Filed under: Car Buying, Government/Legal, Toyota

Shady car salesmen are known to make all sorts of claims in order to move the metal. But a recently concluded lawsuit in Alabama has ruled that there is a limit to what claims an auto sales rep can make.

The lawsuit revolves around two Toyota dealerships in the South East. According to Reuters, Fred Kenner - sales manager at Bob Tyler Toyota in Pensacola, Florida - referred to East Shore Toyota in Daphne, Alabama, as "Taliban Toyota", telling prospective buyers that its owner Shawn Esfahani (pictured at right) was funneling money to the Taliban and to insurgents in Iraq, jeopardizing the lives of our troops serving overseas.

Esfahani countered that he left his home country of Iran after the Islamic revolution there in 1980 and that Kenner's allegations were pure slander. The courts have apparently upheld Esfahani's claim and awarded him $7.5 million in damages to be paid by Bob Tyler Toyota.
Alabama car dealer dubbed "Taliban Toyota" wins $7.5M verdict originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 03 Nov 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.



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The verdict in hand for Shawn Esfahani is a big one! There is no doubt that being dubbed a "terrorist" doesn't do one's business any favors. It's more likely that the customers who heard the comments might have decided not to purchase vehicles from Esfahani's Toyota dealership.

Now, would you be willing to buy a car from someone if you were told they funneled money towards terrorism? Definitely not.

What if this happens to other automobile dealership such as the Richardson car dealership? Definitely, people will be taken aback!

To conclude about the case, the Taliban Toyota verdict included $2.5 million in compensatory and $5 million in punitive damages. Shawn Esfahani hoped that his case sets a precedent against racial targeting.