Grenier v. Patriot Subaru of Saco, Inc.

Superior Court of Maine·Decided August 3, 2017·No. CUMbcd-cv-17-30·Unpublished

Opinion

STATE OF MAINE BUSINESS AND CONSUMER COURT CUMBERLAND, SS. LOCATION: PORTLAND Docket No. BCD-CV-17-30 /

CLAUDE R. GRENIER, )

)

Plaintiff, )

)

V. ) ORDER ON DEFENDANT'S ) MOTION TO DISMISS

PATRIOT SUBARU OF SACO, INC., )

)

Defendant. )

)

Defendant Patriot Subaru of Saco, Inc. has moved to dismiss Plaintiff Claude R.

Grenier's complaint pursuant to Maine Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim. For the following reasons, Defendant's motion is granted.

BACKGROUND

According to Plaintiffs complaint, on or about October 6, 2016, Plaintiff went to Defendant's place of business to purchase a new Subaru XV Crosstrek sport utility vehicle. (Compl. ~ 3.) Plaintiff alleges that, during negotiations, he informed Defendant's employee that he would not purchase the vehicle if his monthly payment were more than the monthly payment on his current vehicle that he was trading in. (Id. ~ 4.) Plaintiff contends that Defendant's employee "Jackie" informed him that the vehicle could be financed for eighty-four months with a monthly payment $332.67 per month. (Id.) Plaintiff contends he agreed to those terms. (Id. ~ 5.) Plaintiff asserts that Defendant's employee prepared documents for Plaintiff's and Defendant's employee's signatures. (Id. ~ 6.) Plaintiff signed the documents. (Id. ~~ 7-9.) Plaintiff later discovered that his actual monthly payment was $432.75. (Id.~ 10.)

Plaintiff filed a four-count complaint against Defendant in February 2017 in York County Superior Court. Defendant filed a motion to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim

along with three exhibits on May 8, 2017. Plaintiff filed his opposition to the motion on May 25, 2017. Defendant timely replied on June 8, 2017. This case was subsequently transferred to the Business and Consumer Docket.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

A motion to dismiss pursuant to Maine Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim tests the legal sufficiency of a complaint. State v. Weinschenk, 2005 :tvfE 28, ,I 10, 868 A.2d 200. The sufficiency of a complaint is a question of law. Bean v. Cummings, 2008 ME 18, il 7, 939 A.2d 676. On a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, the facts are not adjudicated. Marshall v. Town ofDexter, 2015 ME 135, ,I 2, 125 A.3d 1141. The court reviews the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff to determine whether the complaint sets forth sufficient allegations that would entitle the plaintiff to relief pursuant to some legal theory. Bean, 2008 ME 18, il 7, 939 A.2d 676. Dismissal is warranted when it appears beyond a doubt that the claimant is not entitled to relief under any set of facts that the claimant might prove in support of his or her claim. Id.

Ordinarily on a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, only the allegations in the complaint are considered by the court. Moody v. State Liquor & Lottery Comm 'n, 2004 :tv1E 20,

il 8, 843 A.2d 43. If the court considers material outside of the pleading, the court must convert the motion into one for summary judgment under Maine Rule Civil Procedure 56. M.R. Civ. P.

12(b). However, in limited circumstances, the court may consider certain extraneous documents without converting a motion to dismiss to one for a summary judgment. Moody, 2004 ME 20, il 9, 843 A.2d 43. The court may consider "official public documents, documents that are central to the plaintiff's claims, and documents referred to in the complaint, without converting a motion

to dismiss into a motion for a summary judgment when the authenticity of such documents is not challenged." Id. ,r 10.

ANALYSIS

I. Extraneous Documents In support of its motion to dismiss, Defendant has submitted three extraneous documents for the court's consideration. (Def. Mot. Dismiss 5.) Defendant contends the court may consider all three documents without converting the motion to dismiss to one for summary judgment under the exceptions discussed above. (Id.) First, Defendant has submitted a one-page document containing various financing terms and the handwritten number "332.67". (Def. Ex. A.) Defendant refers to this document as the "Option Sheet." (Def. Mot. Dismiss 5.) Defendant contends that this document is the "piece of paper" containing financing terms on which Defendant's employee "Jackie" wrote the figure $332.67 referenced in ,r 4 the complaint. (Def. Mot. Dismiss 5; Compl. ,r 4.) Defendant also contends the Option Sheet is central to Plaintiffs claims. (Def. Mot. Dismiss 5.) In his complaint, Plaintiff avers that he agreed to "terms and conditions" explained by Defendant's employee and written on the "piece of paper." (Compl. ,r 5.)

Second, Defendant submits an oversized, one-page document titled "Retail Installment Sale Contract Simple Finance Charge", detailing the financing terms for Plaintiffs vehicle purchase and signed by Plaintiff, which Defendants refer to as the "Financing Contract." (Def. Ex. B; Def. Mot. Dismiss 6.) Defendant has also submitted one-page document detailing the total costs and payments for the vehicle and signed by Plaintiff. (Def. Ex. C.) The document also contains a space for the signature of a witness and a notary. (Id.) The document was not signed by a witness or notarized. (Id.) Defendant refers to this document as the "Invoice." (Def.

Mot. Dismiss 6.) Defendant contends that the Financing Contract and the Invoice are referenced in the complaint. (Id) Defendant asserts the Financing Contract and the Invoice are the "documents for the Plaintiffs and the Defendant's employee's signature" referenced to in ,r 6, the "papers" placed on the desk for Plaintiff to sign referenced to in ,r 7, and the "documents" that Defendant's employee did not explain referenced to in 1 8. (Id) Defendant contends the Invoice is also the document specifically referenced in ,r 8 as "a documents that required the signature of the Defendant's employee [that] was not notarized." (Id.) Defendant contends the Financing Contract and the Invoice are central to Plaintiffs claims that Defendant breached its agreement with Plaintiff or misrepresented the financing terms that induce Plaintiff to accept the contract. (Def. Mot. Dismiss 6; Compl. ,r,r 7-11.)

In his opposition, Plaintiff does dispute that the Option Sheet, Financing Contract, and Invoice submitted by Defendant are the documents referenced in his complaint and that they are central to his claims. (Pl. Opp'n Mot. Dismiss 1.) Moreover, Plaintiff does not object to the courts consideration of these extraneous documents. (/d.) Therefore, the court shall consider the Option Sheet, Financing Contract, and Invoice without converting the motion to one for summary judgment. II. Count I: Breach of Contract and Fraudulent Misrepresentation Count I of Plaintiffs complaint appears to assert claims for breach of contract and fraudulent misrepresentation. The court addresses each in turn.

A. Breach of Contract To maintain a claim for breach of contract, plaintiff must allege: (1) the parties had a legally binding contract; (2) the defendant breached a material term of the contract; and (3) defendant's breach caused the plaintiff to suffer damages. Tobin v. Barter, 2014 ME 51, ,r,r 9-10,

89 A.3d 1088. Under the Maine Uniform Commercial Code ("UCC"), a contract for the sale of goods for the price of $500.00 or more is not enforceable unless the agreement is in writing sufficient to indicate a sale has been made and signed by party against whom enforcement is sought. 11 M.R.S. § 2-201 (1 ). "Preliminary negotiations are not sufficient to create a contract." Estate ofLewis v. Concord Gen. Mut. Ins. Co., 2014 ME 34, ,r 11, 87 A.3d 732.

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Grenier v. Patriot Subaru of Saco, Inc., (Me. Super. Ct. 2017).

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