Albert Scott Arditi Sues BMW for Alleged Assault and Unjust Repo by Irvine Dealer's Staff

Or else?

Irvine BMW is being sued by a Laguna Niguel man who claims dealership employees pushed him and held him down and that a repossession agent punched him as they seized his 2004 BMW 745i.

If you're wondering why the fraud, assault and false imprisonment case is in Orange County's federal rather than state criminal court, that's because the district attorney's office says it could not prove Albert Scott Arditi's case.

Before the dark day at the dealership, Arditi and BMW were apparently already suing one another for breach of contract because, he claims, he stopped making car payments after his Beemer experienced various mechanical problems that the automaker failed to take care of last year.

He brought his ride to Irvine BMW to get several repairs done before his six-year warranty expired. But, Arditi's suit filed Nov. 1 claims, BMW of North America ordered the car be repossessed if he brought it to a dealer. Irvine BMW is corporate owned.

Arditi, who missed five or six car payments, is seeking $214,100 in damages, which includes replacement of his Beemer that he claims was sold to a third party. He also claims an employee with co-defendant Golden West Recovery Services Inc., BMW's Newport Beach-based vehicle repossession company, seriously injured him when Arditi tried without success to retrieve $4,100 in cash and credit cards from the glove compartment.

Farrah Emami, the Orange County District Attorney's office spokeswoman, reportedly told the Orange County Register that the decision not to prosecute was "due to insufficient corroboration to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt."

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