Federal judge calls Thor’s warranty a scheme to deprive RVers of rights

[Wayne]

In a nutshell:

The judge called Thor’s practice a “scheme” that was contrary to California public policy as he refused to allow Thor to have the case transferred out of his court, noting that the enforcement of a clause “drafted in bad faith would be condoning, or at least not discouraging, an illegal scheme….” That January 13, 2023 case was Waryck v. Thor Motor Coach, 2023 WL 3794002, S.D. Calif.

The judge noted:

Federal judge noted that “Thor Motor states that it knowingly presents agreements to California consumers containing clauses that are prohibited under California law.” Judge Lorenz went on to say that Thor’s use of the prohibited terms could cause some California consumers to follow Thor’s instructions and file their case in Indiana and later find out that by doing so they lost the rights that California law guaranteed them when they bought their new Thor RV.

The Federal Court pointed out how Thor was using a warranty that said people would not have a right to a jury trial, which Thor had known for years was contrary to California law. In California a jury trial is guaranteed for RV warranty cases.

So Thor knew the clause in their warranty that denied a jury trial was specious, but left it there anyway to attempt to scare people into believing they would only be allowed a bench trial. Shame on Thor.