Neal Autoplex, Inc. D/B/A Neal Suzuki v. Lonnie R. Franklin and Wife Lisa B. Franklin

441 S.W.3d 444, 2014 WL 465298, 2014 Tex. App. LEXIS 1307
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedFebruary 5, 2014
Docket08-12-00136-CV
StatusPublished

This text of 441 S.W.3d 444 (Neal Autoplex, Inc. D/B/A Neal Suzuki v. Lonnie R. Franklin and Wife Lisa B. Franklin) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Neal Autoplex, Inc. D/B/A Neal Suzuki v. Lonnie R. Franklin and Wife Lisa B. Franklin, 441 S.W.3d 444, 2014 WL 465298, 2014 Tex. App. LEXIS 1307 (Tex. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

OPINION

ANN CRAWFORD McCLURE, Chief Justice.

Neal Autoplex, Inc. d/b/a Neal Suzuki appeals from a judgment awarding Lonnie R. Franklin and his wife, Lisa, damages for a cash price violation. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

FACTUAL SUMMARY

This suit arises out of the purchase of a motor vehicle from Neal Suzuki. The undisputed evidence showed that in June 2008, the Franklins purchased a new Suzuki Forenza. The Franklins were finance customers and purchased the vehicle through a retail installment contract. The total vehicle price (sticker price) listed on the Monroney label in the window was $16,464. But the installment contract listed the cash price as $20,865 — $4,401 over sticker price. 1 The Franklins subsequently sued the dealership alleging: (1) fraud; (2) negligence; (3) negligent misrepresentation; (4) violation of Chapters 348 and 349 of the Texas Finance Code; (5) violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices — Consumer Protection Act; and (6) negligent hiring and retention,' all arising out of their vehicle purchase. On October 31, 2011, the case was tried to the bench. The Franklins testified that on June 21, 2008, they entered into an agreement with the dealership to purchase the vehicle for the sticker price as part of a retail installment contract. The agreement included a promise that their monthly installments would not exceed $400 per month. According to owner Doug Neal, the dealership would have sold the same car to any customer paying cash for the sticker price. He also testified that a customer who bargained well would have likely purchased the vehicle for less than the sticker price.

When the Franklins received their copy of the installment contract, they were surprised to see that the cash price of the vehicle was listed at $20,865, making their monthly installments $418.36 per month. Mr. Franklin called the dealership to inquire about the increased price and was told that the finance company charged a $6,000 processing fee. The Franklins’ con *446 tract was purchased by Santander U.S.A. (formerly known as Drive Financial), who financed the purchase at an interest rate of 17.95%. Doug Neal confirmed that San-tander charged the dealership a fee of $6,087 to purchase the contract. Nevertheless, he claimed the increase was not due to the fee charged by Santander but was simply due to the fact the Franklins “didn’t negotiate the best deal.” Mr. Neal also testified that the dealership did not make a profit on the sale. Mr. Blevins, an employee of Santander, testified that before financing a deal, someone from San-tander calls the applicant (in this case the Franklins) to verify the terms of the contract. According to Blevins, he contacted the Franklins for a customer interview in July 2008 and went through all the details of the contract, including the purchase price and monthly payments. He referred to the $6,087 purchase price as a discount fee. According to him, it is illegal for a dealership to pass the fee on to the consumer. Sergio Padilla, a vice-president of Santander, pointed to company records indicating that Mrs. Franklin called Santan-der sometime prior to September 2008. The notes stated:

Customer said that the dealership told her that [Santander] charged her a $6,000 processing fee. Customer was told that is incorrect.

After hearing the evidence, the trial judge ruled that the Franklins failed to prove their causes of action for fraud, negligence, negligent misrepresentation, deceptive trade practices, and negligent hiring and retention, but ruled in favor of the Franklins on their cash price violation claim, finding that Neal Suzuki violated Chapters 348 and 349 of the Texas Finance Code. The court awarded statutory damages in the amount of $13,203 plus attorney’s fees in the amount of $22,525. 2 In the final judgment the trial judge also awarded conditional attorney’s fees in the event of an appeal.

The trial court entered findings of fact specifying that: (1) the “cash price” for the vehicle on the date the Franklins signed the purchase documents was $16,464; (2) Neal Suzuki sold the vehicle to the Frank-lins for $20,865; (3) Neal Suzuki charged the Franklins $4,401 more than the cash price was because they were obtaining financing to purchase the vehicle; and (4) by charging the Franklins more for the vehicle than they would have charged a cash customer for the same vehicle, Neal Suzuki violated Sections 348.004 and 349.001 of the Texas Finance Code.

On appeal, Neal Suzuki argues there is no evidence, or alternatively, insufficient evidence, to support a finding of a cash price violation. For reasons that follow, we affirm.

STANDARDS OF REVIEW

In an appeal from a bench trial, the trial judge’s findings of fact have the same force and effect as jury findings. Anderson v. City of Seven Points, 806 S.W.2d 791, 794 (Tex.1991); Bledsoe Dodge, L.L.C. v. Kuberski, 279 S.W.3d 839, 841 (Tex.App.-Dallas 2009, no pet.), citing Pulley v. Milberger, 198 S.W.3d 418, 426 (Tex.App.-Dallas 2006, pet. denied). Where, as here, an appellant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support a trial court’s findings of fact, we review them just as we would review the sufficiency of the evidence to support jury findings. Bledsoe, 279 S.W.3d at 841. We review conclusions of law de novo and will uphold the conclusions if the judgment can be sustained on any legal theory supported by the evidence. BMC Software Belgium, *447 N.V. v. Marchand, 83 S.W.3d 789, 794 (Tex.2002); Bob Montgomery Chevrolet, Inc. v. Dent Zone Companies, 409 S.W.3d 181, 187 (Tex.App.-Dallas. 2013, no pet.).

In conducting a legal sufficiency review, we view the evidence in a light favorable to the trial court’s fact finding, crediting favorable evidence if a reasonable fact finder could, and disregarding contrary evidence unless a reasonable fact finder could not. City of Keller v. Wilson, 168 S.W.3d 802, 827 (Tex.2005). In reviewing the factual sufficiency of the evidence, we examine all of the evidence, and we set aside a finding of fact only if it is so contrary to the evidence as to be clearly wrong and unjust. Cameron v. Cameron, 158 S.W.3d 680, 683 (Tex.App.-Dallas 2005, pet. denied).

CASH PRICE VIOLATION

Under the Texas Finance Code, a “cash price” violation occurs when a retail seller establishes a cash price for a vehicle and sells the vehicle for more than that established price. Tex.Fin.Code Ann.

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Related

Cameron v. Cameron
158 S.W.3d 680 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2005)
BMC Software Belgium, NV v. Marchand
83 S.W.3d 789 (Texas Supreme Court, 2002)
Anderson v. City of Seven Points
806 S.W.2d 791 (Texas Supreme Court, 1991)
Pulley v. Milberger
198 S.W.3d 418 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2006)
City of Keller v. Wilson
168 S.W.3d 802 (Texas Supreme Court, 2005)
Bledsoe Dodge, L.L.C. v. Kuberski
279 S.W.3d 839 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2009)
Bob Montgomery Chevrolet, Inc. v. Dent Zone Companies
409 S.W.3d 181 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2013)
Collins v. Fred Haas Toyota
21 S.W.3d 606 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2000)

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Bluebook (online)
441 S.W.3d 444, 2014 WL 465298, 2014 Tex. App. LEXIS 1307, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/neal-autoplex-inc-dba-neal-suzuki-v-lonnie-r-franklin-and-wife-lisa-texapp-2014.