General Motors Corporation v. Earnest

184 So. 2d 811, 279 Ala. 299, 1966 Ala. LEXIS 1003
CourtSupreme Court of Alabama
DecidedMarch 31, 1966
Docket6 Div. 228
StatusPublished
Cited by30 cases

This text of 184 So. 2d 811 (General Motors Corporation v. Earnest) 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
General Motors Corporation v. Earnest, 184 So. 2d 811, 279 Ala. 299, 1966 Ala. LEXIS 1003 (Ala. 1966).

Opinion

SIMPSON, Justice.

This case was begun by complaint against General Motors and A.C.S. Chevrolet Company, Incorporated, a Chevrolet dealer in Jasper. The case went to the jury on three counts, one a common count' for money received by the defendants to the use of the plaintiff, and two counts seeking a rescission of the contract of sale of a 1963 Chevrolet automobile, based upon breach of warranty, and seeking a refund of the amount paid on the purchase price in the amount of $1,022.88. The jury returned a verdict against defendant General Motors in this amount. The dealer escaped liability. First dealing with the count first mentioned hereinabove, dearly the verdict against General Motors cannot rest upon the common count, since it does not hold money belonging to the plaintiff.

The facts show that the plaintiff purchased a new 1963 Chevrolet automobile from A.C.S. Chevrolet Company on October 24, 1962. The bill of sale was accompanied by a “New Vehicle Warranty”, which is, except for immaterial modifications not here pertinent, the standard new motor vehicle warranty devised by the Automobile Manufacturer’s Association, adopted by most if not all of the major manufacturers of automobiles in this country. The warranty is as follows:

“There are no warranties, expressed or implied, made by either the Dealer or the Manufacturer on new Chevrolet motor vehicles except the Manufacturer’s Warranty against defects in material and workmanship set out below:
“NEW VEHICLE WARRANTY”
“Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Corporation, as Manufacturer, warrants each new motor vehicle and chassis including all equipment and accessories thereon (except tires and tubes), manufactured or supplied by Chevrolet Motor Division and delivered to the original retail purchaser by an authorized Chevrolet Dealer, to be free from defects in material and workmanship under normal use and service; Chevrolet Motor Division’s obligation under this warranty being limited to repairing or replacing at *301 its option, any part or parts thereof which shall, within twenty-four (24) months after delivery of such vehicle or chassis to the original retail purchaser or before such vehicle or chassis has been driven twenty-four thousand (24,000) miles, whichever event shall first occur, be returned to an authorized Chevrolet Dealer at such Dealer’s place of business and which examination shall disclose to Manufacturer’s satisfaction to have been thus defective. The repair or replacement of defective parts under this warranty will be made by such Dealer without charge for parts, and if made at such Dealer’s place of business, without charge for labor. * * *
“This warranty is expressly in lieu of any other warranties, expressed or implied, including any implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose, and of any other obligations or liability on the part of the Manufacturer, and Chevrolet Motor Division neither assumes nor authorizes any other person to assume for it any other liability in connection with such motor vehicle or chassis.”

Although appellant’s brief contains a statement to the effect that “no recovery for breach of warranty, express or implied, will lie in the absence of privity of contract” and cites numerous cases in support of that statement, we do not find that general proposition here applicable and apparently the appellant does not deny that the warranty here runs from the manufacturer and the dealer to the initial retail purchaser, the appellee, since in brief it states specifically that:

“General Motors Corporation gives an individual purchasing a vehicle a warranty which is executed in the county where the sale is made. The owner signs an acknowledgment that he has read the warranty and that it has been explained to him. Warranty repairs are paid for by General Motors Corporation. Both General Motors Corporation and the local dealer join in the warranty.”

Clearly, then, if appellant’s statement be true, we have no question here involving privity as to the purchaser and the manufacturer (or the dealer) on the warranty.

The evidence is that the appellee bought this automobile on October 24, 1962. It was a new 1963 model Chevrolet. Shortly after it was purchased, the purchaser brought it in to the dealer, complaining that it vibrated badly; had a knock in the motor; it idled roughly, etc. The dealer attempted to fix it. The purchaser continued to complain about the automobile and for some ten months kept returning it to be worked on, complaining about various defects; for example, the tires on the rear wore badly because of misalignment; the grease seal came off; it used oil; the knock in the motor got worse; there was a crack in the engine block, etc. Overall the purchaser returned the car some fifteen times during the time he had it, complaining each time about one or more defects in the car. At various times the dealer put in new pistons, new rings, new inserts and main bearings, new rings and rods, and a new piston pin assembly. The testimony for the purchaser tended to show that the car was never fixed and was in the same defective condition when he returned it as when he bought it. The dealer and appellant’s position is that they have lived up to their agreement and have replaced or repaired every part found to be defective and stood ready, willing and able to make further repairs at the time the car was returned for the final time and the purchaser demanded his money back. The appellee on the other hand contends that the car was defective when he bought it and that despite some fifteen different attempts the dealer has been unable to fix it and it remained in the same defective condition some ten months after he purchased it. Under these facts the appellee contends that the warranty made by the dealer and manufacturer has been breached in that the vehicle purchased by him was not free from defects in material and workmanship and that he has *302 a right to rescind the contract because of this breach and that under these facts it is obvious that the automobile cannot be repaired by the replacement of parts, etc., since all of the effort in this connection has been without success.

We can agree with the appellee’s contention that at some point after the purchase of a new automobile, the same should be put in good running condition, that is, the seller does not have an unlimited time for the performance of the obligation to replace and repair parts. 46 Am.Jur., Sales, § 732 ; 77 C.J.S. Sales § 340. This is no more than saying that at some point in time, it must become obvious to-all people that a particular vehicle simply cannot be repaired or parts replaced so that the same is made free from defect.

In this case, the purchaser called upon the seller repeatedly to perform under the warranty. The seller has apparently been unable to do that; it follows that:

“An'unsuccessful effort to remedy the defects renders the seller liable on his warranty; and the buyer is not bound to allow him a second opportunity, or to permit him to tinker with the article indefinitely, in the hope that it may ultimately be made to comply with the warranty.-” 77 C.J.S. Sales § 340.

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Bluebook (online)
184 So. 2d 811, 279 Ala. 299, 1966 Ala. LEXIS 1003, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/general-motors-corporation-v-earnest-ala-1966.