Daimler Chrysler Corp. v. Yaeger

818 N.E.2d 527, 2004 Ind. App. LEXIS 2386, 2004 WL 2729659
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 1, 2004
Docket55A05-0402-CV-65
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 818 N.E.2d 527 (Daimler Chrysler Corp. v. Yaeger) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Daimler Chrysler Corp. v. Yaeger, 818 N.E.2d 527, 2004 Ind. App. LEXIS 2386, 2004 WL 2729659 (Ind. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinions

[530]*530OPINION

HOFFMAN, Senior Judge.

Defendant-Appellant Daimler Chrysler Corporation ("Daimler") appeals the trial court's denial of its motion to dismiss and compel Plaintiffs-Appellees Samuel Yae-ger and Diane Yaeger ("the Yaegers") to submit to arbitration. We reverse and remand with instructions.

We consider the following issues in our review of the trial court's determination:

I. Whether Daimler's appeal should be dismissed because it failed to certify its interlocutory appeal under the Indiana Rules of Appellate Procedure.
II. - Whether the trial court erred as a matter of law in determining that the Yaegers did not consent to the arbitration provisions of the contract when Diane applied for and obtained special financing for the purchase of the vehicle.
Whether the trial court erred as a matter of law in determining that the arbitration provision of the contract is prohibited by the Mag-nuson-Moss Act. III.
IV. Whether the trial court erred as a matter of law in determining that the arbitration provision should be held unenforceable because it was not approved by the Indiana Attorney General.

On or about May 16, 2002, the Yaegers purchased a 2002 Chrysler PT Cruiser from Community Motors. The vehicle was manufactured by Daimler, which warranted that for three years or thirty-six thousand miles it would repair any defects in materials or workmanship in or on the vehicle. Shortly after the Yaegers took possession of the PT Cruiser, the vehicle began to exhibit defects in the power steering mechanism, the engine, and the blower motor.

The Yaegers took the vehicle to Daimler for repairs on more than one occasion, but they were not satisfied with the results. On December 9, 2002, the Yaegers notified Daimler of their intent to revoke acceptance of the vehicle. Due to Daimler's refusal to recognize the request for revocation of acceptance, the Yaegers filed a complaint alleging breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty, violation of the Indiana Motor Vehicle Protection Act ("Indiana Lemon Law"), and revocation of acceptance pursuant to the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.

Daimler filed a motion to compel arbitration and to dismiss the Yaegers' appeal. The trial court heard oral argument on the motion and then issued an order denying the motion on the bases that (1) Samuel Yaeger did not consent to binding arbitration and Diane Yaeger did not knowingly consent to binding arbitration; (2) the arbitration clause contained in the contract is unenforceable under the Magnuson-Moss Act; and (8) there was no evidence that Daimler's arbitration plan had been approved by the Indiana Attorney General. Appellant's App. at 5. Daimler subsequently filed this interlocutory appeal.

I.

The Yaegers responded to this appeal by filing a motion to dismiss.1 In their motion, the Yaegers contend that Daimler failed to comply with the requirements of the appellate rules that govern the filing of an interlocutory appeal.

The trial court's order denying Daimler's motion to compel arbitration and to [531]*531dismiss is an interlocutory order. Certain interlocutory orders listed in Indiana Appellate Rule 14(A) may be appealed as a matter of right by filing a notice of appeal within thirty days of the entry of the order. The order denying Daimler's motion is not the type of order listed in Subsection (A), and it is therefore not appealable by right under App.R. 14(A). An appeal also may be taken from other interlocutory orders under App.R. 14(B) if the trial court, in its discretion, certifies its order and the Court of Appeals accepts jurisdiction over the appeal. The rule requires the party pursuing a discretionary interlocutory appeal to file a motion requesting certification by the trial court under App.R. 14(B)(1) and to subsequently file a motion requesting acceptance by this court under App.R. 14(B)(2). Daimler did not file either of the motions required by App.R. 14(B).

Daimler does not rely on either App.R. 14(A) or (B) but instead relies on App.R. 14(C), which states that "[oJther interlocutory appeals may be taken only as provided by statute." Daimler contends that its interlocutory appeal is authorized under the Indiana Uniform Arbitration Act, which states that an appeal may be taken from the denial of an order to compel arbitration. - See, Ind.Code § 34-57-2-19(a)(1). This statute provides no relief for Daimler, however, because appeals from consumer leases, sales, or loan contracts are specifically exempted from the coverage of the Arbitration Act. Consequently, Daimler has failed to raise its interlocutory appeal under any of the pro-

However, as Daimler noted in its response to the Yaegers' motion, our appellate rules give this court discretion to "pass upon such adjudicated issues as are severable without prejudice to parties who may be aggrieved by subsequent proceedings in the trial court...." App.R. 66(B). We have "declined to dismiss improperly brought appeals and retained jurisdiction of the appeal under [App.R. 66(B)] in cases of significant public interest and where the same issue would be raised in a new appeal."2 Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. v. Stinnett, 698 N.E.2d 339, 341 (Ind.Ct.App.1998). We have previousty held that "the issue of arbitration is of such importance because of the possibility of submitting the parties to useless and unnecessary arbitration proceedings." Id. (citing - Evansville-Vanderburgh - School Corp. v. Evansville Teachers Association, 494 N.E.2d 321, 324 (Ind.Ct.App.1986)). We have further held that "this is also true of the possibility of submitting parties to trial court proceedings when there should first be arbitration." Id. We note that dismissal of Daimler's appeal and remand to the trial court, only to later determine that the matter should have been arbitrated, would result in a waste of time and money for the parties and an unnecessary burden upon the trial court. Accordingly, we exercise our discretion under App.R. 66(B) and decline to dismiss Daimler's appeal.

IL.

In its motion to compel arbitration, Daimler observed that the Yaegers were given a discounted purchase price on the vehicle through Daimler's employee purchase program. Daimler further observed that in order to receive the discount, Diane signed a "claim form" containing a provision that required every dispute arising out of the transaction to be submitted to a dispute resolution process that included binding arbitration. Specifically, the form [532]*532stated that "in consideration for the discount received, [the customer] will not be able to bring a lawsuit for any disputes relating to this vehicle. Instead, [the customer] agree[s] to submit any and all disputes through the Daimler Chrysler Vehicle Resolution Process, which includes mandatory arbitration that is binding on both Daimler Chrysler and [the customer." Appellant's App. at 41.

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Daimler Chrysler Corp. v. Yaeger
818 N.E.2d 527 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2004)

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818 N.E.2d 527, 2004 Ind. App. LEXIS 2386, 2004 WL 2729659, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/daimler-chrysler-corp-v-yaeger-indctapp-2004.