Nevada Woman Sues Company Over Device That Electronically Disables Car

A Las Vegas mother of three has filed a lawsuit against her auto finance company alleging her vehicle was electronically disabled on many occasions although her payment was neve more than 30 days late.

Legal aid lawyers are suing the finance company alleging it has been violating the Nevada law that says a buyer isn’t in default until payments are 30 days past due. They are also calling it a “dangerous and unlawful practice of vehicle repossession.” In this case the vehicles aren’t being towed, they’re being disabled electronically.

After buying a Chrysler Town and Country minivan from a local dealer, Mary Gibbs-Bolender learned about a device installed in the car called a PassTime GPS unit. Initially she didn’t have any issues with it, but she soon discovered the vehicle could be remotely disabled if her payment was more than 3 days late. In one such instance she was at the doctor’s with her young daughter and when she went to leave she couldn’t start her car.

A class action lawsuit has been brought on behalf of Gibbs-Bolender and others with similar scenarious.

“The suit alleges that by electronically denying Gibbs-Bolender the use of her car, the finance company was essentially repossessing the vehicle in violation of Nevada law, which states a buyer is not in default until payments are at more than 30 days past due.”