1997 - Volume #21, Issue #1, Page #01
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Farmer Wins lawsuit Over Lemon Baler
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Buhr spent two years trying to get the baler fixed before filing suit in March, 1995. Last November the jury awarded Buhr $28,992 in damages for the defective baler.
Buhr apparently had a lot of credibility with the jury because he is a long-time Deere customer who had owned a Deere 535 baler before. "It was a good ma-chine. That's why I bought another one," he says.
But he claims his new 535 never worked properly. "The bales were too small and uneven and the belts continually wore out because they wouldn't track properly within the machine. The gauges never did work right, and the surface wrap would catch and get sucked into the machine. I lost more than half of my customers because they were not happy with the work I did, and I couldn't blame them," says Buhr.
He had troubles with the baler from day one. Re-pairs in two years totalled more than $10,000 and he made less than 3,000 bales.
He took the baler back to the dealer he bought it from, and then to four other dealers. None of them could fix it. He also contacted Deere & Company direct trying to get them to correct the situation. At one point, an observer suggested he sell the baler as far away from his hometown as he could get. But Buhr rejected that idea, saying he didn't want to dump his problems onto someone else.
Finally, after two years, he tried to trade the baler back to the dealer where he bought it but he says the dealer didn't want it because he knew about the machine's defects. That's when he decided he would have to sue.
"I had a $30,000 piece of junk. I couldn't use it and I couldn't trade it in. Filing a lawsuit was the only option left," says Buhr. But he learned that filing suit against a big manufacturer is not easy. "I got an expensive education in how the legal system works. If I had to do it again, I think I could save a lot of time and money, now that I have a better idea of how the system works."
One lesson he learned is that you have to be able to document your problems and bring in others who will corroborate your story. He also discovered that many buyers of new farm machinery sign contracts that limit their rights if they later have a problem.
In Buhr's case, he signed Deere's standard buyer's contract which frees the company from any responsibility for lawyer's fees or lost business due to problems with its equipment. That meant he could only recover damages for the cost of repairing or replacing the baler. That's why he only won back the cost of the baler even though his losses totalled more than three times the amount of the award.
"My advice is to spend $100 to have your attorney look over any contract you sign when buying equipment and change any wording that could hurt you later," says Buhr. "Most farmers just trust the dealer and sign without reading but if you ever have a problem, you'll find there's not much you can do."
Buhr sought out Lawrence Crosby, a farm-raised attorney from St. Paul, Minn.
Crosby urges all farmers with problem equipment to first work with their dealer to solve any problems. "Very few of these types of lawsuits have ever been filed and even fewer have been won. Of course, that's because most dealers take care of any problems that come up to keep their customers happy. But it's also a result of the fact that most companies have standard contracts that exempt themselves from most of the responsibility if anything goes wrong."
Crosby has seen contracts from other machinery companies and says they're much the same as Deere's. He thinks farmer-buyers should think twice before signing them. "Chances are you'll never have a problem but if you do, your rights can be severely limited by contracts."
He notes that Deere’s contract is particularly favorable to its dealers. The dealer Buhr bought his baler from was dismissed from the case early on, thanks to the wording on the contract Buhr had signed. That forced him to deal directly with Deere & Company and their team of lawyers.
As his case wound its way through the courts, Buhr bought a New Holland 664 round baler to use in his business. He’s happy with the baler but says he wouldn’t hesitate to buy another Deere round baler once his legal problems are over. “I’m convinced these problems are only related to my particular baler. I believe that either something went wrong at the factory, or it
was damaged in transport,” notes Buhr.
“I lost more than $100,000 in business and out-of-pocket expenses trying to repair the baler and in lawyer fees,” says Buhr, whose legal fees alone totaled nearly $50,000. But he says it was still satisfying to get his day in court and get a jury to agree with his side of the story.
In order to prevail, he had to bring in customers to testify to the poor quality of bales produced by the baler. They also testified that Buhr had previously done a good job with the Deere 535 baler he owned before.
Crosby says Buhr was particularly lucky to have a great expert witness, an equipment
dealer who sells Deere balers. He told the jury the 535 is a great baler but that there was clearly something wrong with Buhr’s baler. He also entertained the jury by suggesting that the baler “may have been made on a Monday or a Friday, or else it had fallen off the transport truck.”
Deere had 90 days from the date of the verdict to appeal the ruling. No decision had yet been announced when this issue went to press.
Deere spokesman Al Higley told FARM SHOW the company does not normally comment on legal matters. However, he stressed that the company will always be committed to customer satisfaction.
“It’s unfortunate that this matter could not be resolved outside the courtroom, but Deere and Company is willing to abide by the court’s decision.”
Buhr says he’d be happy to explain his case in more detail to anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Melroy Buhr, 13727 Howard Ave., Elma, Iowa 50628 (ph 515 393-2675).
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