Local News in Brief : Ex-Auto Dealers Agree to Pay Fines, Restitution

The former operators of a defunct North Hollywood new-car dealership have agreed to pay $35,000 in civil fines and $15,000 in restitution to customers to settle a consumer protection lawsuit filed by the state attorney general’s office.

The suit accused Jules E. Kutner, former owner of King Buick; his son, Jerome Kutner; and Gary Barbera of forging the names of customers on manufacturer’s rebate forms and then failing to give the rebates to car buyers, said Michael R. Botwin, deputy attorney general.

“Most customers were unaware” that they were being cheated, he said.

Botwin said the suit, which was settled Monday immediately after it was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, also accused the car dealers of participating in deceptive business practices, which included selling used cars as new and failing to sell cars at advertised prices.

The King Buick executives agreed to pay $35,000 in civil fines and $15,000 in restitution to customers for rebates they did not receive, Botwin said. The three men also are barred from applying for car dealership and sales licenses for at least three years, he said.

Under the terms of the settlement, King Buick executives did not admit to any wrongdoing, Botwin said. Efforts to reach the executives and their attorney, Larry Silver, were unsuccessful.

The dealership license for King Buick, which opened in December, 1986, was revoked in April, 1988, after the state Department of Motor Vehicles filed an administrative action against the company for unpaid rebates to customers.

Vince Rojas, a special investigator with the DMV, said he discovered some discrepancies in the dealership’s transactions involving about 20 customers while conducting a routine review of the company’s probationary license in early 1987. Once the dealer’s license was revoked, the case was pursued by the attorney general’s office, he said.