Lotus drops lemon court case

A drawn-out legal stoush between a well-known Melbourne manufacturer and a disgruntled buyer of one of their caravans, is set to continue, despite the court case now not going ahead.

In late-2016 Lotus Caravans commenced legal proceedings against Tracy Leigh,  the founder of Facebook group “Lemon Caravans and RVs in Aus”. Leigh set it up after paying $73,000 for a new Lotus Freelander in 2015 and allegedly discovering various defects that has kept it off the road.

The 13-year-old caravan manufacturer accused Leigh of injurious falsehood and defamation after she detailed the alleged defects on the Facebook page, which now has 26,000 members.

The court case was set for February 2018, before Lotus recently filed for a discontinuance. As they are not proceeding with the case, Lotus will be required to pay Leigh’s legal costs.

“Lotus ultimately issued legal proceedings to clear its name and, having finally had the benefit of an independent inspection of the caravan, has been vindicated and is now withdrawing its claim as it has no desire to press its legal rights against Ms Leigh,” the manufacturer explained in a lengthy statement on Lotus Caravans’ Facebook page.

War of words

However, Leigh has now accused Lotus of starting a “public war”, posting her own version of events on the Lemon Caravans Facebook page this week.

Lotus accused Leigh of engaging in a “public smear campaign to damage the Lotus brand, boost her own profile and attempt to leverage a claim to more than she is entitled”.

Lotus also claimed Leigh “refused to allow Lotus or its representatives to inspect or repair the caravan” and said it offered Leigh a full refund for the purchase price of her caravan.

However, Leigh claimed Lotus only offered her a refund in late-November and that was “on the basis of no admission”. She said she won’t be accepting the offer as it’s “far less than I am legally entitled too”.

She said Lotus’ legal action against her was an “abuse of process” and “vexatious litigation”.

She also disputed Lotus’ claim that the manufacturer had been vindicated by an inspection report conducted by an authorized repairer. Lotus said the alleged defects, which Leigh claims includes non-compliant electrical wiring, were “easily repairable and, in many circumstances, arise from Ms Leigh’s use and care of the caravan rather than any fault of manufacture”.

Leigh is now threatening to sue Lotus Caravans “for the full refund, all costs and substantial damages relating to my defective caravan and what they have done to me”.

She said the “allegations in (Lotus’) statement are untrue and therefore defamatory. I will be seeking legal advice”.