Masanz v. Premier Nissan, L.L.C.

81 So. 3d 169, 11 La.App. 5 Cir. 61, 2011 La. App. LEXIS 1502, 2011 WL 6187119
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 13, 2011
DocketNo. 11-CA-61
StatusPublished

This text of 81 So. 3d 169 (Masanz v. Premier Nissan, L.L.C.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Masanz v. Premier Nissan, L.L.C., 81 So. 3d 169, 11 La.App. 5 Cir. 61, 2011 La. App. LEXIS 1502, 2011 WL 6187119 (La. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinions

CLARENCE E. McMANUS, Judge.

| ¡.PROCEEDINGS

On September 28, 2008, plaintiff Frank Masanz, Jr. filed a petition in redhibition and for damages. He named as defendants, Premier Nissan, Inc. and its employee, Carlos Zuniga. By supplemental petition he added as defendant Adil Moun-is, who had been the service manager for Premier at the time of the sale. In his petition Masanz alleged that on April 21, 2008, he purchased a 2001 GMC Sierra SLE for $5,600.00 from Premier Nissan, through its salesman, Mr. Zuniga. Prior to selling him the Sierra, Zuniga showed him a Car Fax that was purported to be a report for the vehicle (however he later discovered that the serial numbers did not match). The next day, Mr. Masanz met with Mr. Mounis to complete the transfer of title and bill of sale. The meeting was not at Premier Nissan; instead it was at Casey & Casey, MPS Inc. DVA Auto Title Express. Approximately one month later, on May 29, 2008, as Mr. Masanz was driving the Sierra, it caught fire and was completely destroyed. Masanz alleges that the cause of the fire was a misplaced wire that apparently was present prior to the sale. In his petition, Masanz requested rescission of the sale and bad faith penalties and attorney fees, as well as damages for personal property, loss of use, inconvenience, mental anguish and distress, loss of enjoyment of life and other damages.

|sIn its answer, Premier Nissan alleged that it did not own the vehicle sold, and that Mr. Zuniga was acting outside of the course and scope of his employment by selling an un-owned vehicle on Premier’s premises. By way of third party demand, it named Mr. Mounis as the true seller of the vehicle and prayed that it be allowed indemnification and recovery from Mounis should it be cast in judgment.

Adil Mounis, despite being served by special process servers, failed to answer the petition and failed to appear at trial.

Trial was held on August 31, 2010. At trial it was established that the truck was not owned by Premier Nissan, but by Amanda McKay (wife of Mr. Mounis). On November 31, 2010, the trial court signed a judgment finding Premier Nissan, Carlos Zuniga and Adil Mounis in solido liable for the return of plaintiffs purchase price, plus expert witness fees of $1,736.00 and costs. Mr. Zuniga and Mr. Mounis were found to be liable in solido for general damages of $2,000.00 and damages for loss of personal possessions of $6,401.00. Finally, judgment was rendered in favor of Premier Nissan and against Mr. Mounis for $5,600.00, representing the purchase price of the vehicle, the expert fee of $1,736.00, judicial interest and costs.

Premier Nissan, Carlos Zuniga, and plaintiff Masanz each appealed the judgment of the trial court.

FACTS

The following was established at trial. On April 21, 2008, 20-year-old Frank Ma-sanz (plaintiff) went to Premier Nissan on Veterans Blvd. to purchase a used vehicle. This was his first vehicle purchase. He met Carlos Zuniga, who presented himself as a representative of Premier Nissan, and gave him a business card to that effect. At the time, Zuniga was wearing a t-shirt with Premier’s logo, and at no time did he indicate that he was working for someone [172]*172other than Premier LNissan. They looked at several vehicles during a two-hour period, and ultimately Mr. Masanz decided to purchase a 2001 GMC Sierra. Mr. Masanz understood that the vehicle was a Premier Nissan vehicle, and he was not informed otherwise. He was also told that the vehicle was in good working condition. He was shown a Car Fax, which he believed was for the vehicle he was purchasing. Later he discovered that the VIN on the Car Fax did not match the VIN on the vehicle he purchased.

Mr. Masanz testified that he paid $5,600.00 in cash, and entered into a written bill of sale, while on the premises of Premier Nissan. At that time, he received the keys for the vehicle.

Carlos Zuniga testified that Mr. Masanz came onto the lot and looked at a few cars, but did not see any he was interested in. He then showed Masanz a truck, owned by Mr. Mounis, located in the back of the lot behind the building. At that time, Mr. Mounis was acting manager of Premier Nissan’s Used Car Department. Zuniga collected the money from Masanz and gave it to Mounis, who then wrote a receipt to give to Masanz. Zuniga testified that he told Mr. Masanz that the truck was owned by the Used Car Sales Manager, who was Mounis. Zuniga did not recognize the bill of sale given to Masanz.

As instructed, Mr. Masanz went to Casey & Casey Title the next day and completed the transfer of title on the vehicle. He was met by Mr. Adil Mounis, who was wearing a Premier Nissan t-shirt. There was also a woman there, which at trial he opined may have been Ms. McKay. Carlos Zuniga was not there. The title transfer paper states that the purchase price was $4,000.00, but he was told by both Mr. Zuniga and Mr. Mounis that the price was stated as lower that it actually was to benefit both him and Premier Nissan, relative to taxes.

RZuniga also stated that there was no benefit to Premier Nissan in the transaction in which he sold the truck to Masanz. Mounis paid him a commission of $300.00 for selling the truck. He also stated that he believed Amanda McKay was Mounis’ wife.

Amy Casey of the Casey & Casey, MPS Inc. DVA Auto Title Express testified that according to the records of the State of Louisiana, Amanda McKay sold the vehicle in April of 2008 to Mr. Masanz. The stated sales price was $4,000.00. She stated that there was a benefit to the purchaser, but not to the seller, in stating a lower price than the actual price. She further testified that the records reflected that Premier Nissan was a prior owner of the vehicle and that they had sold it to Ms. McKay in January of 2008 for $2,000.00. In a sale from a dealership, the DMV requires that the bill of sale has the dealer’s letterhead, with the dealer’s code and dealer license number issued by the Motor Vehicle Commission. The bill of sale that was given to Mr. Masanz did not have those features. Furthermore, the signature on the bill of sale given to Mr. Masanz did not match the bill of sale used to transfer title.

Nancy Chanthanhothirat of Casey & Casey testified that both Amanda McKay and Mr. Masanz came into the office on the date the title was transferred. She was unsure if anyone else was with them. She was a witness on the documents.

Mr. Masanz drove the truck for one month and then it caught on fire. Immediately prior to the fire, he had driven over some railroad tracks, which caused the electronics on the dashboard to “go crazy.” During that one month period, he changed the oil but made no repairs. The cab of the pickup was totally destroyed, as were [173]*173his possessions. (At trial, he submitted a detailed, itemized list of his personal possessions destroyed in the truck fire, totaling $6,401.00.)

| (jMasanz contacted Premier Nissan; however, it would not return his money or replace the vehicle. He had been using the truck for work, and he was out of work for three months as a result. At that time, he was averaging $1,600.00 monthly in earnings.

At trial he testified that he would not have purchased the truck had he known it was a fire hazard. He bought the truck because it was represented to him that it was in good shape without a defect and the representation was supported by what he believed was a Car Fax pertinent to the truck. He also believed that he was purchasing the truck from Premier Nissan.

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Bluebook (online)
81 So. 3d 169, 11 La.App. 5 Cir. 61, 2011 La. App. LEXIS 1502, 2011 WL 6187119, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/masanz-v-premier-nissan-llc-lactapp-2011.