Court rules against CarMax in fight over vehicle inspections

Law Center

A federal appeals court in San Francisco says used car retailer CarMax must tell buyers in California the condition of individual vehicle components it inspects.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Thursday CarMax's practice of providing buyers with the list of components inspected as part of its used car certification program, but not their condition, violates California law.

Virginia-based CarMax said in a statement it was reviewing the findings of the case. The ruling came in a lawsuit by a man who bought an Infiniti from a CarMax lot in Costa Mesa, California and said he experienced problems with the car.

A lower court ruled in favor of CarMax. The 9th Circuit overturned that decision and ordered the lower court to enter judgment in favor of the plaintiff.

As time runs out, dozens of judge nominees waiting on Senate

Federal judges in New Jersey have struggled with a workload approaching 700 cases each, nearly double what's manageable, because of judicial vacancies. In Texas, close to a dozen district judgeships remain open, more than in any other state.

Senate confirmation of President Barack Obama's nominees slowed to a halt this election year, a common political occurrence for the final months of divided government with a Democratic president and a Republican-controlled Senate. The vacancy on the Supreme Court attracted the most attention as Republicans refused to even hold confirmation hearings for Merrick Garland, insisting that the choice to fill the vacancy created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February rests with the next president.

But more than 90 vacancies in the federal judiciary are taking a toll on judges, the courts and Americans seeking recourse. Obama has nominated replacements for more than half of those spots, including 44 nominees for the district court and seven for the appeals court. Yet the Senate has confirmed only nine district and appeals court judges this year ? and only four since Scalia died.

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