Northwest Truck & Trailer Sales, Inc. v. Dvorak

887 P.2d 260, 269 Mont. 150, 51 State Rptr. 1530, 25 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 1124, 1994 Mont. LEXIS 315
Montana Supreme Court·Decided December 29, 1994·No. 94-093·Published·Cited by 7 cases

Opinions

CHIEF JUSTICE TURNAGE

delivered the Opinion of the Court.

In this action, Northwest Truck & Trailer Sales, Inc. (Northwest), sought repossession of and the balance owing on a truck it sold to Roger W. and Patricia J. Dvorak. The Dvoraks counterclaimed, alleging fraud and breach of contract. The District Court for the Thirteenth Judicial District, Yellowstone County, entered summary judgment for Northwest on the Dvoraks’ counterclaim of fraud. At trial on Northwest’s claims and the remaining counterclaims, a jury found that Northwest did not breach its contract with the Dvoraks. The court directed a verdict awarding Northwest a deficiency judgment of $30,211.47, plus costs. The Dvoraks appeal. We affirm.

The issues are:

1. Did the District Court err in granting Northwest’s motion for summary judgment on the counterclaim of fraud?

2. Did the court err in refusing to allow the Dvoraks’ proposed evidence that the truck was not a new truck?

3. Did the court err in directing a verdict against the Dvoraks for $30,211.47?

4. Did the court err in refusing the Dvoraks’ proposed jury instructions?

[153]*1535. Do the jury’s answers on the special verdict form require a reversal of their verdict because they are internally inconsistent?

In Jrme 1987, the Dvoraks bought a 1987 Peterbilt tractor truck from Northwest to use in their two-person trucking business. The $85,600 sale price of the truck was financed over a sixty-month term. In January 1990, Northwest filed a complaint in the District Court alleging that the Dvoraks had failed to make the required monthly payments on the truck. It asked to be restored to immediate possession of the vehicle and for damages, costs, and attorney fees.

The Dvoraks counterclaimed, alleging that Northwest falsely represented to them that the truck was new when they bought it. They provided affidavits in which their son-in-law and four other persons stated they had examined the truck and found signs that it was not in its original condition. The Dvoraks asserted that Northwest’s misrepresentation constituted fraud and breach of contract. They asked for compensatory and punitive damages and for their attorney fees and costs.

In May 1990, following a hearing, the District Court ordered that the truck be delivered to Northwest. Roger Dvorak admitted to being at least eight payments in arrears at that time. Northwest resold the truck in September of 1990 for $58,000. The truck’s odometer showed some 326,000 miles at that time.

In May 1991, the District Court granted partial summary judgment for Northwest on the Dvoraks’ counterclaim alleging fraud and requesting punitive damages. The court ruled that the Dvoraks had failed to establish material issues of fact concerning necessary elements of their fraud claim.

The case proceeded to trial on Northwest’s claim for a deficiency judgment and on the Dvoraks’ counterclaims that Northwest breached the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing and otherwise breached the contract. In a special verdict, the jury found that the written contract between the parties had been altered by an oral agreement, but that Northwest had not breached the modified contract or breached the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing therein. The jury further found that Northwest had breached the implied covenant in the original written contract, but that there were no damages from that breach. The court directed a verdict against the Dvoraks for the $30,211.47 deficiency proved by Northwest between the amount owing on the contract and the resale price of the truck. The Dvoraks appeal.

[154]*154This Court has previously ruled that the Dvoraks’notice of appeal in this matter was timely filed. See Northwest Truck & Trailer Sales, Inc. v. Dvorak (1994), 265 Mont. 327, 877 P.2d 31.

Issue 1

Did the District Court err in granting Northwest’s motion for summary judgment on the counterclaim of fraud?

A motion for summary judgment is properly granted if the record demonstrates no genuine issues of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Rule 56(c), M.R.Civ.P. Aparty opposing a motion for summary judgment may not rest upon the mere allegations or denials of the pleadings, but must set forth specific facts showing there is a genuine issue for trial. Rule 56(e), M.R.Civ.P. This Court reviews a ruling on a motion for summary judgment under the same standard as that used by the district court in its ruling on the motion. Minnie v. City of Roundup (1993), 257 Mont. 429, 431, 849 P.2d 212, 214.

The nine elements of fraud are:

1. A representation;
2. Falsity of the representation;
3. Materiality of the representation;
4. The speaker’s knowledge of the falsity of the representation or ignorance of its truth;
5. The speaker’s intent that the representation shall be relied upon;
6. The hearer’s ignorance of the falsity of the representation;
7. The hearer’s reliance on the representation;
8. The hearer’s right to rely upon the representation;
9. Consequent and proximate injury caused by the reliance on the representation.

Wiberg v. 17 Bar, Inc. (1990), 241 Mont. 490, 496, 788 P.2d 292, 295. The District Court ruled that the Dvoraks failed to establish elements 2, 5, 6, and 9.

The Dvoraks claim that contrary to the District Court’s ruling, they produced evidence creating genuine issues of material fact concerning whether the truck was used and rebuilt before they bought it. They claimed damages because a rebuilt truck is worth less than a new one.

Attached to the Dvoraks’ brief in opposition to Northwest’s motion for claim and delivery were affidavits signed by the Dvoraks’ son-in-law and four other individuals. The affidavits were identical and were all dated April 20, 1990. Attached to each affidavit was a [155]*155list of thirty-two observed defects in the Dvoraks’ truck. Each affidavit stated:

From my personal observations noted on Exhibit 1, it is my opinion that the truck either is not a factory-built new truck, or has had major components replaced and had repainting done to conceal the work done on the truck.

The affidavits were dated almost three years after the Dvoraks purchased the truck. At that time, the Dvoraks had driven the truck over 300,000 miles. The affidavits do not state when the observations about the truck were made. They state no opinion as to who created the alleged defects in the truck or when they were created. Moreover, the affidavits do not demonstrate that Northwest knew or should have known of the claimed defects in the truck.

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

Northwest Truck & Trailer Sales, Inc. v. Dvorak, 887 P.2d 260, 269 Mont. 150, 51 State Rptr. 1530, 25 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 1124, 1994 Mont. LEXIS 315 (Mo. 1994).

887 P.2d 260 (Northwest Truck & Trailer Sales, Inc. v. Dvorak) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

D.R. Horton, Inc.-Denver v. Bischof & Coffman Construction, LLC
217 P.3d 1262 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 2009)
Joseph Eve & Co. v. Allen
1998 MT 189 (Montana Supreme Court, 1998)
Harwood v. Glacier Electric Cooperative, Inc.
949 P.2d 651 (Montana Supreme Court, 1997)
V.K. Putman Inc. v. Hardin
Montana Supreme Court, 1995
Northwest Truck & Trailer Sales, Inc. v. Dvorak
887 P.2d 260 (Montana Supreme Court, 1994)