Car Dealer Lawyer

A lawsuit involving a very sad situation in East Texas has finally been settled.  In 2005, Patterson Nissan in Longview, Texas held a “Hands on a Hardbody” contest where people vied for a Nissan truck and other prizes by seeing who could keep their hands on the vehicle the longest.  48 hours into the event, one of the contestants, Richard Thomas Vega II, took his hand off the vehicle and then walked across the street and shot himself.  Mr. Vega’s estate claimed that the contest was similar to “brainwashing” and contributed to his suicide.

I am not sure that I buy the estate’s legal theory, but I can certainly understand why the dealership would settle.  The terms of the settlement were not disclosed, but this is a case that the dealership is probably happy to put behind them.

I have never been a fan of contests at dealerships.  We had sales from time to time, but our approach was rather consistent and low-key.  One of our neighboring dealers, on the other hand, always had some big event going on.  They would have a carnival complete with Ferris wheels and helicopter rides.  We both sold cars, so there is no “right” or “wrong” way.  But I always wondered what would happen if the helicopter crashed.  (Don’t laugh – when I was a kid a helicopter with Santa Claus crashed as it was landing in a parking lot in my hometown.)  In essence, that is what happened here.  That someone would commit suicide is completely unforeseeable, but it happened. 

Or is it completely unforeseeable?  You have to wonder about the kind of people who would spend days holding their hand on a vehicle in hopes of winning it.  Some might just be characters.  But you have to wonder if it would attract people who are desperate – they might see winning this vehicle as their last hope.

The bigger question is do you want these people on your lot for several days?  Does it sell cars?  Does it sell enough cars to make it worth having these people on your lot?  Again, my bias is to have events that were tightly focused on selling cars.  But I guess the people who rode the Ferris wheel and helicopter must have bought cars too.

Chron.com/AP Associated Press