General Motors Acceptance Corp. v. Johnson

426 So. 2d 691, 1982 La. App. LEXIS 8736
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 21, 1982
Docket82 CA 0309
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 426 So. 2d 691 (General Motors Acceptance Corp. v. Johnson) 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
General Motors Acceptance Corp. v. Johnson, 426 So. 2d 691, 1982 La. App. LEXIS 8736 (La. Ct. App. 1982).

Opinion

426 So.2d 691 (1982)

GENERAL MOTORS ACCEPTANCE CORPORATION
v.
Johnny JOHNSON.

No. 82 CA 0309.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.

December 21, 1982.
Rehearing Denied February 17, 1983.
Writ Denied April 15, 1983.

*693 J. Glenn Dupree, Baton Rouge, for plaintiff-appellee General Motors Acceptance Corp.

John Samaha, Baton Rouge, for defendant-appellant Johnny Johnson.

Before LOTTINGER, COLE and CARTER, JJ.

LOTTINGER, Judge.

This appeal arises from a suit for a deficiency judgment. Defendant, Johnny Johnson, in connection with the purchase of a used demonstrator-model 1978 Opel automobile, executed a promissory note payable to the order of "MYSELF (OURSELVES)" on February 13, 1978. The note was endorsed in blank, and was in the sum of $6,633.12. It was paraphed "Ne Varietur" by a notary to identify it with an act of sale and chattel mortgage simultaneously executed by Johnson for the purchase of the vehicle. The vehicle was mortgaged unto any future holder of the note.

Payments on the note ceased in November of 1980. General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC), the holder of the note, enforced an acceleration clause and instituted executory process. The 1978 Opel was seized and sold at sheriff's sale, with appraisement, and the amount obtained thereby was credited to Johnson; however, a balance of $2,778.48 was left owing *694 on the note. This suit for a deficiency judgment was then instituted by GMAC.

After Johnson answered with a general denial, GMAC moved for a summary judgment in its favor. On December 3, 1981, Johnson filed a countering affidavit attesting to redhibitory defects in the vehicle which had appeared during February of 1979. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of GMAC. Johnson moved for a new trial, arguing that La. Code Civ.P. art. 424,[1] a part of which was apparently relied on by the trial court, operated to deny him equal protection of the law, violating the Constitutions of the United States and of Louisiana. After the motion for a new trial was denied, Johnson moved for and was granted a devolutive appeal.

Defendant-appellant Johnny Johnson argues generally on appeal that summary judgment was improvidently granted, and re-asserts his contention that La.Code Civ.P. art. 424, found applicable by the trial court, operated to deny him equal protection of the law in violation of the U.S. Constitution and the Louisiana Constitution (1974).

WAIVER

We initially note the following language which appears in the sale with chattel mortgage:

"WAIVER OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES (Used Vehicle Sales Only)
Vendor (mortgagee) and Purchaser (mortgagor) understand and agree that this sale is made without any warranty whatsoever, express or implied, except as to title and except as to those warranties specifically listed below, which Purchaser accepts in lieu of any other warranty by either Vendor or manufacturer. Purchaser hereby expressly waives all implied warranties (including, without limitation, any warranty of merchantability, any warranty of fitness for a particular purpose, and any warranty against hidden or latent defects) arising under the provisions of Louisiana law, including particularly Revised Civil Code Articles 2520 through 2548. Purchaser hereby further expressly waives any right Purchaser may have to demand a rescission or resolution of this sale or reduction of the purchase price for breach of any such implied warranties.
"Warranties made (if any):"

The signature of Johnny Johnson appears beneath this waiver provision. The waiver, if enforced, would provide a basis for affirming the summary judgment in favor of GMAC without the necessity of our discussing the constitutional issue. See Benson & Gold Chevrolet, Inc. v. Louisiana Motor Vehicle Commission, 403 So.2d 13 (La.1981); State in the Interest of Toler, 262 La. 557, 263 So.2d 888 (La.1972); Collins v. Rozands, 385 So.2d 332 (La.App. 1st Cir.1980).

It is well established that for a waiver of warranty to be effective, three requirements must be met:

(1) the waiver must be written in clear and unambiguous terms;
(2) the waiver must be contained in the sale and chattel mortgage document; and
(3) the waiver must either be brought to the attention of the buyer or explained to him.

See: Prince v. Paretti Pontiac Company, Inc., 281 So.2d 112 (La.1973); Webb v. Polk Chevrolet, Inc., 387 So.2d 1240 (La.App. 1st Cir.1980); writ ref. 390 So.2d 1344 (La. 1980).

*695 The third requirement is not met in the instant case. The act of sale with mortgage does not feature a written, signed acknowledgement that the debtor has read and understood his waiver or warranty, nor do the affidavits on record indicate that the waiver provision was demonstrated or explained to Johnson. Thus, the signed waiver in the act of sale does not sustain summary judgment in favor of GMAC.

La.Code Civ.P. Art. 424

We must also determine whether La.Code Civ.P. art. 424 even applies to the parties involved herein. Redhibition is a remedy whereby a buyer rescinds the sale, and ordinarily it lies against the seller or manufacturer of the thing sold. GMAC, on the other hand, neither sold the vehicle to Johnson nor manufactured it. Nonetheless, the following language appeared in the sale and chattel mortgage:

"NOTICE
"Any holder of this consumer credit contract is subject to all claims and defenses which the debtor could assert against the seller of goods or services obtained pursuant hereto or with the proceeds hereof. Recovery hereunder by the debtor shall not exceed amounts paid by the debtor hereunder."

This "notice" language is mandated by 16 C.F.R. § 433, and is designed to protect the buyer from being precluded from asserting a defense against the seller by the latter's transferring the note to a holder in due course. Thus, redhibition is available against GMAC.

The note itself meets all the requirements of negotiability. Additionally, the defense of redhibitory defects was asserted more than one year after the sale and more than one year after discovery of the alleged defects; thus, the redhibitory claim would have prescribed either under La.Civ.Code art. 2534[2] or under La.Civ.Code art. 2546.[3] Therefore, La.Code Civ.P. art. 424 is applicable in the case sub judice and would, if upheld, provide the basis for summary judgment in favor of GMAC.

CONSTITUTIONAL STANDARDS

Generally, the constitutional guarantee of equal protection of the law requires that state laws affect alike all persons and interests similarly situated. Burmaster v. Gravity Drainage District No. 2 of Parish of St. Charles, 366 So.2d 1381 (La.1978); Succession of Robins, 349 So.2d 276 (La.1977). In determining whether a statute denies equal protection, the court must first decide whether the legislation operates to the disadvantage of some "suspect" class or impinges on some fundamental right explicitly or implicitly protected by the Constitution, thereby requiring strict judicial scrutiny. Bazley v. Totorich,

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Bluebook (online)
426 So. 2d 691, 1982 La. App. LEXIS 8736, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/general-motors-acceptance-corp-v-johnson-lactapp-1982.