SoCalLemonLaw Blog

On September 12, 2006, Orange County residents Dan Kassel and BJ Delzer will go to trial against Donzi Marine over an allegedly defective boat Donzi sold to them for over $346,000.00.  Kassel and Delzer filed the case under California’s Song-Beverly Act, also known as the “lemon law”, as the lemon law covers boats as well as cars, RV’s, personal watercraft and other large consumer items.  The trial is expected to last one to two weeks.

(PRWEB) August 22, 2006—Donzi Marine, best known as the manufacturer of the racing boat that appears in the new “Miami Vice” movie, manufactured a “real lemon”, according to prominent Los Angeles consumer protection attorney Robert F. Brennan of Brennan, Wiener & Associates in La Crescenta.

“I wish we had Crockett and Tubbs to investigate this sour deal,” quipped Brennan.  “However, we’ll have an Orange County jury to investigate and decide what to do about this defective boat under California’s lemon law, which is fine by me.” Dan Kassel and BJ Delzer v. Donzi Marine, Case No. SA CV05-0604 DOC.

Orange County residents Dan Kassel and B J Delzer purchased the vessel in September, 2002 for a sales price of approximately $346,000.00.  Kassel and Delzer specifically chose the vessel in question because of print advertisements showing that it could carry a wave-runner on a hydraulic lift at the back of the boat.

The lawsuit alleges that the boat had defects from the beginning.  Kassel and Delzer believed they were purchasing the boat direct from the Donzi factory.  When the boat arrived in California in poor and beaten-up condition, they learned for the first time that the boat had been repossessed from a Texas dealer that had gone out of business.  However, the selling dealer, Outerlimits Marine in Newport, cleaned up the boat as best it could, and Kassel and Delzer agreed to take delivery of the vessel.

According to the lawsuit, the boat suffered from severe corrosion damage during its first year of ownership, and the boat was out of service for over two months during the first year.  In July of 2003, plaintiffs purchased a wave runner and put it on the lift on the back of the boat, as they believed they could based on Donzi’s print advertisements showing the identical boat with a wave runner on the back.

The boat’s problems allegedly became worse and worse.  Finally, a marine mechanic hired by plaintiffs determined that the wave runner on the back of the boat sank the boat beneath the minimum levels required for proper operations of the boat’s two engines.  Indeed, plaintiffs have had to replace many of the engine components during the boat’s history.

The marine mechanic, Dave Nichols, testified in deposition that the boat sat too low in the water with or without the wave runner on the back.  Even filling up the gas and water tanks would cause the boat to sink below the minimum specifications for the boat’s engines.  When the boat sank beneath the minimum specifications, water would get into the engine compartment, causing corrosion and engine problems.  Mr. Nichols indicated that there were apparent solutions to the problem.

“Donzi has denied any responsibility to replace or repurchase this defective boat because it put a clause in its warranty saying that it doesn’t have to replace defective boats.  Maybe that’s what Donzi says in its warranty, but Donzi is about to find out that this is not the law under California’s Song-Beverly Act, also known as the lemon law,” comments Brennan.  “Donzi should have replaced or repurchased the boat long ago under California’s lemon law, but, as is typical of the arrogance of some manufacturers, Donzi needs to hear it from a California jury, and my clients and I are more than happy to give Donzi the opportunity to hear it from a jury.”  Under California’s lemon law, the jury could award not only the purchase price of the vessel, but also a civil penalty of up to two times’ plaintiffs’ damages if the jury determines that Donzi willfully violated the Song-Beverly Act.

The matter is set for trial on September 12, 2006 in Dept. 9-D of the Santa Ana Federal District Court, and should last one to two weeks.

About Brennan, Wiener & Associates: Brennan, Wiener & Associates of La Crescenta, Ca. is widely considered the best, smartest and most aggressive car dealer fraud, lemon law and wrongful credit damage law firm in greater Southern California.  Its lawyers have over 40 years of experience and have received an “AV” rating, the highest possible rating, from the prestigious Martindale-Hubbell attorney rating agency.  In 2006, the firm’s founder, Robert F. Brennan, was honored by being selected as a 2006 Southern California “Superlawyer”, an honor reserved for the top 5% of practicing attorneys in a given geographical area.