OLATHE, Kan. (CN) - An insurance company says Chad Franklin Suzuki is on its own in a series of lawsuits accusing it of a "no payment for life" marketing scam. Universal Underwriters Insurance says it has no obligation to defend or indemnify the chain of Kansas City-area Suzuki dealers.
Franklin Suzuki dealers used bait-and-switch tactics to attract customers, according to the complaint in Johnson County Court.
Chad Franklin Suzuki of Kansas City, Legend Suzuki of Kansas City, Chad Franklin, Franklin Automotive Group, Franklin Auto Sales, Legend Auto Sales, Chad Franklin and 211 people who claim to have been victims of the scam are named as defendants.
Chad Franklin Suzuki has been sued more than 200 times since 2007, often for its "no payment" scheme, according to the Courthouse News database.
"The Franklin Defendants have acknowledged that such customers, including but not limited to the Purchaser Defendants, were lied to and misled in the course of the Sales Misrepresentations, and that the Sales Misrepresentations made to them could not have been honored," the insurer says in its complaint.
Universal Underwriters says claims for consumer misrepresentation are not covered under Franklin Suzuki's policy; it seeks declaratory judgment. It is represented by John Gromowsky of Kansas City, Mo.
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