Jones v. General Motors Corp.

1998 NMCA 020, 953 P.2d 1104, 124 N.M. 606
CourtNew Mexico Court of Appeals
DecidedJanuary 8, 1998
Docket17961
StatusPublished
Cited by24 cases

This text of 1998 NMCA 020 (Jones v. General Motors Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Mexico Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jones v. General Motors Corp., 1998 NMCA 020, 953 P.2d 1104, 124 N.M. 606 (N.M. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinion

OPINION

BOSSON, Judge.

1. This case presents us with our first opportunity to interpret New Mexico’s Motor Vehicle Quality Assurance Act, the so-called “Lemon Law,” which provides special remedies to certain purchasers of defective automobiles. See NMSA 1978, §§ 57-16A-1 through -9 (1985). We hold that Plaintiff cannot recover against General Motors Corporation (GMC) under the Lemon Law because he is not a consumer for purposes of the Act. However, we also hold that Plaintiff may recover nominal damages as well as attorneys’ fees under the Unfair Practices Act (UPA). See NMSA 1978, §§ 57-12-1 through -22 (1967). We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand.

BACKGROUND

2. On June 24, 1993, Plaintiff bought a new Cadillac Eldorado for $37,979.36 from Jim Spence Oldsmobile, Cadillac, GMC, Nissan, Inc. (Spence), located in Hobbs, New Mexico. The Cadillac, manufactured by GMC, is advertised and promoted with the words “Craftsmanship A Creed-Accuracy A Law”; GMC also claims that “[f]or more than nine decades Cadillac has been a leader in quality and technical innovation.” Plaintiff alleges he relied on these representations of quality when he bought his Cadillac.

3. From June 1993 to March 1994, the car required numerous repairs and was out of service for at least twenty-eight days. In short, in Plaintiffs eyes his new car turned out to be a “lemon.” Plaintiff notified both the dealer and the manufacturer of the continuing problems -with his car. Spence and GMC were afforded opportunities to repair the reported defects in the car, but were only partially successful.

4. Plaintiff sued GMC and Spence for damages under the Lemon Law and the UPA, alleging the substandard quality of the Cadillac. The trial court dismissed with prejudice all claims against Spence, which are not at issue in this appeal, and retained the claims against GMC for trial. See Chavez v. U-Haul Co., 1997 NMSC 051, ¶ 27, 124 N.M. 165, 947 P.2d 122 (dismissing Plaintiffs appeal regarding his claims against Spence). At trial, Plaintiff testified that he purchased the Cadillac for his personal use. However, the court also heard evidence that Plaintiff bought the car through his business and used the ear to a significant extent for business purposes.

5. Following the presentation of all the evidence, the trial court dismissed Plaintiffs claim under the Lemon Law concluding that Plaintiff was not a consumer for purposes of the Act. Although the trial court initially found that Plaintiff used the car for non-business purposes 95% of the time, the court amended that finding and found that the Cadillac “‘was owned by Chaveroo Supply Company, Inc. [a]nd was furnished to the Plaintiff Earl Jones for both business and personal use.’ ” Plaintiff is the president and owner of Chaveroo Supply Company. The court found that GMC had failed to deliver the quality of goods represented in its literature. The court ordered GMC to make certain, specific changes under the warranty but without any award of damages or attorneys’ fees. The court denied Plaintiff any statutory damages under the UPA because he had failed to prove actual monetary damages.

6. Plaintiff raises three points on appeal: (1) whether the trial court erred in finding Plaintiff was not a consumer for purposes of the Lemon Law; (2) whether the trial court erred in determining that Plaintiff could not recover under the UPA; and (3) whether the trial court erred by amending its finding of fact concerning Plaintiffs personal and business use of the Cadillac.

THE LEMON LAW

7. The Lemon Law affords protection to consumers who buy new cars that turn out to be lemons. See §§ 57-16A-1 through -9. The Act requires that if a manufacturer cannot make the car conform to its express warranties, then the consumer is entitled to either a replacement vehicle or a refund of the full purchase price, which is what Plaintiff seeks in this ease. See § 57-16A-3. However, as one commentator has observed, “[t]he scope of the lemon law is limited,” and its protection extends only to consumers. Joseph Goldberg, New Mexico’s “Lemon Law”: Consumer Protection or Consumer Frustration?, 16 N.M. L.Rev. 251, 264 (1986). In the current case, the dispute focuses on whether Plaintiff is a consumer for the purposes of the Act.

8. Interpretation of the Lemon Law is a question of first impression in New Mexico. The Act defines “consumer” as follows:

the purchaser, other than for purposes of resale, of a new motor vehicle normally used for personal, family or household purposes, any person to whom such a motor vehicle has been transferred during the duration of an express warranty applicable to the motor vehicle and any other person entitled by the terms of the warranty to enforce the obligations of the warranty!.]

Section 57-16A-2(C). Plaintiff claims that this statute envisions three types of users, any of which will qualify him as a consumer under the Act: (1) the purchaser of the vehicle, (2) anyone to whom the vehicle is transferred during the terms of the warranty, or (3) anyone else entitled to enforce the obligations of the warranty. Plaintiff argues he is a consumer for the purposes of the statute because he was unquestionably a person entitled “to enforce the obligations of the warranty.”

9. We disagree with Plaintiffs interpretation. The language of the statute limits protection to persons whose vehicles are “normally used for personal, family or household purposes.” Id. Whether a purchaser of a vehicle is a consumer for the purposes of the Lemon Law requires a two-part analysis. The statute first defines consumers by their use of their vehicles. If the vehicle is normally used for personal, family, or household reasons, the statute then lays out the three categories of users who qualify as consumers. Thus, the statute requires us to look first to the use of the vehicle and secondly to the person who is using it. Under this analysis, the trial court reasonably concluded, based upon substantial evidence, that Plaintiff was not a consumer. The car was not shown to have been “normally used for personal, family or household purposes.” Id. The court did not need to proceed to the second part of the analysis, determining the class of user, and therefore it was immaterial that Plaintiff was a “person entitled by the terms of the warranty to enforce the obligations of the warranty.”

10. Our reading of the statute is supported by ease law in other jurisdictions. The Supreme Court of Alabama recently held that to qualify as a consumer for the purposes of that state’s Lemon Law, the purchaser must use the vehicle “ ‘in substantial part for personal, family, or household purposes.’ ” Lipham v. General Motors Corp., 665 So.2d 190, 193 (Ala.1995) (quoting Alabama Code 1975 § 8-20A-l(l)). In that case, the evidence showed that the owners of the vehicle used it for their dog grooming business, even though the owners argued that the van was purchased for personal or family use. Id. at 193-94. Similarly, the State of New York, in construing its own Lemon Law, has observed that “recent case law has emphasized this use test, rather than the technicalities of whether title is held in an individual or corporate name[.]” Parlato v. Chrysler Corp., 170 A.D.2d 442, 565 N.Y.S.2d 230, 231 (1991) (mem.); Hughes v.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Schroeder v. Sw. Home Inspections, Inc.
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2024
Bigelow v. Larry H. Miller Corp.
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2022
Puma v. W-Mart Stores East
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2022
Puma v. Wal-Mart Stores East
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2022
Shearill v. Mohammed
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2020
Shaykin v. Progressive Cas.
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2020
Bhasker v. Kemper Cas. Ins. Co.
361 F. Supp. 3d 1045 (D. New Mexico, 2019)
Daye v. Community Financial Loan Service Centers, LLC
280 F. Supp. 3d 1222 (D. New Mexico, 2017)
Fallen v. GREP Southwest, LLC
247 F. Supp. 3d 1165 (D. New Mexico, 2017)
Faber v. King
2015 NMSC 015 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2015)
Farber v. King
New Mexico Supreme Court, 2015
Cook v. Eastern Savings Bank, FSB (In Re Cook)
498 F. App'x 846 (Tenth Circuit, 2012)
Rio Grande Sun v. Jemez Mountains Public School District
2012 NMCA 091 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2012)
Rio Grande Sun v. Jemez Mountains Pub. Sch. Dist.
2012 NMCA 91 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2012)
Atherton v. GOPIN
2012 NMCA 023 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2012)
Guidance Endodontics, LLC v. Dentsply International, Inc.
728 F. Supp. 2d 1170 (D. New Mexico, 2010)
Pedroza v. Lomas Auto Mall, Inc.
663 F. Supp. 2d 1123 (D. New Mexico, 2009)
Mulford v. Altria Group, Inc.
242 F.R.D. 615 (D. New Mexico, 2007)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1998 NMCA 020, 953 P.2d 1104, 124 N.M. 606, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jones-v-general-motors-corp-nmctapp-1998.