McCants v. CD & PB Enterprises, LLC

CourtSupreme Court of Virginia
DecidedFebruary 15, 2024
Docket1230115
StatusPublished

This text of McCants v. CD & PB Enterprises, LLC (McCants v. CD & PB Enterprises, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McCants v. CD & PB Enterprises, LLC, (Va. 2024).

Opinion

PRESENT: All the Justices

BRYANT McCANTS OPINION BY v. Record No. 230115 JUSTICE D. ARTHUR KELSEY FEBRUARY 15, 2024 CD & PB ENTERPRISES, LLC, D/B/A MAACO, ET AL.

FROM THE COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA

A jury found CD & PB Enterprises, LLC, a vehicle repair shop, and one of its part-

owners liable for the conversion of a motor vehicle owned by Bryant McCants. The Court of

Appeals vacated the verdict, finding that the Virginia Abandoned Vehicle Act, Code §§ 46.2-

1200 to -1207, shielded the defendants from liability. We disagree, reverse the judgment of the

Court of Appeals, and reinstate the jury’s verdict.

I.

When reviewing on appeal evidence submitted at trial, appellate courts “consider all facts

in the light most favorable” to the party that prevailed in the trial court. Bank of Hampton Rds. v.

Powell, 292 Va. 10, 15 (2016). The party who successfully persuades the factfinder “is entitled

[on appeal] to have the evidence viewed in the light most favorable to her, with all conflicts and

inferences resolved in her favor.” Chacey v. Garvey, 291 Va. 1, 8 (2015). In addition, “‘an

appellate court must consider all the evidence admitted at trial that is contained in the record’ and

not limit itself to ‘merely the evidence that the reviewing court considers most trustworthy.’”

Bowman v. Commonwealth, 290 Va. 492, 494 n.1 (2015) (citations omitted). Viewing the facts

through this evidentiary prism, we retell the story of this conflict.

In January 2017, Bryant McCants arranged for one of his collectible vehicles, a 1970

Ford Mustang Mach 1, to be delivered to a repair shop operated by CD & PB Enterprises, LLC, doing business as Maaco Collision Repair & Auto Painting (“CD & PB Maaco”).1 Hanson

Butler, a part owner and employee of CD & PB Maaco, managed the repair shop. McCants

entered into a contract with CD & PB Maaco pursuant to a “Repair Order” that identified Butler

as the shop “Estimator.” 2 J.A. at 565. In their pleadings, the parties admitted that “[a]t all times

relevant, [McCants] was conducting business” with CD & PB Maaco. See 1 id. at 2, 13. They

also agreed “that [McCants] was dealing with and contracting with [CD & PB Maaco] at all

times and was not engaged in a direct business dealing with any of the ownership of Maaco.” Id.

at 3; see also id. at 13. This business relationship was not new to either party. CD & PB Maaco

had previously performed repair work on at least six cars for McCants, including a previous paint

job for the Mustang.

The Repair Order did not specify a date for the work to be completed but did provide that

McCants would be charged a $35 daily “[s]torage” fee beginning seven days after the work had

been completed. 2 id. at 565. As Butler explained at trial, “[o]nce the vehicle is complete, the

customer has seven days to come pick it up or storage occurs.” Id. at 849. It was CD & PB

Maaco’s “practice” to charge such fees on the customer’s invoice. Id. at 914-15. In June 2017,

about five months after the Mustang was initially delivered, Butler notified McCants that the

work was complete. Using his telephone, McCants paid the bill electronically and flew in from

New York to inspect the vehicle. McCants was unsatisfied with the work when he inspected it,

and Butler agreed to repaint it.

About 30 days later, Butler called McCants and asked McCants to come inspect the

vehicle because Butler had “forgot[ten] what it was that [McCants] wanted him to do.” 1 id. at

1 The contractual “Repair Order[s]” represented that CD & PB Maaco was “[l]icensed by Maaco Franchising, Inc.” and was “privately owned and operated.” See 2 J.A. at 562-69.

2 222. Between August 21 and September 25, 2017, Butler and McCants exchanged several text

messages about the vehicle. On August 21, Butler texted McCants, “Yo.” 2 id. at 571. McCants

replied, “What’s up? Mustangs ready?” Id. Butler did not reply. He texted McCants the next

day, “Yo again.” Id. McCants replied that he would “be there” on Saturday morning. Id. On

August 28, McCants notified Butler that he had been unable to come because his mother was in

the hospital, and he apologized for the delay. On August 30, Butler texted McCants, “Hey.” Id.

at 572. McCants responded that he was still at the hospital with his mother and would call him

later. Butler replied, “Oh man sorry. Ok.” Id.

On September 8, Butler texted McCants, “Hello.” Id. at 573. There was no reply, and

Butler texted McCants again on September 20, “U alive?” Id. at 574. On September 25,

McCants replied that he had been out of the country. Butler responded, “Ok. Now what do I

have to do to get you to get this car?” Id. at 573. McCants testified that Butler had used similar

verbiage in the past to ask McCants if he would accept a discount in exchange for Butler not

having to redo unsatisfactory work. See 1 id. at 237-39. According to McCants, Butler’s text

had nothing to do with physically picking up the vehicle. Id. at 238.

That same day, in response to Butler’s text message, McCants called Butler. During that

conversation, Butler told McCants that the work had not yet been completed because no one had

come to inspect the car. Id. at 240. After the conversation, McCants texted his friend, Brian

Hairston, and said, “[Butler] is asking if I can send someone else over to take a look at” the

vehicle “to tell [Butler] what needs to be fixed.” 2 id. at 576. Hairston later went to inspect the

vehicle and concluded that the work was not completed.

Shortly after Hairston inspected the vehicle, Butler initiated the abandoned-vehicle

process by filling out an online form provided by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles

3 (“DMV”). Butler filled the form out in his personal name and did not mention the legal or trade

name for the repair shop operated by CD & PB Maaco. On October 13, 2017, the DMV sent a

letter to McCants’s address on file, a Michigan address, notifying him that Butler intended to

dispose of the abandoned property and that McCants must reclaim the property by October 31.

McCants did not live at the Michigan address and never received this notice. After October 31,

Butler posted his intent to auction the vehicle on the DMV website, and after the requisite three-

week period, Butler filed for and received title to the vehicle from the DMV. He requested that

the certificate of title and registration identify “Butler, Hanson, E.” as the “OWNER’S FULL

LEGAL NAME . . . OR BUSINESS NAME (if business owned).” Id. at 610. As a result, the

certificate of title from the DMV vested title in Butler personally and made no mention of CD &

PB Maaco. Id.; see also id. at 908-09.

Though all of Butler’s communications with McCants during the ten-month period were

either in person, by text, or by phone, Butler never used any of these methods to warn McCants

that Butler was seeking to personally acquire the Mustang as abandoned property. Nor did

Butler at any time during this period directly or indirectly signal his intent to charge McCants the

contractual storage fee for vehicles left at the shop after all repairs had been completed. No such

fee was charged, McCants maintained at trial, because the agreed-upon repairs were never

completed. Butler conceded that he refrained from charging a storage fee but explained that he

was just trying to avoid making McCants “angry.” Id. at 849.

After receiving the DMV certificate of title to the Mustang, Butler sold it to a co-

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McCants v. CD & PB Enterprises, LLC, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mccants-v-cd-pb-enterprises-llc-va-2024.