What are my options after a rod bearing failure

[StrokerAce]

Installer needs to walk with a limp for the rest of his life for being shady. What a low life and hopefully he reads this thread.


Mikey, I'm sorry, that's some crap from the installer. He sold you something he didn't do and guarantee he thought he'd just get away with not installing something you paid for with the hopes you'd never find out.

[efnfast]

Out of curiosity how much is this repair going to cost? With a new crank, block/re-sleeved block, etc. I have to imagine you're going to be north of $20k?

[Mikey]

Out of curiosity how much is this repair going to cost? With a new crank, block/re-sleeved block, etc. I have to imagine you're going to be north of $20k?

About 17-20k when you include labor and shipping

11.3k for rebuild salvaging parts
1,250 for installation
585 for freight
3k shipping back and forth
1k for new oil cooler, hoses, and install
2k for the motor to be pulled (this is from l&l performance),

If I successfully win the case, attorneys fees are 40% along with hard costs, so I'm screwed either way

[7TH_SIGN]

Is this the shop? Looks like this guy had a similar issue to you.

CCFB6A14-5C6C-4733-8C2F-FF50B2AE9CFC.jpg

[Mikey]

Is this the shop? Looks like this guy had a similar issue to you.

CCFB6A14-5C6C-4733-8C2F-FF50B2AE9CFC.jpg

Yup, I asked about that and he said it was a disgruntled brother in law. I figured since he worked at Dallas Performance he would be quality

[V10LEE]

I already paid Kevin a deposit, I'm going to send the entire car over to him

That's great to hear .

[ViperSRT]

If I successfully win the case, attorneys fees are 40% along with hard costs, so I'm screwed either way

I would include a request for attorney fees as part of a judgement given it is such a high loss. Not replacing the cooler and charging for the replacement should make any defense difficult. Good luck!

[SRT_BluByU]

could you file a claim with his insurance?

[Martin]

could you file a claim with his insurance?

I'm pretty sure, if he has insurance, he'll punt it over to them when this goes to court. No way the installer wants to hire his own lawyer - insurance will represent him, and if the insurance company is like 99% of other insurance companies, the insurance attorney will settle fairly just to get it off of his schedule.

[Lawineer]

I would include a request for attorney fees as part of a judgement given it is such a high loss. Not replacing the cooler and charging for the replacement should make any defense difficult. Good luck!

His lawyer is pretty sharp lol

[Mikey]

I heard attorneys moan when they wipe

[13COBRA]

I heard attorneys moan when they wipe

Uh...

Wut?

[Mikey]

I'm pretty sure, if he has insurance, he'll punt it over to them when this goes to court. No way the installer wants to hire his own lawyer - insurance will represent him, and if the insurance company is like 99% of other insurance companies, the insurance attorney will settle fairly just to get it off of his schedule.

His shop is tied to a dealership, supposedly they're two separate entities but should be interesting

[Martin]

His shop is tied to a dealership, supposedly they're two separate entities but should be interesting

If he does work on dealership customer's cars, he most certainly has good insurance. The dealership wouldn't let him touch customer's cars without it. I have a strong feeling that you'll recover everything, along with reasonable attorney fees, pretty quick.

On "reasonable attorney fees", that can get dicey when things are done on contingency. The judge might want to look at how many hours the attorney worked, and then charge a flat "reasonable and customary" hourly rate. If the attorney only worked five hours, but collected 40% of the judgement, the judge might only award five hours worth of work. I've been screwed by this in the past - I was awarded attorney fees, but the judge decides what is "reasonable" and that can be way less than you actually paid.

[Mikey]

If he does work on dealership customer's cars, he most certainly has good insurance. The dealership wouldn't let him touch customer's cars without it. I have a strong feeling that you'll recover everything, along with reasonable attorney fees, pretty quick.

On "reasonable attorney fees", that can get dicey when things are done on contingency. The judge might want to look at how many hours the attorney worked, and then charge a flat "reasonable and customary" hourly rate. If the attorney only worked five hours, but collected 40% of the judgement, the judge might only award five hours worth of work. I've been screwed by this in the past - I was awarded attorney fees, but the judge decides what is "reasonable" and that can be way less than you actually paid.

Looks like small claims limit was bumped up to 20k in Texas, I wonder if it would be worthwhile to go that route instead

[Lawineer]

Looks like small claims limit was bumped up to 20k in Texas, I wonder if it would be worthwhile to go that route instead

You should ask your lawyer

[Mikey]

You should ask your lawyer

Would it be worthwhile to just go through small claims and escalate from there? After your fees would there be enough to be made whole of $21,195

[Lawineer]

Would it be worthwhile to just go through small claims and escalate from there? After your fees would there be enough to be made whole of $21,195

You should ask your lawyer privately and not on a public message board the opposing party is assuredly reading (facepalm)

[Hawk]

I would think filing a claim against his liability insurance would get results. As a contractor I had a homeowner make a frivolous complaint against me on an area of the house I didn’t even work on and my insurance didn’t even try to fight it. They paid the claim and raised my rates!

[Mikey]

I would think filing a claim against his liability insurance would get results. As a contractor I had a homeowner make a frivolous complaint against me on an area of the house I didn’t even work on and my insurance didn’t even try to fight it. They paid the claim and raised my rates!

I have no idea how I would even do that



Edit:The dealership advertises mechanical services so the shop may not even be owned by Luke. I contacted the owner directly with the engine report as well as the text verifying the cooler was never replaced.

[13COBRA]

Online public forums, are NOT the place to receive legal advice. Call an attorney, presumably you already have one...that's what you're paying for. Get their advice.

[Mikey]

He hasn't been responding

[13COBRA]

He hasn't been responding

I would bet money that he would caution you about posting any further in an online forum until you guys bring suit.

[VENOM-TA]

Delete Mikey..

[Lawineer]

Delete Mikey..

Tampering with evidence is bad.