Cavalier Manufacturing, Inc. v. Gant

143 So. 3d 762, 2013 WL 6703452, 2013 Ala. LEXIS 183
CourtSupreme Court of Alabama
DecidedDecember 20, 2013
Docket1080284
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 143 So. 3d 762 (Cavalier Manufacturing, Inc. v. Gant) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cavalier Manufacturing, Inc. v. Gant, 143 So. 3d 762, 2013 WL 6703452, 2013 Ala. LEXIS 183 (Ala. 2013).

Opinion

STUART, Justice.1

Cavalier Manufacturing, Inc. (“Cavalier”), appeals the order of the Wilcox Circuit Court denying Cavalier’s motion to alter, amend, or vacate an arbitration award entered in favor of Janie Gant. We affirm.

I.

On March 25, 2003, Gant purchased a mobile home manufactured by Cavalier (“the mobile home”) from Demopolis Home Center, L.L.C. (“DHC”), for $47,379. At the time of purchase, Gant and representatives of Cavalier and DHC executed an alternative-dispute-resolution agreement in which they agreed to arbitrate any disputes that might arise among them stemming from Gant’s purchase of the mobile home. The mobile home was also covered by a manufacturer’s warranty issued by Cavalier that likewise contained a provision requiring Gant to submit to arbitration any disputes that might arise between her and Cavalier relating to the mobile home. That warranty also generally provided, subject to certain exclusions, that Cavalier would repair or replace any defect in material or workmanship that became evident within a 1-year period after purchase, so long as Cavalier was pro[764]*764vided with written notice of the defect within 15 days of the expiration of the warranty period.

Gant was not satisfied with the manner in which DHC delivered and installed the mobile home on her property. After she moved into the mobile home, she began noticing various problems with it. It is undisputed that Gant notified DHC of those problems and that DHC made multiple efforts to satisfy Gant; it is disputed whether Gant ever notified Cavalier of her problems with the mobile home. It appears that contractors hired by DHC were able to remedy to Gant’s satisfaction some of the problems; however, on January 26, 2007, Gant sued Cavalier and DHC, asserting various fraud and breach-of-warranty claims stemming from her purchase of the allegedly defective mobile home.

On March 2, 2007, Cavalier moved the trial court to dismiss Gant’s complaint or, in the alternative, to compel arbitration pursuant to the Federal Arbitration Act (“the FAA”), 9 U.S.C. § 1 et seq., based on the alternative-dispute-resolution agreement Gant had executed with Cavalier and DHC. On April 25, 2007, the trial court granted Cavalier’s motion, stayed the case, and ordered “the parties” to submit their dispute to arbitration. Gant thereafter initiated an arbitration claim with the American Arbitration Association, and the parties prepared their cases for arbitration. On July 17 and 18, 2008, an arbitration hearing was held in Camden; part of the proceedings included a tour of the mobile home, which, for all that appears, Gant continued to live in. On October 17, 2008, the arbitrator issued an interim award in favor of Gant, awarding her $45,550 on her breach-of-express-warranty claim, plus an additional sum to be determined for attorney fees based on Cavalier’s and DHC’s violation of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty-Federal Trade Commission Improvement Act, 15 U.S.C. § 2301 et seq. (“the Magnuson-Moss Act”). See Forest River, Inc. v. Posten, 847 So.2d 957, 961 (Ala.Civ.App.2002) (“[Section] 2310(d)(2) of the Magnuson-Moss Act authorizes the award of an attorney fee to prevailing plaintiffs in warranty actions at the discretion of the trial judge.”). In the award, the arbitrator made the following findings of fact:

“The evidence, specifically including but not limited to the arbitrator’s view of [Gant’s] home, makes very clear that the mobile home was not set up and/or finished properly. For example, there are substantial gaps between a number of the doors and the home itself. In addition, more than a preponderance of the evidence shows that substantial amounts of water came into the home via the ridge cap.
“The evidence is overwhelming that the home has sustained substantial damage caused by the presence of water and/or water vapor inside the exterior walls of the home. The arbitrator’s view of damage, specifically including but not limited to seeing rotted wood adjacent to the rear doors of the home, was consistent with the testimony and report of Michael Gurtler, one of [Gant’s] experts. Indeed, at one point at the right side of the left rear door (viewed from the inside) the arbitrator was convinced that if he pushed harder with his finger, he would put a hole through the floor. The arbitrator decided not to test his suspicion in the interest of not making a bad situation worse.
“The suggestion offered that the water damage near the rear doors was caused by water getting beneath the exterior roofing near the ridge cap and moving down between the interior and exterior roofs is inconsistent with the evidence. Although there is some staining above the outside of the left rear door (viewed now from the outside) consistent with water having flowed from the space between the roofs, there is no [765]*765such staining above the other rear door noted above, where the rotting appears to be significantly greater.
“The ridge cap is curled and deformed along much if not all of its length. The suggestion offered by one or another of the witnesses that the deformation was caused by violent storms that passed through the area is not persuasive. If that were the cause, one would expect other areas of the roof to have been affected as well as the ridge cap, but the roof other than the ridge cap appears largely undamaged. In short, physical facts support Gurtler’s determination that the attic is not sufficiently well ventilated and that situation contributed to the presence of water vapor in the home.”

The arbitrator also explained the award in favor of Gant on her breach-of-express-warranty claim as follows:

“[Gant’s] claims include breach of express warranty against Cavalier and [DHC]. It is undisputed that Cavalier issues a warranty covering every home it sells.... Cavalier contends that it is entitled to judgment on [Gant’s] claims under the express warranty because she did not provide Cavalier with the notice required under the warranty and/or Alabama law prior to filing her complaint and did not provide it with an opportunity to cure the alleged defects prior to suit being filed. With the exception of a letter dated May 15, 2003, and an inspection list with comments dated May ■17, 2003, both of which [Gant] signed, it is undisputed that [Gant] did not communicate with any representative of Cavalier. ...
“The evidence, specifically including the testimonies of [Cavalier’s service manager Jerry] Dudley and Shawn Wilson, former manager of [DHC], persuades the arbitrator that there existed a course of dealing whereby [DHC] received complaints of problems from customers to whom it had sold homes built by Cavalier and that when those problems related to warranty issues passed them on to Cavalier who then took action. The evidence persuades the arbitrator that Cavalier took action on warranty items related to [Gant’s] home based on that course of dealing without seeking written or oral confirmation from her. The arbitrator finds that Cavalier waived the requirement for written notice set out in its manufacturer’s limited warranty. Because Cavalier waived its right to notice of warranty claims from [Gant], the arbitrator must deny Cavalier’s opportunity to cure argument.

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Bluebook (online)
143 So. 3d 762, 2013 WL 6703452, 2013 Ala. LEXIS 183, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cavalier-manufacturing-inc-v-gant-ala-2013.