2001-01-26 Harley-Davidson Response - Minnesota Judicial Branch

agreement. The two individuals alleged they were promised a chance to purchase Harley-
Davidson motorcycles in the future at a below market value price established by the manufacturer
rather than the retailer. The lawsuit was brought as a putative class action. Twin Cities Harley-
Davidson made an early motion for summary judgment seeking dismissal on legal grounds. The
Dakota County court denied that motion as premature, reserving ruling on legal issues until after
discovery. (Contrary to petitioners’ representation, there was never a motion “to prevent class
certification.“) Faced with the prospect of an expensive class-wide discovery and litigation (for a
class that has usually been estimated at between 3,000 and 5,000), Twin Cities Harley-Davidson
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agreed to settle the case for less than its cost of defense through a class certification hearing. The
settlement, approved by Dakota County Court, provitied for payment of $70,000 in attorney fees,
$12,500 to each of the two class representatives, and by giving a 10 percent discount on the
purchase of merchandise from Twin Cities Harley-Davidson to any member of the class for a
limited time. Very few class members actually sought the discounts. Out of the thousands of
persons in the class, only 132 opted out. (Some of whom claimed they were doing so because the
lawsuit was baseless.)
II. THE CURRENT CLAIMS
Approximately three months after the fmal settlement approval, class counsel wrote
counsel for Twin Cities Harley-Davidson saying he was now representing 25 individuals, most of
whom opted out, and threatening to sue again unless Twin Cities Harley-Davidson agreed to pay
their small’ individual claims, plus a more hefty attorney’s fee. Twin Cities H y-Davidson
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asked for petitioners to provide the factual basis for each individual claim. Petitioners’ counsel
‘The claims range between $500.00 and $3,083.00. (See Unger Aff., Ex. 5.)
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