Professional Documents
Culture Documents
No. 07-1668
COUNSEL
ARGUED: Thomas Joseph Minton, GOLDMAN & MINTON, P.C., Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellant. Roy Morse
OPINION
VOORHEES, District Judge:
Paul F. Robinson ("Robinson") appeals a district court
order dismissing pursuant to FED. R. CIV. P. 12(b)(6) his
claims against American Honda Motor Co., Inc. ("Honda")
and Michelin North America, Inc. ("Michelin"), alleging
breach of express and implied warranties regarding the durability of the tires on his minivan and seeking a declaratory
judgment in his favor. We affirm.
I.
Robinson purchased a new Honda Odyssey Touring model
minivan in March 2005 from an authorized Honda dealer in
Towson, Maryland. Robinsons new Honda minivan came
equipped with four "PAX System" tires manufactured by
Michelin. Through a purpose-built wheel-rim and tire combination, PAX System tires are designed to provide a "run-flat"
capability. If a tire is punctured, the minivan can still be
driven at speeds of up to 55 mph for a distance of up to 125
miles. PAX System tires are standard equipment on the Touring model of the Honda Odyssey. Because of the PAX Sys-
Emissions control systems, Accessories, Batteries, or Tires (They have their own warranties).
J.A. 53.
A separate section in the 2005 Honda Odyssey Warranties
booklet is devoted solely to tires. It states:
Tires
The tires that come as original equipment on your
new Honda are warranted by their manufacturer
(including the compact spare tire). A separate warranty statement for the tires is in the glove box.
Obtaining Warranty Service
Your Honda dealer will be glad to help in determining if a problem in your vehicle is caused by a defective tire. He can also assist you in locating a local
representative of the tires manufacturer so you can
get warranty service.
J.A. 70.
That the warranty excludes tires is also made clear in the
"A Quick Reference to Warranty Coverages" section at the
beginning of the booklet:
New Vehicle Limited Warranty
Every new Honda is covered, except for tires, for 3
years or 36,000 miles. The tires are warranted separately.
J.A. 48.
Lastly, in a section entitled "Operation and Maintenance of
Your Honda," the warranty booklet declares that "[b]y keeping your Honda in top condition, you will be rewarded with
years of trouble-free service at the lowest operating cost. The
keys to keeping your Honda in top condition are proper operation and regular maintenance." J.A. 79.
The Michelin warranty that came with Robinsons Honda
minivan is entitled PAX SYSTEM TIRE LIMITED WARRANTY. Under the heading "WHAT IS COVERED AND
FOR HOW LONG," the document states, inter alia, that "Michelin PAX System tires, used in normal service . . . are covered by this warranty against defects in workmanship and
This class was described as "[a]ll current and former owners and lessees of Honda Odyssey minivans from the 2005 model year or later,
whose minivans were sold in the United States and were equipped by
Honda with Michelin PAX System, run-flat tires. The class excludes officers, directors, and employees of Defendants, and any persons who may
allege personal injury as a result of defective Michelin PAX System tires."
J.A. 12.
III.
Count One
(Breach of Express Warranties)
To state a claim for breach of express warranty under
Maryland law, a plaintiff must allege "1) a warranty existed;
2) the product did not conform to the warranty; and 3) the
breach proximately caused the injury or damage." Spin Cycle,
Inc. v. Burcin Kalender, 186 F. Supp. 2d 585, 589 (D. Md.
2002) (citations omitted).
A.
The district court ruled correctly in dismissing the claims
against Honda for breach of express warranty. Robinsons
claim fails to allege that his minivan did not conform to the
warranty. By its own terms, the warranty clearly, unambiguously, and repeatedly excludes tires from the warranty coverage. In the "A Quick Reference to Warranty Coverages"
section at the beginning of the warranty booklet, under the
heading "New Vehicle Limited Warranty," the text states,
"Every new Honda is covered, except for tires, for 3 years or
36,000 miles. The tires are warranted separately." J.A. 48. In
the subsequent, expanded description of the New Vehicle
Limited Warranty, the booklet states that "This New Vehicle
Limited Warranty Does Not Cover: Emissions control systems, Accessories, Batteries, or Tires. (They have their own
warranties)." J.A. 53. Farther along, an entire page in the warranty booklet is devoted to "Tires." This section explains that
"[t]he tires that come as original equipment on your new
Honda are warranted by their manufacturer . . . . A separate
warranty statement for the tires is in the glove box." J.A. 70.
This section also makes clear that "a local representative of
the tires manufacturer"not the Honda dealerwill be
responsible for providing "warranty service." Id.
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that the warranty will expire with the tread, and thus tread
wear cannot be covered by the warranty.
This view of the warranty is reinforced by the section entitled "HOW REPLACEMENT CHARGES ARE CALCULATED." J.A. 122B. Under the warranty, if a tire "becomes
unserviceable due to a workmanship or materials condition or
a road hazard injury during the first 24 months of service or
before 50% of the tread is worn, whichever occurs first,
Michelin will furnish [a new tire] at NO CHARGE." Id. If
more than 50% of the tread is worn but the tire is otherwise
within the six year warranty period, Michelin will pay a "pro
rata share" of the replacement cost based on the percentage of
the tread remaining. Id. Both of these replacement provisions
indicate that the life of the warranty is governed by the life of
the tread, rather than the life of the tread being guaranteed by
the warranty.
Nevertheless, Robinson argues that because the warranty
expressly excludes coverage for "tires and support rings
which become unrepairable and/or unserviceable due to . . .
[u]neven or rapid wear which results from mechanical irregularity in the vehicle such as wheel misalignment, (a measured
tread difference of 2/32 nds of an inch or more across the
tread of the same tire)," the warranty must by implication
cover rapid tread wear which does not result from mechanical
irregularities. Otherwise, Robinson argues, this exclusion
would be superfluous and therefore meaningless. In contrast,
Michelin argues that interpreting this disclaimer as impliedly
extending warranty coverage to other types of rapid tread
wear would contradict and render superfluous the more
important and more numerous portions of the warranty which
limit coverage to the life of the tread.
After reviewing all of these provisions, the district court
concluded that "[t]here is no tread wear guarantee whatsoever
in this warranty." J.A. 226. The court held that tread wear was
not a "defect in workmanship and materials" that would be
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Since this court agrees with the district court that the Honda and
Michelin warranties do not cover tread wear, there is no need for the court
to address appellees arguments that the express warranties are unenforceable due to lack of privity and lack of notice.
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for relief seeking a declaratory judgment construing the warranties in his favor. Accordingly, the order of the district court
dismissing all claims in this case is
AFFIRMED.