*Some restrictions apply. The discount is only valid for the rental of disposable trucks. Subject to vehicle availability and Standard Penske rental requirements. The Home Depot rents a variety of tools at 87 tool rental centers across Florida. ( See Opp. Class certificate. to 4; Lewis Decl., Exh. ” 1″ ). Before a customer can rent a tool, a Home Depot employee must determine that the customer meets certain criteria. ( See id. ). This process includes checking the customer`s creditworthiness, determining the work to be performed and the suitability of the tool for that work, as well as instructing the customer on the proper use and maintenance of the tool.

( See id.; Bogle Decl., Exh. ” 2″ ). The Waiver of Damages provision (¶ 11) states that if the Customer pays the Damage Waiver Fee – a fee equal to ten percent of the cost of the regular equipment rental fee – The Home Depot “waives” its right to hold the Customer liable for any damage caused to the Product during the Customer`s possession – with the exception of damage caused by misuse or misuse of the Equipment by the customer (among other exceptions). However, while there may be common problems among proposed students, as already described, there are a significant number of issues that are not common to the plaintiff`s group and claims, and To Home Depot`s defenses that may not typically occur for everyone. As even the plaintiff acknowledges, The Home Depot`s written policy requires sales staff to inform customers that the damage waiver is optional. Customers should be informed of the coverage of the waiver and its optional nature through rental agreements and signs placed in each store. When these events have occurred, a class member has no claim, let alone a claim, which is customary or typical of claims made by O`Neill. Also, if you rented a product for a specific time allowance using The Home Depot`s online rental tool, you won`t be able to pick it up sooner. • “Carry large items safely without damaging your vehicle with an oversized load. Our automatic, air-conditioned rental cars are ideal for bringing items to your home, office or construction site.

• Convenient truck rental locations available at participating Home Depot stores. Once the rental agreement reflects the customer`s choice in terms of damages, the customer is asked to confirm this decision by initializing the contract next to the following text: “I have read and accept these particular conditions as initialed on the right.” (Id. at 2:45). The customer must also be asked to sign the rental agreement and confirm acceptance of the “terms of this site and other sides of this agreement”. ( Id.; Ausst. ” 10″ ). This call answers a question that many consumers regularly face: Should I buy the extra coverage offered with that purchase or lease?   John Rickher has addressed this issue more than a dozen times in recent years when he rented tools and equipment from Home Depot stores in Chicago.   At every opportunity, Rickher entered into a tripartite contract – the lease – with The Home Depot.   The first page is a copy of the Home Depot agreement.

  It describes the description and price of the rent with detailed fees;  One position is marked with a “Waiver of Damages”.   The first page also contains a “Special Terms” section, which contains the following statement: “I accept the benefits of the waiver of indemnification (if any) described in paragraph 11 in the terms of this Rental Agreement.”   The customer signs the first page of the contract, pursuant to this declaration of acceptance.   The second page is the copy of the customer`s agreement and also describes the rented item and the fees broken down.   It looks a lot like the first page (The Home Depot copy), but doesn`t include the special terms set out on the homepage. In district court, Rickher claimed that Home Depot violated the CFA in two ways.   First, he alleged that The Home Depot deceived him into believing that the waiver of damages was a mandatory fee by not informing him each time he rented tools that the waiver was optional and by including it as a standard condition in every lease.   Second, he argued that the waiver of damages was a “worthless” product because it did not provide consumers with protection beyond the protection already afforded by the regular lease.   Rickher attempted to certify a class of individuals who had paid the damage waiver fee when renting equipment from Home Depot stores in Illinois during the three-year period prior to Rickher filing his complaint.

The Home Depot also asks employees to “consider the waiver provision in the “Special Terms” section of the agreement. ( SOP, Exh. “7” at 2:35). The employee is required to “explain to the customer what the damage waiver covers”. ( Id. ). Even if the customer has verbally agreed to purchase the waiver of damages, when reviewing the contract with the customer, the partner must again “contact the customer if he wishes the waiver of damages”. ( Id. ). The employee is also informed that “if he does not want damages, remove the costs from the contract. Reprint the contract if necessary. ( Id.

). O`Neill states that after signing the agreement, an employee gave him instructions on how to use, refuel and clean the saw and explained that the plaintiff would be charged a cleaning fee if he returned the dirty saw. (See id. at 44:1-5, 60:22-61:14). Although the plaintiff alleges that The Home Depot does not provide customers with the terms and conditions page before they are asked to sign the agreement, O`Neill testified that he did not remember if he received this page when he signed the lease. (See id. at 64:6-18). However, when O`Neill left The Home Depot, he had the page with the terms and conditions of his lease. (See id.

at 64:19-25, 65:11-24). As part of the tool rental process, a written contract is created and executed when the customer rents a tool from The Home Depot. ( See Id.) The lease consists of three sides. First of all, there is the copy of the store, which includes the customer`s name, the rental price, a section with special conditions and a signature line. ( See Standard Operating Procedures (“SOPs”), exh. “7,” pp. 46-48). Second, there is a customer copy that contains the same information as the store copy (minus the signature line), some security information, and a second page (the “Terms and Conditions” page).

( See id.; Ausst. ” 8″ ). The Home Depot notes that, contrary to the plaintiff`s assertions, It is The Home Depot`s policy to provide the customer with all parts of the agreement, including the terms and conditions page, at the same time. ( See id.; Lewis Decl., Exh. “1”, ¶ 14). The Terms and Conditions page describes the waiver of damages and informs the customer that the waiver of damages is optional. ( See id.; After March 2005 Rental Agr., General Terms and Conditions, Exh. “8”, ¶ 11). So if you return a rental at closing time, it can make some workers very unhappy. Similarly, whether The Home Depot has disclosed the scope of the waiver of damages to the proposed category will require an individual investigation. The defendant will seek to investigate interactions between a class action lawsuit and a Home Depot employee (whenever a proposed plaintiff has leased equipment from The Home Depot) to defend O`Neill`s claim that The Home Depot systematically fails to inform its customers of the extent of the waiver of damages.

Since the “Terms and Conditions” section of the lease agreement explains the scope of the waiver, as well as a sign that must be placed at The Home Depot facilities, even if a sales representative has not informed the customer of the scope of the waiver, the defendant will want to verify whether the customer has nevertheless become aware of the scope of the waiver through other documents and/or signs. In addition, for proposed class members, such as O`Neill, who have rented tools to The Home Depot on several occasions, a relevant question for the defendant may be whether they learned the extent of the waiver of damages after the first rental of a tool, even if, as alleged, they were not informed of the scope of the waiver each time they were upheld by The Home Depot. You can return the rental tools to the Home Depot Tool Rental Center on weekends, as the center is open 7 days a week. Possible scenarios in which a customer can successfully take advantage of the benefits of damage exemption may not be significant – that is, if the damage results from an accident when used correctly, if damage occurs while the tool is not in use, or if the damage caused by proper use exceeds wear and tear – but they do exist.   We agree with the District Court that “the clear wording of the lease shows that the waiver of damages has value.”   The Home Depot is entitled to charge Customer a price in exchange for waiving any part of Customer`s basic liability under the Lease Agreement. .