By Gideon Scanlon
Richmond, British Columbia — January 5, 2018 — In December 2015, tragedy struck when Richmond resident Jessica Liu drove her weeks-old Aston Martin DB9 off the road and into a rock. The accident caused extensive structural damage to the limited edition car, leading to a $135,000 repair bill.
Just over a year later, and Liu has filed suit against both the bodyshop that made the repairs, and the dealership that sold her the $200,000 vehicle.
Accusing bodyshop Burrard Autostrasse Collision (BAC) and dealer MCL Motor Cars of conspiring to overcharge her, Liu is seeking $300,000 including damages for pain and suffering, loss and psychological disability.
While the rock may have inflicted physical damage on her car, Liu claims that the experience has left her with a range of serious psychological symptoms ranging from low self-esteem and an impaired ability to form intimate relationships, to anxiety and periodic thoughts of suicide.
Both BAC and MCL Motor Cars have strongly denied the claims made in the suit, and issued separate counter-claims. In BAC’s, Liu’s suit is described as a frivolous and pointed to the fact that $85,000 remains unpaid on her bill.
In the other counter-claim, the MCL Motor Cars accuses Liu of defamation, pointing to a social media post wherein she describes the dealerships practices as akin to “selling horse meat as beefsteak.”
