Medrazo v. Honda of North Hollywood

205 Cal. App. 4th 1, 140 Cal. Rptr. 3d 20, 2012 WL 1021692, 2012 Cal. App. LEXIS 435
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 27, 2012
DocketNo. B230410
StatusPublished
Cited by43 cases

This text of 205 Cal. App. 4th 1 (Medrazo v. Honda of North Hollywood) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Medrazo v. Honda of North Hollywood, 205 Cal. App. 4th 1, 140 Cal. Rptr. 3d 20, 2012 WL 1021692, 2012 Cal. App. LEXIS 435 (Cal. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

[4]*4Opinion

WILLHITE, J.

Plaintiff Audrey Medrazo, on behalf of herself and others similarly situated, filed a class action lawsuit against defendant Honda of North Hollywood1 (HNH) asserting claims under the unfair competition law (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17200 et seq.) (UCL) and the Consumers Legal Remedies Act (Civ. Code, § 1750 et seq.) (CLRA), based upon HNH’s alleged violations of Vehicle Code sections 11712.5 and 24014 (hereafter section 11712.5 and section 24014). This is the second appeal in this case. In the first appeal, we reversed the trial court’s denial of class certification and directed that the class be certified. (Medrazo v. Honda of North Hollywood (2008) 166 Cal.App.4th 89 [82 Cal.Rptr.3d 1] (Medrazo /).) In this appeal, Medrazo challenges the trial court’s granting of HNH’s motion for judgment, which was filed after Medrazo completed her presentation of evidence at trial. The trial court found that Medrazo failed to establish that she, or any other class member, was injured by HNH’s conduct, and therefore HNH was entitled to judgment on the UCL and CLRA claims. We reverse the judgment as to the UCL claim, but we affirm the judgment as to the CLRA claim on the ground that Medrazo forfeited any issue regarding that claim by failing to adequately address it in her briefs on appeal.

BACKGROUND

As noted, Medrazo’s UCL and CLRA claims are based upon her allegation that HNH sold new motorcycles without complying with section 11712.5 and section 24014. Section 11712.5 provides in relevant part: “It is unlawful and a violation of this code for a dealer issued a license pursuant to this article to sell, offer for sale, or display any new vehicle, as follows: [f] (a) A new motorcycle unless there is securely attached thereto a statement as required by Section 24014.” Section 24014 provides: “(a) No dealer shall sell, offer for sale, or display, any new, assembled motorcycle on its premises, unless there is securely attached to its handlebar a label, approved by the Department of Motor Vehicles, furnished by the manufacturer, on which the manufacturer shall clearly indicate the following: [][] (1) The recommended retail price of the motorcycle. [][] (2) The recommended price for each accessory or item of optional equipment physically attached to the motorcycle at the time of its delivery to the dealer. [j[] (b) The dealer shall clearly indicate on the label, furnished by the manufacturer, the following: [f] (1) The amount charged, if any, over and above the suggested retail price for transportation to the dealership. [j[] (2) The amount charged, if any, for the assembly, preparation, or both, of the motorcycle, [f] (3) The amount [5]*5charged, if any, for each dealer added accessory or item of optional equipment. [1] (4) The total recommended retail price of the vehicle which shall be the aggregate value of paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (a) and paragraphs (1), (2) and (3) of subdivision (b).”

As explained in our prior opinion, in moving for class certification, Medrazo presented evidence that (1) when she bought a Honda motorcycle from HNH, there was no label (also known as a hanger tag or hang tag) attached to it; (2) more than $2,000 in dealer charges was added to the cost of the motorcycle she purchased; (3) HNH did not attach hanger tags to any Suzuki or Yamaha motorcycles it offered for sale (because those manufacturers did not provide hanger tags); (4) although Honda provided hanger tags for all of its motorcycles, HNH did not attach the tags to all of the Honda motorcycles, and did not include the dealer charges on all of the hanger tags that were attached; and (5) in the four years prior to June 30, 2006 (when Medrazo filed her complaint), HNH sold more than 3,000 motorcycles. (Medrazo I, supra, 166 Cal.App.4th at p. 94.) Medrazo sought to certify the class, which was defined as follows: “ ‘All purchasers of new motorcycles who were charged for “destination”, “assembly” or other DEALER added “accessories” that were not disclosed on a hanger tag since August 1, 2002, being four years prior to the filing of this lawsuit.’ ” (Ibid.) The trial court denied class certification, finding (among other things) that common issues did not predominate. (Id. at p. 99.) We reversed the court’s denial of certification because even though there are individual issues that must be resolved—for example, each Honda purchaser must establish there was no hanger tag attached to the motorcycle he or she purchased and/or the dealer-added costs were not disclosed on the hanger tag, and a determination must be made of the amount of restitution (if any) owed to each class member—those issues can be effectively managed2 and pale in comparison to the substance and scope of the issues common to the class.3 (166 Cal.App.4th at p. 100.) We directed the trial court, on remand, to certify the class. (Id. at p. 102.)

[6]*6Following remand, the case was tried before the court in a bench trial.4 Before trial, Medrazo filed a trial brief in which she explained the basis for her claims and addressed HNH’s anticipated defenses.

In her trial brief, Medrazo explained that her UCL claim was based on three of the four prongs of the UCL. She asserted that HNH’s sale of motorcycles without hanger tags that disclosed the dealer-added charges for freight and destination was (1) an unlawful business practice; (2) a fraudulent business practice; and (3) unfair, deceptive, untrue, or misleading advertising. Regarding her CLRA claim, she explained that HNH’s alleged conduct fell within the definition of five of the practices proscribed by the CLRA: (1) “Representing that goods or services have . . . approval, characteristics [or] benefits . . . which they do not have” (Civ. Code, § 1770, subd. (a)(5)); (2) “Advertising goods or services with intent not to sell them as advertised” (Civ. Code, § 1770, subd. (a)(9)); (3) “Making false or misleading statements of fact concerning reasons for, existence of, or amounts of price reductions” (Civ. Code, § 1770, subd. (a)(13)); (4) “Representing that a transaction confers or involves rights, remedies, or obligations which it does not have or involve, or which are prohibited by law” (Civ. Code, § 1770, subd. (a)(14)); and (5) “Inserting an unconscionable provision in the contract” (Civ. Code, § 1770, subd. (a)(19)).

Addressing HNH’s anticipated defenses, Medrazo argued that (1) HNH’s assertion that it did not have to attach any hanger tags on Suzuki or Yamaha motorcycles because those manufacturers did not provide tags was contrary to the history of section 24014; (2) HNH’s ultimate disclosure of the dealer-added charges once the customer sat down to negotiate the final purchase terms is not a defense to Medrazo’s claims because section 11712.5 and section 24014 are designed to prevent dealers from enticing customers to commence negotiations by quoting a lower price than it intends to charge; and (3) proof of individual reliance by class members on HNH’s deceptive practice is not required to impose restitution liability against HNH under the UCL.

Medrazo presented two witnesses at trial: herself and David Denman, HNH’s sales manager (examined under Evid. Code, § 776).

Medrazo testified that she went to HNH in September 2005 with her boyfriend to purchase a motorcycle for him. She did not see any hanger tags on any of the motorcycles, although there were some price stickers on the [7]*7windshields of some of them.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
205 Cal. App. 4th 1, 140 Cal. Rptr. 3d 20, 2012 WL 1021692, 2012 Cal. App. LEXIS 435, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/medrazo-v-honda-of-north-hollywood-calctapp-2012.