Allstate Lien & Recovery Corp. v. Stansbury

126 A.3d 40, 445 Md. 187, 2015 Md. LEXIS 801
CourtCourt of Appeals of Maryland
DecidedNovember 23, 2015
Docket7/15
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 126 A.3d 40 (Allstate Lien & Recovery Corp. v. Stansbury) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Maryland primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Allstate Lien & Recovery Corp. v. Stansbury, 126 A.3d 40, 445 Md. 187, 2015 Md. LEXIS 801 (Md. 2015).

Opinions

BATTAGLIA, J.

In the present case, Cedric Stansbury, Respondent, was informed by Allstate Lien, Jeremy Martin, and Russel Collision, Petitioners, that he would have to pay $1,000 representing “lien enforcement costs” or “cost of process” fees1 in order [190]*190to redeem his Mazda RX-8 prior to its sale.2 It is undisputed that the $1,000 was not actually incurred by Russel Collision but, rather, was the amount agreed upon between Russel Collision and Allstate Lien to conduct the sale. Mr. Stansbury unquestionably received notice of the sale; it is not the efficacy of the sale that is before us. Rather, it is the fact that Russel Collision and Allstate Lien argue that they were entitled, without Mr. Stansbury’s consent,3 4to keep his car and [191]*191eventually sell it, unless Mr. Stansbury paid, in order to redeem his vehicle, the costs related to the sale of the car that was scheduled to occur in the future, in addition to the repair costs associated with the Mazda RX-8.

In the present case, Mr. Stansbury filed suit in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County in June of 2011 alleging violations of the Maryland Consumer Protection Act,4 the Automotive [192]*192Repair Facilities Act,5 and the Consumer Debt Collection Statute,6 as well as one count of unjust enrichment7, another [193]*193count of malfeasance,8 and another count of breach of the implied duty of good faith and fair dealing9, as a result of Russel Collision having placed a lien on his 2009 Mazda RX-8 and the subsequent sale of the vehicle. Initially, Mr. Stansbury sued Russel Collision Center, Inc., located in Baltimore County, Maryland, Jeremy Martin, the manager of Russel Collision, and Allstate Lien and Recovery Corporation, of Baltimore, Maryland, as well as Owings Mills Motor Cars, Inc., Paul Martin, the alleged buyer of the vehicle who was employed by Owings Mills Motor Cars, Inc., and Josephine Keehner, the office manager of Allstate Lien, who notarized various documents.10 After filing an Amended Complaint as well as a Second Amended Complaint, Mr. Stansbury finally settled upon a Third Amended Complaint, in which he alleged that he, in 2010, had his Mazda RX-8 serviced at Russel [194]*194Collision but later experienced an engine seizure that led to his car being struck by another vehicle:

13. In late November 2008, Plaintiff purchased the new Mazda RX-8 for $31,648, not including title, tax, and fees. He paid cash for his vehicle.
14. In late 2010, Plaintiff got an oil change from Defendant Russel. Shortly after that, on or about December 2010, Plaintiffs engine seized, most likely from Defendant Russel’s failure to properly change the oil. When the engine seized the vehicle stopped in the middle of the road. As Plaintiff went to get help, an unidentified driver struck the Mazda RX-8, causing body damage.

Mr. Stansbury further averred that four months into the repair, he was asked to sign, on April 7, 2011, a document which evaluated the work to be done:

15. The vehicle was towed to Defendant Russel’s shop where the engine was replaced. This was paid for under Plaintiffs warranty.
16. Plaintiff had repeated direct dealings with Defendant Jeremy Martin regarding the repairs and later lien on the subject vehicle.
17. Plaintiffs insurer, the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund (“MAIF” or “the insurer”), evaluated the body damage. Defendants Jeremy Martin and Russel knew that the vehicle was insured and dealt directly with representatives from MAIF regarding the work that needed to be done and the amount MAIF would pay.
18. Although the vehicle was taken to Russel in December 2010, representatives from Russel did not begin working on the vehicle for approximately four (4) months, telling Plaintiff that, due to the earthquake in Japan, the parts for the body work were not available.
19. On April 7, 2011, Defendant Russel asked that Plaintiff sign a document concerning its repair policies (see “Dear Customer” letter, Exhibit 1). Prior to that time no documents were signed by Plaintiff regarding approval for repairs, and no repair invoices were ever signed by Plaintiff.
[195]*19520. On or about May 7, 2011, Defendant Russel and/or MAIF supplemented its evaluation of the work needed to be done to the Mazda and the total repair amount came to $7,134.83. According to Defendant Russel’s handwritten notes, the insurer paid Russel $804.46 directly, bringing the amount owed to $6,330.37 (apparently comprising the insurance amount of $6,080.37 and a $250 deductible).

According to the complaint, Mr. Stansbury was notified that his vehicle was finished on May 17, 2011; he was presented a bill in the amount of $6,330.37 for the repairs:

21. According to the Defendant Russel’s handwritten notes submitted to the MVA [Motor Vehicle Administration], the first time Russel notified the Plaintiff that his vehicle was done and that he owed $6,330.37 was on May 17, 2011 (see Defendant Russel’s notes, Exhibit 2).

Over the next month, according to the complaint, Mr. Stansbury attempted to retrieve his Mazda RX-8 but the amount charged by Russel Collision to redeem the car changed from $6,330.37 to $6,630.37 and then to $7,630.37:

22. Plaintiff made several attempts to make arrangements to pay for the repairs and discussed with Defendant Jeremy Martin shortly after May 17, 2011, that he could have payment by mid-June. Since Russel had held the car for over four (4) months, Plaintiff reasonably believed that it would not be a problem if he paid for the car in mid-June, and Defendant Jeremy Martin gave no indication that this would be a problem.
23. During this time, however, the price demanded to retrieve the car kept changing, rising from $6,330.37 to $6,630.37 to $7,630.37.

The complaint also alleged that a Notice of Sale at auction on June 23, 2011 of the Mazda RX-8, resulting from the enforcement of a hen, listed the repair charges as $6,630.37 plus cost of process fees of $1,000, for a total of $7,630.37:

24. Sometime in early June 2011, Defendant Jeremy Martin, as manager of Defendant Russel and Owen Douglas Cooper and as auctioneer for Defendant Allstate, signed a [196]*196“Notice of Sale of Motor Vehicle to Satisfy a Lien” for the Mazda RX and listed the ‘process start date’ as June 2, 2011. According to the notice, the ‘repair order charges’ were $6,630.37, $300 more than the amount quoted to Plaintiff (see Notice of Sale, Exhibit 3).[11]
25. In addition, this document dated June 2, 2011 listed ‘cost of process’ at $1,000, although no explanation was given as to this amount. The total now demanded for return of the subject vehicle was $7,630.37, $1,300 more than the quote given to Plaintiff less than two weeks before (see Notice of Sale, Exhibit 3).
26.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
126 A.3d 40, 445 Md. 187, 2015 Md. LEXIS 801, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/allstate-lien-recovery-corp-v-stansbury-md-2015.