Car Dealer, Immigrants Settle Suit

But it was that language expertise that, according to a lawsuit, allowed the business to use bait-and-switch tactics on unsuspecting Chinese immigrants who were falsely told they had poor credit and had to take loans with high interest.

The plaintiffs who filed the lawsuit against Wondries in 2002 announced Tuesday that they had settled with the car dealership and received an undisclosed financial sum and letters of apology.

The settlement comes two and a half months before the full implementation of a state law that will require certain business contracts to be written in four major Asian languages -- Chinese, Korean, Tagalog and Vietnamese -- when needed. Consumer advocates hope the law, whose impetus was the Wondries case, will allow consumers to rely on documents, rather than off-the-cuff translations by salesclerks.

"This is a victory, not only for these plaintiffs, but for anyone who has walked into a dealership and gotten scammed," said the plaintiffs' co-counsel, Hernan D. Vera, directing attorney of the Consumer Law Project for the Public Counsel Law Center.

Stephen Grande, co-counsel for Wondries, said his client was satisfied with the settlement but declined to elaborate on the company's position. He referred questions to the apology letter, which was written in English and made no admission of wrongdoing.

"It has not been the intention of Wondries Toyota, or any of its personnel, to disrespect, mislead or mistrust any Wondries' customers, including you," said the form letter, signed by the dealership's general manager, Barry Wishengrad.

"To the extent that you felt that any individual affiliated or associated with Wondries did not properly communicate with you, respond to your questions or inquiries, or provide you with the customer service to which you are entitled, I extend our most sincere apologies," it said.

The automobile dealer also agreed to provide sensitivity training for its sales staff on how to deal with customers who do not speak English.

"It may not seem like much, but that apology was the make-it- or-break-it point for the plaintiffs," said Manjari Chawla, an attorney for the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, which took on the case for the customers.