United States District Court, N.D. Indiana, South Bend Division
OPINION AND ORDER
PHILIP
P. SIMON, JUDGE
This
case involves the purchase of an RV which, according to the
plaintiff Steve Pegg, was riddled with problems from the
moment he drove it off the lot. Pegg claims the manufacturer
and seller, Nexus RVs, LLC, failed to live up to its express
and implied warranties and also asks the court to strike
Pegg's expert [DE 48, 50]. Because I find that the expert
opinion is reliable and relevant, and that genuine issues of
material fact remain as to Pegg's claims, both motions
will be denied. In other words, a jury is going to have to
decide whether Mr. Pegg is a fussy nitpicker, on the one
hand, or was an aggrieved customer, on the other.
Background
Pegg,
a Texas resident, purchased a 2017 Nexus Ghost Recreational
Vehicle on May 4, 2016, for a total purchase price of $198,
322.13 (which included a vehicle service contract). [Pegg
Aff., DE 56 at 2.][1] Nexus RV manufactured the RV which was
purchased by Pegg, and as part of the deal, Nexus provided
Pegg a 1 year warranty. [Id.; DE 52-3.] The warranty
covered “defects in Nexus materials and/or workmanship
in construction of the recreational vehicle.” [DE 52-3
at 1.] The warranty also provided that “[a]ll
obligations of Nexus pursuant to this Limited Warranty are
limited to replacing or repairing the defective part of
component.” Id.
On May
5, 2016, Pegg took delivery of the RV from the Nexus factory
in Elkhart, Indiana. During the pre-delivery walk through
inspection, Pegg discovered a number of problems with the RV,
including: wrong size bed installed, safe box not installed,
trim behind rear, bunk wiring missing, trim behind rear TV
falling off, trim missing between bedroom and bunk, passenger
slide out not closing properly, no hot water, squeak in
transition plate, missing tile work, no air compressor, no
slide trade in cargo, and the rear cargo doors were coming
open. [DE 56 at 2-3; spreadsheet (DE 52-4).]
Pegg
stayed overnight so that Nexus could repair the problems. [DE
56 at 3.] The next day, Nexus told Pegg that the defects were
repaired, so he took delivery and headed home. Id.
According to Pegg, he began experiencing problems with the RV
on his way home from the Nexus factory. Id. For
example, he discovered that the hot water was intermittently
inoperable, the rear doors were still coming open, trim still
needed to be fixed, and the transition plate still squeaked.
[DE 52-4.]
When he
got home, Pegg notified Steve Tobias (the Nexus service
manager), via text message of the following issues:
a. Shower leak dripping from the left side of the shower pan;
b. transition plate still squeaking;
c. Water tank was sliding to the passenger side, drooping,
and spilling while moving. The overflow and the outlet were
only a few inches apart;
d. rear passenger cargo door doesn't close properly
because of the tank;
e. suspension squeaky while turning right;
f. bumper dent; g. mirror had a crack;
h. access panel to laundry;
i. hot water in and out;
j. MCD shade in dinette would not go all the way up;
k. cargo bay in front of passenger tire was banged up; and
l. leak above the battery bay.
[DE 51-5.]
Prior
to leaving on a two-week family trip, Pegg contacted Tobias
in order to obtain warranty repairs of these defects. [DE 56
at 3.] However, Tobias could not arrange for an authorized
repair facility to perform the warranty repairs on the route
for the family trip. Id. Instead, Tobias mailed
parts to Pegg so he could repair the RV's water tank
himself. Id.
After
returning from the family trip, Nexus selected and arranged
for Mike's RV to repair the defects beginning on June 15,
2016. [Id.] Nexus authorized Mike's RV to
perform warranty repairs on its behalf. [Donati Dep., DE
52-18, at 39-40.] In anticipation of the service visit, Pegg
provided a list of defects directly to Tobias including:
transition plate squeak, screen in top bunk falling out, dent
in bumper from the factory, shower leaks, sink leaks, fresh
water tank loose and sliding around, rear door not closing
properly, driver's side suspension squeaky, crack in
mirror, access panel falling off, hot water intermittently
inoperable, shade in dinette won't go all the way up,
cargo door damaged from loose fresh water tank, squeak in
dining window, cargo door misaligned, wood trim bubbling,
wall seam tape peeling, water leak over battery door,
passenger side cargo compartment leaks, bath sink inoperable,
and electrical plugs inoperable. [DE 56 at 4; DE 52-4.]
On June
15, 2016, Mike's RV picked up the RV to perform those
repairs. [DE 56 at 4.] Because Pegg hoped to use the RV for
the long Fourth of July weekend, and since Mike's RV was
waiting for parts from Nexus, Mike's RV returned the RV
to Pegg on June 28, 2016. Id. However, upon return
of the RV, Pegg discovered roof damage to the RV.
Id. Mike's RV acknowledged the roof damage and
stated it would take the RV back, patch up the roof, and
install a new vent hood. Id. Mike's RV took the
RV back that same day and returned it to Pegg on June 29,
2016. Id.
When he
got the RV back, Pegg discovered that the RV was filthy, as
if someone had stayed in it, and there were scratches down
both sides of the RV. Id. Although Mike's RV
attempted to buff out the scratches and repair the issues,
Mike's RV failed to repair all of the problems.
Id.
About a
week later, on July 7, 2016, something strange happened; Pegg
received a letter from the Fort Worth Traffic Division
indicating the RV had been in an accident on June 17, 2016 -
a time period during which Mike's RV was supposed to be
repairing the RV. [DE 56 at 5.] Pegg then immediately
contacted Tobias and told him the RV had been in an accident
while in the possession of Mike's RV, and asked Tobias to
find another authorized repair facility to service the RV.
Id.
Nexus
then indicated that it would arrange for the RV to be
transported to the Nexus factory in Elkhart, Indiana.
Id. In a letter dated July 20, 2016, Nexus agreed to
complete the repairs, but noted that Nexus was not
responsible for the accident at Mike's RV, and that it
was “not responsible for this situation.” [DE
52-8 at 2.] Evidently, this was Pegg's problem to work
through. Nexus did say it was willing to work with Pegg's
insurance carrier on the items that were damaged in the
accident, provide estimates, and perform the repairs if given
authorization from State Farm. Id. This response
ticked Pegg off, and he responded with an e-mail dated July
25, 2019, stating he was ...