information on consumers’ experiences in the sale, financing and leasing of motor vehicles at dealerships, the agency will continue to seek public comments until April 1, 2012. Interested parties can submit comments online by following the instructions on the web-based form. The FTC held [...]