What's this BS now?

The tires on my 2000 Saturn SL2 are only about 7 months old. I pulled into the parking lot at a Target store, turned off to the side and sent a text to my wife to see if she was done shopping. She wasn't so I moved the car a few feet to get into a parking spot and it felt like the parking brake was on. Or, I said to my son, "do I have a flat?" He got out and yes the rear passenger tire was hissing up a storm and was about 1" from being flat. I pulled it off and replaced it with the spare. When I got home I called the place I purchased the tires from and asked if I could bring it in this afternoon. He asked "where is the leak?" I was not sure where it was but it was on the face of the tread. "Well" he said "if it's anywhere in the area of the first row of lugs on either outside edge of the tire they cannot fix it and I will have to replace it with a new one. Huh? I looked for the leak and it was in the first groove running the circumference of the tire so I thought maybe we are good to go. Brought it to the shop and the guy said "nope can't fix it". And by the looks of the tire, having a black wear mark around it indicating I dove on it while it was flat, I probably tore up the inside and the tire is shot. I only drove it for maybe 100 to 200 feet while it was leaking and it was never driven on when it was completely flat. I left the shop not saying anything nice to the guy, if you know what I mean, went home and fixed the flat myself.

Is this something new that the tire manufacturers are pushing so we buy more tires? I think it's BS. Yes if the leak is on the very outside edge of the tread or up the sidewall that could be problematic. But this leak is in about 1-1/4" from the very outside edge of the tread.

The rule of thumb is 1 inch from the edge. It's a safety concern and some shops wont fix it to avoid a possible lawsuit. there is a chance you hit something in the road and drove with it partially deflated before you got to the store, which would damage the sidewall and could cause a failure in the future. Although, there is no way to tell if it got damaged without taking the tire off the rim and inspecting it.

Could the shop have fixed it and sent you on your way? Of course. Was the tech just covering his ass? Quite possibly.