- A Toronto man who alleged BMW advertised the 2014 i3 as having a 200-km range just won his suit against the dealer he leased from
- The judge awarded Ronen Kleiman $5,000 in damages, but said he must pay BMW’s $11,000 in legal fees
- Kleiman says the result – the lawsuit costing him $25,000 altogether – points to a broken system
Anyone who has ever head the expression “Cut off your nose to spite your face” might want to keep it in mind as we explain the plight of an Ontario man who just emerged victorious in a legal fight with a BMW dealer. While the courts sided with the man and awarded him $5,000 in damages, he remains on the hook for the automaker’s legal fees in this case — a sum totalling over $11,000. All in all, the lawsuit’s cost him $25,000, he told Automotive News.
That’s what economists call a “net loss.”
Back in 2017, Ronen Kleiman took umbrage with the advertised range of the all-electric 2014 BMW i3 he law leasing from dealership BMW Toronto. Kleiman felt marketing for the car was misleading and that the range estimates were too optimistic, while BMW steadfastly asserted that EV range is deeply impacted by personal driving habits and the environment in which the car is operated.
Documents suggest Kleiman was under the impression, through information gleaned from BMW Canada marketing materials, that his car was good for up to 200 kilometres of all-electric driving range in Eco Pro or Eco Pro+ mode. The defendant alleged he could barely get three-quarters that figure, citing a 160-click journey in which the car provided only 158 km of total range. This despite apparently favourable weather and a lack of extra cargo in the car.
Interestingly, Kleiman argued that, shortly after launching his suit, BMW quietly updated its website to say the 2014 i3 was actually only good for 130 kilometres of range in Comfort mode, or 160 km in Eco Pro mode — sums which are actually bang-on with what Kleiman reported. The company denies ever saying the car was good for 200 clicks.
In any case, an Ontario Superior Court of Justice has just handed Kleiman the win in the case. But the $5,000 in damages he was awarded – he was seeking $25,000 – might feel like a hollow victory. We say that because throwing a wrench in the works is a report BMW actually offered Kleiman a $10,000 pretrial settlement, double what he ended up getting. He says he turned it down because “it included a nondisclosure clause, and he wanted the public to know what the company allegedly did,” reports News. In fact, it was his rejection of that offer which apparently played a role in the judge deciding Kleiman should be responsible for BMW’s $11,000-plus legal fees.
An archived report from the CBC published around the time Kleiman launched his legal challenge says he was paying $970 per month on a four-year lease for the i3. We’ll let that sum percolate as an addendum to the news the plaintiff is now underwater on those legal fees. “The system is such that if they break the law, there is no remedy unless you are ready to lose and pay out of pocket to hold them accountable,” Kleiman said.