Success story: I sued Wal-mart and won

I drove all the way from Georgia to Colorado over the Mississippi river, across the Great Plains, and through The Rocky Mountains. After all that driving, I knew my car needed an oil change. I was new to town, so a quick and easy choice to get the job done was Wal-mart. My dad had always cautioned against taking my car to such a place, but my options were slim, and a co-worker even advised I go there instead of braving the small-town mechanic who had a reputation for arching his prices for out-of-towners.

Less than a week after getting the oil changed, I attempted a trip back through The Rockies to Denver for the Fourth of July weekend. No more than thirty minutes into the trip, a strange sound began to radiate from underneath the hood. I pulled over for a look. Everything seemed to be in place. Remembering my recent oil change, I thought to look at the dipstick. Dry. Not a drop of oil in the tank. The tone of the moment changed dramatically. Panicking, I got on my hands and knees to look underneath the car. Dripping oil was everywhere.

The reality of my situation quickly came caving in on me. I was in a remote part of the mountains, hadn't seen another vehicle pass in quite some time, and my cell phone had no service. I even had OnStar, and it just rang empty rings into oblivion trying to connect to service. Nothing.

Eventually, a kind motorcyclist passed by, and turned around to help. He lent his advice-coast back down the mountain until I can get to the closest mechanic.

It was a long ride down that mountain. Trying not to push the gas pedal to rev the engine I kept thinking, "this can't be happening, I'm thousands of miles from home."

The initial diagnosis from a mechanic was that the engine in my 2006 Saturn Vue was a goner, and that the last person to change the oil was responsible because they had failed to replace to filter cap correctly causing the oil to leak out.

I called Wal-mart, only to be put on hold, and then told that everyone was at lunch and I would receive a call sometime in the next few days. I was stranded, a few days was not sufficient in my mind. At any rate, they called back and told me to tow the car to the nearest GMC dealership where a new engine could eventually be installed.

A little over a week passed and I finally received a call from Wal-mart's insurance company. I was informed matter-of-factly that since I failed to take the car immediately back to Wal-mart's service center I was held responsible for the damage, and they were not going to re-pay me a dime.

The damage totaled over $6,000. My mom fronted the money just so I could come back home in time to finish my last semester of college at GCSU. The last half of my summer dream turned into a nightmare, as I could no longer leave the tiny town I was stationed in, and I could no longer explore the great state of Colorado for all its adventurous depths. Depressed hardly described the feeling.

I sought the legal advice of a lawyer. He informed me to try small claims court. I would have to represent myself in court, but I would get to recover nearly all the monetary damages without having to pay for a lawyer.

Over the next several months I learned the ins and outs of how the court system in Colorado worked, and how I might be able to best represent myself before a judge. I prepared all my photo evidence, statements from mechanics and experts, copies of related receipts and documents, and even a detailed timeline of events that I had kept from day one.

Finally, the time came for me to take a few days out of school to fly back to Colorado, alone. I showed up in court the next day, alone. My mouth was dry and my voice shaky. I dressed in slacks, and did my best to carry myself confidently and professionally. I knew I was doing exactly what I was supposed to-I knew I was right in this matter. I was just 22, and I was by far the youngest person in the courtroom. Though I was terrified, I knew I was fighting for true justice, and I was afraid the big man might just win simply because of my age, and inexperience. I struggled to maintain a calm face.

The judge began to call all the cases to go to trial that day, and eventually the roll-call came to 'Mooneyhan v. Wal-mart Supercenter.' I stood to represent that I had appeared and was present for court. A few smiles and snickers echoed through the room as people turned to see who would sue the Wal-mart and seeing that it was me who was just a little college student that barely appeared to even be out of high school.

Wal-mart was represented by the assistant manager and the manager of the Oil & Lube department. They fought hard to try and prove that prior damage may have existed, freeing them of blame. The oil guy gave detailed explanations of how oil systems work in cars, and used words that even the judge didn't understand. They veered off subject numerous times.

I kept to the facts, knowing that the simple facts were all that was needed to convince someone that an injustice had occurred that day in July.

My closing statement was simply, "Your honor, this is a straight-forward case. This car is fairly new, never had problems, got the oil changed, and less than a week later the engine is ruined because the oil leaked out. Six-thousand dollars is a drop in the bucket for a place like Wal-mart, but it is devastating for a college student like me."

The judge did not come to a verdict that day. She wanted to review the evidence further. Two weeks later, I got a letter in the mail informing me that my hard work and determination had paid off.

I had sued Wal-mart and won. Not many people can say that-especially not many college students. I received a check from Wal-mart within weeks, followed by several congratulatory phone calls and e-mails from friends and family. One e-mail, though, stood out among them all. It was from one of my friends at Chaco, and it read, "all is well that ends well." And that's the truth and justice that I had sought all along.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Dec 5 2008. Filed under Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry