Agredano v. United States

595 F.3d 1278, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 2993, 2010 WL 537160
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
DecidedFebruary 17, 2010
Docket19-1991
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 595 F.3d 1278 (Agredano v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Agredano v. United States, 595 F.3d 1278, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 2993, 2010 WL 537160 (Fed. Cir. 2010).

Opinions

Opinion for the court filed by Circuit Judge MAYER. Concurring opinion filed by Circuit Judge DYK.

MAYER, Circuit Judge.

The United States appeals the judgment of the Court of Federal Claims holding that United States Customs and Border Protection (“Customs”) breached an implied-in-fact warranty when it inadvertently sold a vehicle containing concealed narcotics to Francisco Javier Rivera Agre-dano. See Agredano v. United States, 82 Fed.Cl. 416 (2008). Because the court erred in finding an implied warranty in the agreement between Customs and Agredano, we reverse.

BACKGROUND

Agredano attended a Customs auction of forfeited vehicles on September 5, 2001. In order to participate in the auction, Agredano was required to sign a bidder registration form stating that he “agree[d] to comply with the terms of sale contained in the sale catalog for this sale.”

The sale catalog, in turn, stated “[a]ll merchandise is sold on an ‘AS IS, WHERE IS’ basis, without warranty or guarantee as to condition, fitness to use, or merchantability stated, implied or otherwise. Please bid from your personal observations.” A second disclaimer, printed on a brochure advertising the auction, stated:

The vehicles offered to you for purchase at any U.S. Customs Auction are sold “AS IS, WHERE IS”. This means that neither U.S. Customs or McCormack Auction Company, or EG & G Dyna-trend, extend any warranties or promises of any kind regarding any aspect of the vehicle or its ability to operate, including but not limited to the vehicle’s identity, previous ownership, physical condition, registration status, or ability to pass a smog certification.

Agredano purchased a 1987 Nissan Pathfinder at the auction. The vehicle had [1280]*1280been seized by Customs and forfeited when its previous owner attempted to transport marijuana across the Mexican border into the United States. While Customs agents detected and removed some of the marijuana at that time, more remained in the vehicle unbeknownst to Customs or Agredano. Several months after the auction, on January 24, 2002, Agredano was traveling in the Pathfinder in Mexico with Alfonso Calderon Leon, his business partner and brother-in-law. The two men were stopped at a checkpoint by Mexican soldiers who inspected the vehicle and found the hidden marijuana. Both men were arrested and spent nearly a year in prison before being exonerated by a Mexican appellate court on January 10, 2003.

Agredano and Leon jointly filed a claim against the United States in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California pursuant to the Federal Tort Claims Act (“FTCA”), 28 U.S.C. §§ 1346(b), 2671-2680, alleging, inter alia, negligence and breach of contract. While the case was pending, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain, which held that a statutory exception to the FTCA “bars all claims based on any injury suffered in a foreign country, regardless of where the tortious act or omission occurred.” 542 U.S. 692, 712,124 S.Ct. 2739, 159 L.Ed.2d 718 (2004). Relying on Sosa, the district court granted the government’s motion for summary judgment. The parties then stipulated to the filing of an amended complaint, alleging only contract claims, and the transfer of the action to the Court of Federal Claims.

The Court of Federal Claims held that a contract arose when Agredano agreed to purchase and Customs agreed to sell the Pathfinder, the contract contained an implied-in-fact warranty that the vehicle did not contain contraband, and Customs breached this warranty. Agredano, 82 Fed.Cl. at 452. The court awarded damages for Agredano’s past and future medical bills, past and future psychiatric treatment, attorney fees in connection with the criminal proceedings in Mexico, and costs incurred by Agredano’s family to visit him in prison. Id. The trial court denied third-party beneficiary status to Leon, denied Agredano’s request for damages for emotional distress, and held that Customs did not violate the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. Id. at 428-29, 447, 451-52. The United States appeals the finding of an implied-in-fact warranty. Agredano and Leon cross-appeal as to third-party beneficiary status for Leon, damages for emotional distress, and the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.1 We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1295(a)(3).

DISCUSSION

We review the Court of Federal Claims’s decision de novo for errors of law and for clear error on findings of fact. Ind. Mich. Power Co. v. United States, 422 F.3d 1369, 1373 (Fed.Cir.2005). Contract interpretation is a matter of law, and is therefore reviewed de novo. St. Christopher Assocs., L.P. v. United States, 511 F.3d 1376, 1380 (Fed.Cir.2008).

“[T]o recover for a breach of warranty, a plaintiff must allege and prove (1) that a valid warranty existed, (2) the warranty was breached, and (3) plaintiffs damages were caused by the breach.” Hercules Inc. v. United States, 24 F.3d [1281]*1281188, 197 (Fed.Cir.1994). At issue in this case is the first prong. It is undisputed that Customs made no express warranties regarding the vehicle, and the trial court appropriately determined that it did not have jurisdiction to entertain a claim that a warranty was implied-in-law. Agredano, 82 Fed.Cl. at 430 (citing Hercules, Inc. v. United States, 516 U.S. 417, 423, 116 S.Ct. 981, 134 L.Ed.2d 47 (1996)). Instead, the trial court held that the contract between Agredano and Customs contained an implied-in-fact warranty that the Pathfinder was free of contraband, despite the disclaimers of warranty made by Customs at the auction.

As the trial court correctly stated, an agreement implied-in-fact requires a “ ‘meeting of minds’ ” that can be inferred from the conduct of the parties. Id. at 440 (quoting Baltimore & Ohio R.R., 261 U.S. 592, 597, 58 Ct.Cl. 709, 43 S.Ct. 425, 67 L.Ed. 816 (1923)). We have found implied warranties only where “the circumstances strongly supported a factual inference that a warranty was implied.” Lopez v. A.C. & S., Inc., 858 F.2d 712, 715 (Fed.Cir.1988).

The trial court held that the actions of Agredano and Customs, indicating that both parties believed the Pathfinder was free of contraband, demonstrate the requisite meeting of the minds to form an implied warranty. Agredano, 82 Fed.Cl. at 440. The foundation of the parties’ belief is an expectation that Customs had fulfilled its regulatory duty to remove any contraband from the vehicle before selling it. Id. at 437 (“The officers and agents of Customs are tasked with the duty to identify and remove all contraband from vehicles that cross into the United States.”).

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Bluebook (online)
595 F.3d 1278, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 2993, 2010 WL 537160, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/agredano-v-united-states-cafc-2010.