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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Car Dealer of the Year

OKLAHOMA CITY (CN) - A car dealer lured a 76-year-old man with pre-Alzheimer's dementia and Parkinson's disease to its lot by offering him a prize, then sold him a car for $11,900 and then some, the man's guardian claims. She sued David Stanley Dodge and Service Credit Union in Oklahoma County Court.

Kathy Hodge, guardian for Jimmie L. Justus, says Justus's disabilities are so severe they greatly inhibit his ability to think, reason and speak.

Hodge says that in November 2009, Justus received a mailer from David Stanley Dodge that led him to believe he had won a $100 prize. Arriving at the lot to claim his prize, Justus was "subjected to sales pressure from David Stanley personnel, and induced to buy a 2001 Dodge Stratus for $11,900 on a retail installment contract, plus a $5,800 credit for the trade of a 1998 Chevrolet Silverado truck he owned free and clear, and also saddled him with a $2,000 service contract, and more than $250 in fees," according to the complaint.

"The contest mailed by Stanley used deceptive means to lead Justus to believe that he had won a substantial prize, when in fact the odds of winning a prize are remote if ever awarded," the complaint states. "Once he was there and they could tell he was a vulnerable and confused senior citizen, Stanley essentially stole his Silverado truck by constructing transactions that included grossly inflating the price of the Dodge Stratus, adding in high profit items like a service contract, a GAP insurance policy and processing charge."

Hodge said she tried to rescind the deal the next day, but the dealership told her "there was nothing they could do" and that Justus's truck was "already gone".

Hodge seeks compensatory and punitive damages for fraud.She and Justus are represented by Louis M. Green.

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