MarineMax appeals Ohio lawsuit ruling
COLUMBUS, Ohio – MarineMax of Ohio has appealed a ruling by an Ottawa County, Ohio judge in a legal battle involving a yacht purchased by a local business man in 2002, the Columbus Dispatch reported in a recent story on its Web site.
Last September, Douglas G. Borror, chief executive of Dominion Homes, was awarded nearly $2 million after suing MarineMax of Ohio Inc., over the purchase of a 51-foot Sea Ray yacht, the newspaper reported.
Last month, Borror was awarded an additional $650,000 in attorney fees and prejudgment interest, which builds from the time the loss occurs to the time damages are awarded.
Ottawa County Common Pleas Judge Paul C. Moon ruled that MarineMax of Ohio violated the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act when it sold Borror the yacht for $784,151, according to the story.
The yacht had been in an accident while on a sea trial before Borror bought it. He said the company alluded to some damage but never disclosed the true extent of it, the Dispatch reported.
After MarineMax of Ohio refused to refund Borror’s money, he sold the yacht for $350,000. He sued in 2003, saying it was not “seaworthy.” The court awarded Borror $484,591 in actual damages, which were tripled to more than $1.4 million under the sales-practices act. Borror also was granted $484,591 in punitive damages.
Borror’s company has been under fire for its mortgage origination practices that have led to a high rate of foreclosures. The Ohio attorney general has started an investigation, and HUD began an audit of loans that Dominion arranged, the newspaper reported.
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