Bruce v. Ford Motor Co.

130 So. 3d 427, 13 La.App. 3 Cir. 179, 2013 WL 6640891, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 2608
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 18, 2013
DocketNo. 13-179
StatusPublished

This text of 130 So. 3d 427 (Bruce v. Ford Motor Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bruce v. Ford Motor Co., 130 So. 3d 427, 13 La.App. 3 Cir. 179, 2013 WL 6640891, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 2608 (La. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinions

GENOVESE, Judge.

| iln this redhibition suit, Defendants, Ford Motor Company, Inc. (Ford Motor Company) and Marler Ford Company, Inc. (Marler Ford), appeal the judgment of the trial court in favor of Plaintiff, George L. Bruce, awarding him the purchase price of the vehicle, expenses, and attorney fees. Mr. Bruce has answered the appeal seeking an increase in the attorney fee award for work performed on post-trial motions and on appeal. For the following reasons, we affirm in part, reverse in part, and render.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On January 14, 2008, Mr. Bruce purchased a 2007 Ford F-150 with 8,904 miles [429]*429from Marler Ford and paid $30,118.63 for the truck and related expenses.1 The truck was a certified pre-owned vehicle and, therefore, was covered by a warranty. Mr. Bruce subsequently brought the truck in on several occasions for maintenance and repairs.

Due to continuing unresolved problems with the truck, Mr. Bruce instituted this redhibition action, naming Ford Motor Company and Marler Ford (sometimes collectively referred to as Ford herein) as defendants. Mr. Bruce’s petition set forth multiple occasions when he brought the truck in for repairs and prayed for a rescission of the sale with a return of its purchase price, incurred expenses, interest, and attorney fees.

Following a trial on the merits, the trial court rendered judgment in favor of Mr. Bruce for $35,917.72,2 plus legal interest and court cost. The trial court also awarded Mr. Bruce $17,000.00 in attorney fees. Thereafter, Ford filed a motion |2for new trial, and Mr. Bruce filed a motion to increase the attorney fee award. Following a hearing, the trial court denied both motions. Ford has appealed the trial court’s judgment in favor of Mr. Bruce, and Mr. Bruce has answered the appeal relative to an increase in attorney fees.

ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR

On appeal, Ford presents the following assignments of error for our review:

I.
The trial court erred in rendering judgment in favor of [Mr. Bruce] because there was no evidence or the evidence was insufficient to support its finding that a “defect” existed in the Ford F-150 “Super Cruiser” at the time it was delivered to [Mr. Bruce].
II.
In the alternative, the trial court erred by awarding [Mr. Bruce] the full sales price of the F-150 instead of a reduction in its price, given that [Mr. Bruce] drove the truck over 67,000 miles throughout a three-year period.
III.
The trial court erred in awarding to [Mr. Bruce] an excessive amount of attorney[ ] fees for a case of this nature.

LAW AND DISCUSSION

The standard of review to be applied in this case was recently set forth in Thibodeaux v. Kaufman Trailers, Inc., 12-885, pp. 2-3 (La.App. 3 Cir. 2/6/13), 108 So.3d 1283, 1285-86, wherein we stated:

The existence of redhibitory defects is a question of fact, and the trial court’s conclusions about them should not be set aside absent manifest error. Parker v. Dubus Engine Co., 563 So.2d 355 (La.App. 3 Cir.1990). An appellate court may not set aside a trial court’s finding of fact absent manifest error or unless the fact finder is clearly wrong. Lewis v. State, Through Dep’t of Transp. and Dev., 94-2370 (La.4/21/95), 654 So.2d 311; Thomas v. Albertsons, Inc., 28,950 (La.App. 2 Cir. 12/11/96), 685 So.2d 1134, writ denied, 97-0391 (La.3/27/97), 692 So.2d 395.

[430]*430 \ Sufficiency of Evidence

An action in redhibition arises pursuant to Louisiana Civil Code Article 2520, which provides:

The seller warrants the buyer against redhibitory defects, or vices, in the thing sold.
A defect is redhibitory when it renders the thing useless, or its use so inconvenient that it must be presumed that a buyer would not have bought the thing had he known of the defect. The existence of such a defect gives a buyer the right to obtain rescission of the sale.
A defect is redhibitory also when, without rendering the thing totally useless, it diminishes its usefulness or its value so that it must be presumed that a buyer would still have bought it but for a lesser price. The existence of such a defect limits the right of a buyer to a reduction of the price.

In the instant matter, the trial court found that “[a]lmost immediately!,] a litany of minor problems and others not so minor manifested themselves. The most significant event in the [c]ourt’s mind occurred when the vehicle accelerated on its own in traffic and once again at [Mr. Bruce’s] residence.” The trial court expressly noted “that the throttle body and vehicle’s transmission were also replaced at one point[,]” and “a long series of complaints and attempted repairs including numerous minor repairs, or at least less serious ones, were made.” Accepting Mr. Bruce’s testimony that he would not have purchased this vehicle had he known it had been titled prior to his purchase, or had he known of the defects, and considering the evidence that “[n]umerous complaints and attempts at repairs were made by both Marler and a dealership in Natchez, Mississippi!,]” the trial court found that Mr. Bruce was entitled to a rescission of the sale. We find no manifest error in this finding, and we affirm same.

In its first assignment of error, Ford asserts that Mr. Bruce failed to prove the existence of a defect. We disagree.

|4“A buyer of an automobile who asserts a redhibition claim need not show the particular cause of the defects making the vehicle unfit for the intended purposes, but rather must simply prove the actual existence of such defects.” Young v. Ford Motor Co., Inc., 595 So.2d 1123, 1126 (La.1992); Crawford v. Abbott Automobile Co., 157 La. 59, 101 So. 871 (1924). The buyer in a redhibition action is also not required to negate all other causes of a defect. Ewing and Salter, Inc. v. Gafner Automotive & Mach., Inc., 392 So.2d 762 (La.App. 3 Cir.1980), writ denied, 396 So.2d 933 (La.1981). “The buyer may prove the existence of redhibitory defects at the time of the sale not only by direct evidence of eyewitnesses, but also by circumstantial evidence giving rise to the reasonable inference that the defect existed at the time of the sale.” Rey [v. Cuccia ], 298 So.2d [840,] 843 [ (La.1974) ].

Bonnette v. Ford Motor Co., 11-1274, pp. 4-5 (La.App. 3 Cir. 3/7/12), 88 So.3d 1164, 1168.

Ford argues that Mr. Bruce’s “case is entirely based upon his experience of symptoms — engine surge and unintended acceleration — that, despite Ford’s extensive efforts[,] were never duplicated, and the cause of which was never identified, not even by [Mr. Bruce] himself.” However, Mr. Bruce does not bear the burden of showing the cause of the problems that he experienced with the vehicle. In fact, the record bears out that Ford itself never identified the source of this repeated complaint because the vehicle was not “throw[431]*431ing codes” to indicate the source of the problems.3

In addition to Mr.

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130 So. 3d 427, 13 La.App. 3 Cir. 179, 2013 WL 6640891, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 2608, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bruce-v-ford-motor-co-lactapp-2013.