Homziak v. GEN. ELECTRIC CAPITAL WARRANTY CORP.

839 A.2d 1076
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedNovember 18, 2003
StatusPublished

This text of 839 A.2d 1076 (Homziak v. GEN. ELECTRIC CAPITAL WARRANTY CORP.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Homziak v. GEN. ELECTRIC CAPITAL WARRANTY CORP., 839 A.2d 1076 (Pa. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

839 A.2d 1076 (2003)

Kathy Marie HOMZIAK, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated Appellant,
v.
GENERAL ELECTRIC CAPITAL WARRANTY CORPORATION; Heritage Indemnity Corporation; Chase Manhattan Bank USA, N.A.; and Mervis Motors Inc. d/b/a Wetzel Motor Works Appellee.

Superior Court of Pennsylvania.

Argued August 28, 2003.
Filed November 18, 2003.
Reargument Denied January 28, 2004.

*1077 Michael P. Malakoff, Pittsburgh, for appellant.

R. Bruce Allensworth, Boston, MA, for Chase Manhattan Bank, appellee.

John Bobber, Philadelphia, for Mervis Motors, appellee.

Kandice J. Kerwin, Harrisburg, amicus curiae (did not argue).

Before: JOHNSON, HUDOCK and ORIE MELVIN, JJ.

JOHNSON, J.

¶ 1 In this matter, we consider whether Pennsylvania's Motor Vehicle Sales Finance Act (MVSFA or Act), 69 P.S. §§ 601-37, prohibits the sale of extended service contracts by motor vehicle dealerships at a price greater than dealer cost where the purchase is made by installment sales agreement. The trial court concluded that such sales, which include a profit for the seller, are not prohibited by the MVSFA. The court reasoned that any charge for the extended service contract, including dealer profit, is part of the "cash price" of the vehicle purchased and is therefore an allowable charge that the MVFSA does not seek to regulate. In *1078 accordance with this conclusion, the trial court dismissed claims by plaintiff Kathy Homziak, who individually, and on behalf of all others similarly situated, sought to recover against Mervis Motors, Inc. (Mervis), from whose Wetzel Motor Works she purchased a car and an extended service contract, and Chase Manhattan Bank USA, N.A. (Chase), the assignee of Homziak's installment sales agreement. Upon review, we conclude that the MVSFA does not prohibit the sale of extended service contracts at greater than dealer cost, nor does it prohibit their inclusion as part of the cash value of the motor vehicle so long as the corresponding charge is disclosed and voluntarily incurred by the purchaser. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court's order dismissing Homziak's claims.

¶ 2 On October 24, 1996, Plaintiff Kathy Marie Homziak purchased the extended service contract at issue here for a disclosed price of $1,180. Homziak agreed to finance the price of the service contract along with the value of the car she had purchased. Mervis, in turn, transmitted payment for the service contract to General Electric Capital Warranty Corporation (GE), which issued a contract agreeing to indemnify Homziak for certain mechanical failures of the car she had bought. Homziak does not contend that Mervis misrepresented the value of the contract or the service provided under it, or that Mervis or GE breached the contract's terms. Rather, she contends that Mervis violated the MVSFA by retaining a portion of the purchase price as profit rather than transmitting the entire amount to GE.

¶ 3 In support of this contention, Homziak commenced this action by class action complaint alleging, inter alia, that Mervis and GE violated, collectively, MVSFA sections 14, 17-19, and 31 (collected in Purdon's Pennsylvania Statutes at 69 P.S. §§ 614, 617-19, and 631). Homziak asserted that Mervis concealed from her that it had improperly received and retained a portion of the price of the service contract she had purchased, and alleged, on behalf of the class as a whole, that numerous unidentified motor vehicle dealers throughout Pennsylvania have engaged in similar conduct. Homziak also asserted derivative liability against Chase under Federal Trade Commission regulations (FTC Holder Rule) making any holder of a consumer credit contract subject to all claims and defenses the debtor could assert against the seller of goods or services financed.

¶ 4 Following service on all parties of the Complaint and later an Amended Complaint, Mervis filed preliminary objections in the nature of a demurrer asserting that the conduct Homziak alleged did not violate the MVSFA. Mervis argued that MVSFA section 18, see 69 P.S. § 618, on which Homziak relied to limit the amount of "costs" collectible by motor vehicle dealers, applied only to license, registration, and similar charges submitted to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to satisfy government imposed obligations prior to the purchaser's operation of the vehicle. Mervis argued further that any charge for extended service contracts was a component of the "cash price" of the vehicle as defined by MVSFA sections 3(11) and 14(B)(1), see 69 P.S. §§ 603(11), 614(B)(1), and was therefore specifically permitted, without limitation on the profit retained by the motor vehicle dealer. Chase joined in Mervis's objections, contending that its liability was derivative of any imposed upon the "seller of goods or services financed" and that any judgment rendered in favor of Mervis should also release Chase.

¶ 5 The trial court, the Honorable Robert P. Horgos, found Mervis's argument persuasive and sustained its preliminary objections, granting its demurrer and dismissing the claims Homziak raised under *1079 the MVSFA. Although the court grounded its analysis on rules of statutory construction, it also considered an administrative opinion of the Pennsylvania Department of Banking. In that opinion, the Department of Banking posited:

It is the Department's position that charges for extended warranties and service contracts at present are properly classified as a part of the "cash price" under Sections 3 and 14(B)(1) of the Act (MVSFA), and therefore may be marked-up and financed under an installment sale contract, assuming that the purchase of those items was voluntary for the consumer."

Trial Court Opinion, 11/19/02, at 10-11 (quoting Notice of Supplemental Authority filed on behalf of Defendant Chase Manhattan Bank USA, N.A., Pennsylvania Department of Banking Administrative Interpretation at 2). Following entry of the court's order, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed a purportedly retroactive amendment to the MVSFA to "clarify" its provisions consistent with the interpretation rendered by the Department of Banking. Although the language of the amendments was not, per se, a factor in the trial court's decision, Homziak has raised its potential impact on review and all parties to this appeal have discussed its application. Accordingly, Homziak has stated the questions involved as follows:

1. Did car dealers violate the Motor Vehicle Sales Finance Act ("MVSFA") in effect on the dates of their installment sale transactions by imposing and retaining inflated service contract charges that substantially exceeded the actual cost of the service contracts?

2. Are the MVSFA claims asserted subject to retroactive application of post-appeal MVSFA amendments that, for the first time, authorize car dealers to impose and retain inflated service contract charges that exceed the actual cost of the service contracts?

¶ 6 Homziak's appeal arises from entry of an order granting preliminary objections in the nature of a demurrer. "Preliminary objections in the nature of [a] demurrer test the legal sufficiency of the plaintiff's complaint." Sexton v. PNC Bank, 792 A.2d 602, 604 (Pa.Super.2002). "The question presented by the demurrer is whether, on the facts averred, the law says with certainty that no recovery is possible." Mistick Inc. v.

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839 A.2d 1076, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/homziak-v-gen-electric-capital-warranty-corp-pasuperct-2003.