Okay, Last week my hubby and I got a full tank of bad gas from an independantly owned gas station.As it turns out, the gas was mostly water. We went 3 blocks and our '05 Mazda RX8 quit on us in the middle of a busy intersection during rush hour traffic. We had to call the cops and have the car towed and had the dealership fix it.Here is what evidence we have to prove our case in small claims court:
The gas recipt, a tow recipt that proves that we broke down 3 blocks from where we got gas at, the police call number,a map from google earth that shows where the station was located at and exactly where we broke down at, the names of 3 guys who worked on our car at the dealership, and the recipt for the repairs which also states that there was more water in our tank than there was gas. We are sueing for about $1,500 to cover the expense of the repairs and tow. We have already talked to the owner of the gas station about this but all he wanted to do was to fix our car himself.
2007-02-02 06:33:59 · 8 answers · asked by kittysoma27 6 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
RX8's have rotoary engions which makes them harder to work on and if you don't know what you are doing you can really mess the car up. So no we did not want him to fix the car himself. He told us either we let him fix it or we get nothing so going to court is our only option.
2007-02-02 06:39:07 · update #1
Sorry about the misspelling!
2007-02-02 06:40:37 · update #2
Oh yeah, I also have a sample of the gas that came out of our car.
2007-02-02 06:53:09 · update #3
I think you'll win hands down in court. Even though the station owner offered to fix it himself, if he is not a certified mechanic who is recognized by Mazda, his claim will not hold up. Rotary engines are a specialty motor, and a specially trained and licensed mechanic is what the factory recommends to work on it. As stated previously, if the water in the fuel came from the supplier, it's his problem to deal with that. $1500 is a reasonable suit price, definitely not an outrageous price like some of the other current lawsuits. With the provided evidence, you shouldn't have a problem.
2007-02-02 06:47:13 · answer #1 · answered by kirdro 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It sounds like you have a good case.
Presumably, the defense will be that his gas is just fine. That the water came from some other source.
It may be too late for this, but...
You should contact (maybe with the help of your lawyer?) the state agency that regulates gas stations (in the state where this happened). Usually, it's Weights and Measures. Every tank, by law in most states, must have a sticker on it that specifies this, the date of the last inspection, and how to contact the agency.
Tell them what you posted here and ask that they do a spot check of the station. Unless they are busy (which is possible), they should go out and do a check to see that the gas being sold meets the claimed standards.
It's be very difficult and expensive for the station to overhaul their storage to replace it with real gas instead of the gas/water mixture.
Good luck.
2007-02-02 06:48:22 · answer #2 · answered by Jay 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I believe if you have proof from an auto mechanic that the cause of your car problems was from bad gasoline and it was proven then you should have enough evidence from just that. Since you do have proof from a mechanic and they did say that it was from bad gas that caused your car to break down and needed repair, then I think that's all you need. Talk to the guys at the mechanics and see if they will be willing, if it happens, to go into court to testify that they did work on your car and that it was the gas that was the problem. Talk to a lawyer as well to see if what you have is good enough proof. If you haven't already that is. Good luck and hope this was of some help. If he offered to fix your car himself then atleast he was willing to do something so see if he will atleast pay you back for the repairs and towing that you had to pay.
2007-02-02 06:44:13 · answer #3 · answered by kerrberr95 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No. Judge Sotomayor voted with the majority based on a 25-year-old legal precedent. That is to say, she followed the law. If she had not done that, the right (including you) would be hollering that she legislates from the bench. Judges must follow legal precedent. Then their decision can be appealed to the next higher court and that court can overrule or support their decision. Nothing wrong happened here. No racism, no judicial activism, just plain good judging. Apparently many on here don't know what a judge's job duties are and also don't realize that a judge's decisions do not necessarily reflect their own personal beliefs.
2016-05-24 05:44:09 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I agree w/ David. The gas station sold bad gas that damaged your car. When in court, be prepared, and organize your evidence so that the judge can easily follow your thought process. Good luck!
2007-02-02 06:49:52 · answer #5 · answered by Smokin' Dragon 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I'm a lawyer and you have a good case. Even if the station owner did not know there was water in his fuel tanks he is responsible to you. If it's the fault of his supplier, he can sue the supplier. That's his problem, not yours.
2007-02-02 06:37:54 · answer #6 · answered by David M 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
You might win in small claims court, but even if you get a judgment against the station owner, there is no guarantee it will ever be paid. His strongest suit is that he offered to fix the car himself.
2007-02-02 06:38:11 · answer #7 · answered by beez 7 · 0⤊ 4⤋
You may win the case but actually collecting the money is probably going to be difficult.
2007-02-09 04:23:56 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋