General Motors Corp. v. Sheets

818 N.E.2d 49, 2004 Ind. App. LEXIS 2295, 2004 WL 2649702
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 22, 2004
Docket48A02-0402-CV-00099
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 818 N.E.2d 49 (General Motors Corp. v. Sheets) 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
General Motors Corp. v. Sheets, 818 N.E.2d 49, 2004 Ind. App. LEXIS 2295, 2004 WL 2649702 (Ind. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinions

OPINION

BAKER, Judge.

The plaintiffs in this case tried to make lemonade out of our Lemon Law. However, the judgment they received was a little too sweet.

Appellants-defendants General Motors Corp. and Stanley Chevrolet/Oldsmobile (collectively GM) appeal the trial court's judgment in favor of Kirby and Becky Sheets (the Sheetses) with regard to their cause of action against GM for breach of warranty. Specifically, GM argues that the trial court erred by: (1) not making the required usage deduction under Indiana Code section 24-5-13; (2) awarding refunds of monies that the Sheetses did not pay; (3) awarding pre-judgment interest that was not properly pled or supported and is not provided for in the Indiana Motor Vehicle Protection Act (the Lemon Law); and (4) awarding excessive attorney's fees to the Sheetses' counsel. Finding that the judgment should have included the usage deduction, but should not have included refunds of monies the Sheetses did not pay, pre-judgment interest, or attorney fees incurred after September 26, 2002, the date of GM's second qualified settlement offer, we reverse and remand to the trial court with orders to recalculate the award of damages.

FACTS1

On February 28, 2001, the Shecetses purchased a new Oldsmobile Aurora from Stanley Chevrolet/Oldsmobile in MeCords-ville. The vehicle was purchased under the provisions of the GM New Vehicle Purchase Agreement and Purchase Certificate signed by Kirby, which entitled Kirby to participate in the buyer discount plan.

General Motors manufactured the vehicle and provided a 3-year/36,000 mile warranty on the vehicle. At the time of the sale, the warranty was extended at no cost to the Sheetses, to cover the vehicle for 5 years/60,000 miles. The value of the Extended Warranty was $900. A contract for one year of Safety & Security coverage through OnStar2 was provided to the Sheetses at no cost for one year. The Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of the vehicle was $34,159. The total price the Sheetses paid for the vehicle was $31,492.53, which included the tire fee and sales tax. They had a total credit of $23,000 that included $19,500 for the value of a trade-in vehicle and $3500 for [52]*52rebates and incentives. Those rebates and incentives are discounts in the sticker price of the vehicle In addition, the Sheetses paid $8492.53 in cash, and they did not finance the vehicle.

On October 18, 2001, the vehicle was brought into Hare Chevrolet, an authorized dealership, with an electrical problem for the first time. The odometer showed that the vehicle had been driven 13,446 miles on that date. After the vehicle was repaired, it continued to exhibit the electrical problem and was submitted for repairs on October 25, 2001, November 11, 2001, and December 6, 2001. The vehicle was out of service in excess of seventy-five days for those repairs.

On January 22, 2002, Kirby told the dealership that he did not want the vehicle back, and he revoked his acceptance of the vehicle. GM made an offer for a trade repurchase wherein Kirby would return the 2001 Aurora to GM and be given a 2002 Aurora of his choosing. The difference in the MSRP of the two vehicles was $2841. In addition, GM charged the Sheetses for the usage of the 2001 Aurora, totaling $4,020. This calculation uses the statutory usage 3 formula of current mileage divided by 100,000, multiplied by the purchase price. Kirby refused that offer because he felt that he should not pay any usage fees on the vehicle.

On February 28, 2002, the Sheetses, through their attorney, notified GM that they were revoking acceptance of the vehicle. In the letter, the Sheetses made a demand for $38,049.40, which made no al-lowanee for statutory usage and included a request for vehicle rental from January 22, 2002 through April 1, 2002, at the rate of $25 per day. Kirby did not actually rent a vehicle. Instead, he drove a vehicle from his own business until May 31, 2002, when he purchased a 2008 Cadillac CTS.

On June 25, 2002, the Sheetses filed a complaint against GM, alleging breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty, violation of the Indiana Motor Vehicle Protection Act,4 and revocation of acceptance. The next day, the Sheetses filed an amended complaint with the same allegations, but they included a request for pre-judgment interest of 8% per annum in the request for relief. On July 22, 2002, GM served an offer of judgment and a qualified settlement offer for $33,829.40, including attorney fees, on the trial court and the Sheetses. GM never received a response to those offers. On September 26, 2002, GM served a second offer of judgment and qualified settlement offer for $31,829.40, with attorney fees to be determined by the trial court, on the trial court and the Sheetses. GM received no response to those offers.

A bench trial was held on October 21, 20083. During the trial, GM objected to the inclusion of pre-judgment interest. Counsel for the Sheetses made no response to that objection, and the trial court sustained the objection. On November 12, 2003, the trial court entered the judgment submitted by the Sheetses-which included pre-judgment interest, a refund of the rebates and incentives GM gave the Sheetses when they purchased the vehicle, and attorney fees, but did not include a usage deduction-as the final order in this matter. On December 11, 2003, GM filed a motion to correct errors, alleging that the order of the trial court was contrary to the evidence and the law. The trial court [53]*53summarily denied GM's motion on December 31, 2003, and GM now appeals.

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

I. Standard of Review

When a trial court enters specific findings of fact and conclusions of law pursuant to Trial Rule 52(A), we will not set aside a trial court's findings or judgment unless clearly erroneous. - Wedgewood Community Ass'n, Inc. v. Nash, 781 N.E.2d 1172, 1177 (Ind.Ct.App.2003). Our standard of review is two-tiered:

First, we consider whether the evidence supports the findings, construing the findings liberally in support of the judgment. Findings are clearly erroneous only when a review of the record leaves us firmly convinced that a mistake has been made. Next, we determine whether the findings support the judgment. A judgment is clearly erroneous when the findings of fact and conclusions thereon do not support it. In applying this standard, we neither reweigh the evidence nor judge the credibility of the witnesses. Rather, we consider the evidence that supports the judgment and the reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom.

Crawley v. Oak Bend Estates Homeowners Assoc., 753 N.E.2d 740, 744 (Ind.Ct.App.2001), trans. demied.

II. Usage Deduction

GM first argues that the trial court erred in failing to apply the usage deduction to its judgment. Specifically, GM argues that the Sheetses received the benefit of the use of the vehicle before the first time it was brought in for repairs, and therefore the statutory deduction must be applied.

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General Motors Corp. v. Sheets
818 N.E.2d 49 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2004)

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818 N.E.2d 49, 2004 Ind. App. LEXIS 2295, 2004 WL 2649702, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/general-motors-corp-v-sheets-indctapp-2004.