RI dealership sold 'lemon' SUV to mother of 5. Why a judge says it 'shocks the conscience'

PROVIDENCE – Imagine driving down the highway with five kids in the car when the vehicle suddenly comes to a grinding halt.

That nightmare became a reality for Ashley Barr in February 2022, less than two weeks after she bought a 2010 GMC Acadia SUV from King Philip Motors on Metacom Avenue in Bristol, according to a court ruling this week.

Superior Court Judge Brian Stern concluded that King Philip Motors “willfully and knowingly” sold a defective SUV to Barr, amounting to “unconscionable business practices” and ordered the used-car dealership to pay full restitution.

“The court finds that King Philip’s actions were decidedly unfair and duplicitous. The words `shock the conscience’ come to mind, considering the dangers to which Barr and her children were subjected by being anywhere near the Acadia, let alone in it,” Stern wrote in a blistering ruling upholding an earlier decision by the Rhode Island Motor Vehicle Dealers’ License and Hearing Board.

Stern suggested the case could warrant further proceedings if the board chose.

“Ultimately, the court concludes that the board’s decision was overly generous, and that King Philip looks a gift-horse in the mouth even by filing this appeal,” the judge said.

A call to the Bristol dealership was not returned Friday. Its lawyer, William C. Maaia, could not be reached due to a family emergency.

Secretary of State records identify John M. Zeitler as the registered agent of J.M.Z. Auto Sales, Inc., doing business as King Philip Motors.

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Allegedly defective SUV had previously been sold to another family with the same issues

The ruling tracks King Philip’s sale of the allegedly faulty vehicle to not one, but two, unwitting families who were soon plagued by glowing dashboard warning lights, knocking engines and leaking oil.

According to the ruling, the Mitton family paid $8,995 for the Acadia in April 2021 — less than a year before Barr would buy that same vehicle — in a deal that included a 30-day, 1,200-mile warranty covering the motor and transmission. Under the terms, King Philip agreed to cover 50% of parts and labor related to repairs.

Ten minutes into the drive home, the check-engine light began blinking, with more mechanical issues the next day. Within a week, the Acadia was towed back to the dealership and Neil DeAlmeida, King Philip’s vice president, advised the Mittons after an inspection that the issues were caused by a lack of fuel.

After the Mittons retrieved the SUV, the check-engine light showed again after a brief drive. They contacted King Philip and were purportedly “met with a vulgar response followed by a refusal/failure to correspond with them.”

The Mittons took the car instead to Durand Buick/GMC/Cadillac, whose mechanics found the car had a used engine, as well as after-market timing chains and an actuator stuck in place. They removed the engine and replaced the equipment with parts from the manufacturer, then cleaned and resealed the engine.

Nonetheless, the SUV stalled on a test drive and showed low oil pressure. The technicians recommended that they contact King Philip about the engine and billed the Mittons $3,578 – which DeAlmeida, King Philip’s vice president, refused to honor because they had taken the Acadia elsewhere for repairs.

The Mittons filed a complaint with the Rhode Island Division of Motor Vehicles Dealers’ License and Regulations Office. The dealership attributed the issues to the car being out of fuel and having a defective starter. Staff there denied installing a used engine and claimed that metal flakes found in the oil were caused by a pump that wasn’t replaced. King Philip refused to cooperate with state investigators and stated that the matter was a “total fraud,” the ruling stated.

DeAlmeida brought the Acadia to Tasca GMC in Woonsocket. Tasca recommended a complete engine overhaul at a cost of $16,236 that DeAlmeida declined.

The Mittons’ complaint then went to the Rhode Island Motor Vehicle Dealers’ License and Hearing Board in September 2021, but King Philip agreed to buy the Acadia back before the board ruled.

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Board finds dealership 'knowingly sold a defective vehicle'

Fast forward to February 2022, when Ashley Barr agreed to buy the Acadia “as is” with no warranty for $8,000. Soon after picking it up, “numerous” warning lights came on and a “knocking” sounded in the engine.

Barr reported the issue to King Philip 10 days after the purchase and was told that mechanics couldn’t look at it for a week. She took it to Valvoline in Seekonk for an oil change and was alerted to oil seepage of an unknown origin.

On Feb. 20, 2022, Barr informed King Philip that the Acadia had stalled while she was driving on the highway with her five children onboard. Multiple warning lights flashed as a smell emanated from under the hood.

Barr brought the SUV to King Philip, where DeAlmeida informed her that there was no oil in the engine and that it was “fried” and in need of replacement.

Barr asked for a refund, but King Philip refused, noting that she had purchased the vehicle “as is.” The dealership blamed Valvoline for failing to put oil in the SUV, though Valvoline produced a video showing its technicians filling the oil.

King Philip asked Barr to have the Acadia towed away, but instead she drove it against their advice, the ruling states. It smoked and poured out oil as she drove it from the property.

Barr filed a complaint with the Division of Motor Vehicles Dealers’ License and Regulations Office seeking a refund for the cost of the SUV, as well as taxes and registration fees. Investigator Patrick Sweeney reviewed the title history and noted that it was the same SUV the Mittons had owned. DeAlmeida said that the Acadia had been fixed after it was repurchased from the Mittons and was in working order when the dealership sold it to Barr. He showed receipts for the repairs.

In an April 2022 hearing before the Dealers’ License and Hearing Board, DeAlmeida denied any wrongdoing and blamed Valvoline. The board heard contrary testimony from Douglas Staradumsky, chief of safety and emissions for the Rhode Island Division of Motor Vehicles.

The SUV was towed to the DMV inspection facility, where they found a puncture in the oil filter was leaking large amounts of oil. Replacing the oil filter stopped the leak, but the engine continued to make clicking and knocking sounds. Staradumsky attested that the oil leak sprayed oil onto the exhaust manifold and catalytic converter and could have caused a fire if the engine ran for a short amount of time.

The board issued a decision in August finding that “all of the evidence points to the fact that [King Philip] knowingly sold a vehicle with a fatally defective engine to a young woman who was simply seeking a reliable car to transport her children.” The board determined that King Philip knew the Acadia needed a new engine and sold the vehicle to Barr anyway without disclosing the engine problems.

Stern noted that the board further chastised King Philip, stating that “[s]lapping the label ‘AS IS’ on the bill of sale does not absolve [King Philip] from what is simply an unconscionable business practice.”

King Philip appealed, arguing the board had abused its discretion and issued a “clearly erroneous” decision, and that the restitution order wrongfully imposes a warranty

Stern disagreed, instead finding that King Philip knowingly sold the defective SUV.

“The court finds that there was ample evidence on the record for the board to conclude that the Acadia was sold with a defective engine, first to the Mittons and then to Barr” Stern said, continuing “There was also evidence that King Philip did not properly repair the Acadia to remedy its engine problems, nor did it inform Barr of those problems.”

Stern found that the board had not abused its discretion by ordering restitution.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Lemon SUV sale by RI dealership was 'willful,' judge orders restitution