Bishop v. Mid-America Auto Auction, Inc.

807 F. Supp. 683, 1992 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19014, 1992 WL 366984
CourtDistrict Court, D. Kansas
DecidedNovember 10, 1992
DocketCiv. A. No. 89-2029-S
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 807 F. Supp. 683 (Bishop v. Mid-America Auto Auction, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bishop v. Mid-America Auto Auction, Inc., 807 F. Supp. 683, 1992 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19014, 1992 WL 366984 (D. Kan. 1992).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

SAFFELS, District Judge.

This matter is before the court on the following motions: Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law or in the Alternative for a New Trial (Docs. 190 and 192), and Plaintiff’s Motion for Attorney’s Fees (Doc. 198).

Rule 50(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides:

If during a trial by jury a party has been fully heard with respect to an issue and there is no legally sufficient evidentiary basis for a reasonable jury to have found for that party with respect to that issue, the court may grant a motion for judgment as a matter of law against that party on any claim, counterclaim, cross-claim, or third party claim that cannot under the controlling law be maintained without a favorable finding on that issue.

The rule further provides that such a motion may be renewed after trial within ten days of entry of judgment.

As the Tenth Circuit has stated on numerous occasions, the evidence must be viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, and only if the evidence so strongly points to one interpretation leaving no room for other reasonable inferences, should the court grant such a motion. Danner v. International Medical Marketing, Inc., 944 F.2d 791, 793 (10th Cir.1991); Riggs v. Scrivner, Inc., 927 F.2d 1146, 1149 (10th Cir.1991).

Generally, motions for a new trial are committed to the discretion of the district court. McDonough Power Equipment, Inc. v. Greenwood, 464 U.S. 548, 556, 104 S.Ct. 845, 850, 78 L.Ed.2d 663 (1984). In reviewing a motion for new trial, the court should “exercise judgment in preference to the automatic reversal for ‘error’ and ignore errors that do not affect the essential fairness of the trial.” McDonough Power Equipment, 464 U.S. at 553, 104 S.Ct. at 848. “[T]he party seeking to set aside a jury verdict must demonstrate trial errors which constitute prejudicial error or that the verdict is not based on substantial evidence.” White v. Conoco, Inc., 710 F.2d 1442, 1443 (10th Cir.1983). The alleged trial court errors must be prejudicial and clearly erroneous, rather than harmless. Also, no error in the admission or exclusion of evidence, and no error in any ruling or order of the trial court or anything done or omitted by the court, can be grounds for granting a new trial unless the error or defect affects the substantial rights of the parties. Rasmussen Drilling, Inc. v. Kerr-McGee Nuclear Corp., 571 F.2d 1144, 1148-49 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 862, 99 S.Ct. 183, 58 L.Ed.2d 171 (1978).

The defendants first contend that they were not transferors within the meaning of the federal odometer statute, 15 U.S.C. § 1988, and therefore, are not liable to the plaintiff. A transferor for the purpose of the federal odometer statute is defined in 49 C.F.R. § 580.3 as:

any person who transfers his ownership of a motor vehicle by sale, gift, or any means other than by the creation of a security interest, and any person who, as agent, signs an odometer disclosure statement for the transferor.

While in most cases the transferor will be one who owns the vehicle in question, under the facts of this case, the interpretation as urged by the defendants would be too narrow. There was evidence from which the jury could have properly found that all three defendants were transferors. There was evidence that defendant Shrum held an ownership interest in the vehicle and that he would either suffer the loss or realize the profit on the sale of the car. Defendant Phillips held the title, but was doing business as Mid-America Auto Auction (“MAA”), which garnered proceeds [686]*686from the sale of the vehicles. Further, the evidence could have supported a finding that all three defendants were transferors based upon a scheme of fraudulent conduct in which various acts were alleged. The court finds that the evidence is not susceptible to only one interpretation and judgment as a matter of law is not warranted.

In the alternative, the defendants move for a new trial on several bases. First, the defendants contend the court erroneously defined “transferor” in the jury instructions. The court’s instruction was a definition directly out of the Code of Federal Regulations, which established definitions for use with sections 408(a) and (e) of the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act as amended, 15 U.S.C. § 1988. Even if Instruction No. 9 improperly stated the law regarding transferors, there was enough evidence from which the jury could have found an ownership interest on the part of the defendants in the vehicle in question.

Second, the defendants argue generally that the verdict, including the finding of fraud, was against the great weight of the evidence. Having presided over the trial of this matter, the court finds there was ample evidence to find the defendants liable to the plaintiffs.

Next, the defendants contend that the amount of punitive damages awarded, $250,000 for defendants Phillips and Shrum and $100,000 for MAA, was excessive. The court disagrees. The Tenth Circuit has looked to Kansas law for the rules governing an award of punitive damages. O’Gilvie v. International Playtex, Inc., 821 F.2d 1438 (10th Cir.1987). The Kansas courts have stated that punitive damages are awarded for willful and wanton violations of the plaintiffs rights, the purpose being to punish the wrongful conduct and deter others from future violations. O’Gilvie v. International Playtex, Inc., 821 F.2d at 1446. The following factors have been deemed relevant to an award of punitive damages:

The law establishes no fixed ratio between actual and exemplary damages by which to determine excessiveness. In assessing punitive damages the nature, extent, and enormity of the wrong, the intent of the party committing it, and circumstances attending the transaction involved should be considered. Any mitigating circumstances which may bear upon any of the above factors may be considered to reduce such damages.

Id. at 1446-47 (quoting Binyon v. Nesseth, 231 Kan. 381, 646 P.2d 1043 (1982)).

The evidence presented at trial was such that the jury could have determined the defendants not only sold one car that had a rolled back odometer, but that this was the tip of the iceberg and the defendants were involved in a fraudulent course of conduct to buy and sell many rollbacks. Further, the plaintiff presented evidence that, if this was occurring, it had the potential to be a very lucrative practice.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
807 F. Supp. 683, 1992 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19014, 1992 WL 366984, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bishop-v-mid-america-auto-auction-inc-ksd-1992.