River Oaks Motor Homes, Inc. v. Winnebago Industries, Inc.

371 F. Supp. 137, 1974 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12108
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Texas
DecidedFebruary 26, 1974
DocketCiv. A. 73-H-474
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 371 F. Supp. 137 (River Oaks Motor Homes, Inc. v. Winnebago Industries, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
River Oaks Motor Homes, Inc. v. Winnebago Industries, Inc., 371 F. Supp. 137, 1974 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12108 (S.D. Tex. 1974).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

NOEL, District Judge.

This cause comes on the motion of defendant Winnebago Industries, Inc. (hereinafter Winnebago) to dismiss Count 3 of the complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1). Winnebago contends it is not an “automobile manufacturer” as defined in 15 U.S.C. § 1221(a) and therefore cannot be sued under the Automobile Dealers’ Day in Court Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1221-1225 (hereinafter the Act).

Plaintiff, River Oaks Motor Homes, Inc. (hereinafter River Oaks), filed its complaint following Winnebago’s termination of River Oaks as an authorized Winnebago dealer. Plaintiff’s complaint alleges fraud (Count 1), breach of contract (Count 2), violation of the Automobile Dealers’ Day in Court Act (Count 3), and violation of § 2 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. § 2 (Count 4). Winnebago filed an answer, a counterclaim, and its motion to dismiss Count 3. At movant’s request, the Court granted an evidentiary hearing on the motion, which was held November 8, 1973. The parties presented witnesses, documentary evidence and oral argument supporting their respective positions.

There appears to be no reported decision on the question whether a recreational vehicle manufacturer comes within the definition of an “automobile manufacturer,” 15 U.S.C. § 1221(a).

River Oaks is in the business of buying and selling recreational vehicles called motor homes. River Oaks deals in several lines of motor homes and until August 31, 1972 was an authorized dealer for Winnebago motor homes. The complaint alleges that River Oaks is an “automobile dealer” and Winnebago is an “automobile manufacturer” as those terms are defined under the Act. River Oaks further alleges that in terminating the Retail Sales and Service Agreement with River Oaks, Winnebago acted without cause and in bad faith in violation of the Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1222.

Winnebago manufactures a line of recreational vehicles consisting of motor homes, travel trailers, camper coaches and Kap covers. It also produces certain vehicle components. Of these products, only the motor home is self-motorized. The travel trailer is a mobile dwelling containing living accommodations, mounted on its own chassis and designed to be towed behind an automobile or pick-up truck. The camper coach is a travel trailer without a chassis. The body is built on a wood underframe and is designed to be mounted on the bed of a pick-up truck. The Kap cover is a small cover designed to fit over the bed of a pick-up truck. It provides limited shelter and sleeping accommodations.

The Winnebago motor home is a mobile dwelling with a self-contained power unit, built on a special heavy duty chassis purchased by Winnebago from Chrysler Corporation. The chassis sold to Winnebago is specially designed by Chrysler Corporation engineers and is used only for motor home construction. The motor home chassis bears numerous features unique to it. From a design and engineering standpoint, it differs substantially from chassis built by Chrysler Corporation for use in passenger ears, station wagons and trucks. In addition to the driver’s area, the Winnebago motor home contains living accom *139 modations including kitchen,. dining, sleeping and bathroom areas. The motor home is designed to be used as a temporary dwelling during vacation or camping trips.

Of defendant’s products, River Oaks only dealt with motor homes. Plaintiff contends that production of motor homes qualifies Winnebago as an “automobile manufacturer.”

The first motor homes were built in the United States in 1958. Winnebago began manufacturing motor homes in 1965. At present there are about two hundred manufacturers of all types of motor homes. Winnebago is the largest manufacturer with approximately twenty percent of the market.

The Automobile Dealers’ Day in Court Act authorizes an “automobile dealer” to sue an “automobile manufacturer” for failure to act in good faith in terminating the dealer’s franchise. “Automobile manufacturer” is defined as

. any person, partnership, corporation, association, or other form of business enterprise engaged in the manufacturing or assembling of passenger cars, trucks, or station wagons, including any person, partnership or corporation which acts for and is under the control of such manufacturer or assembler in connection with the distribution of said automotive vehicles. 15 U.S.C. § 1221(a).

Unless a Winnebago motor home comes within the definition of a “passenger car, truck or station wagon,” Winnebago is not an “automobile manufacturer” and accordingly, cannot be sued under the Act.

It does not appear that any court has construed the statutory words “passenger cars, trucks or station wagons” in the context of the Act. Nor are such terms defined in the statute itself. Absent a controlling statutory definition, a court should not depart from the plain meaning of statutory language. United States v. Wiltberger, 18 U.S. (5 Wheat.) 76, 96, 5 L.Ed. 37 (1820).

The Court concludes that the language “passenger cars, trucks and station wagons” does not include motor homes. A passenger ear is a self-propelled motor vehicle containing a front or a front and rear seat and designed primarily to transport passengers. A truck is a self-propelled motor vehicle designed primarily to haul freight or cargo. A station wagon is a self-propelled motor vehicle with no luggage compartment and with rear seats which lift out or fold down to provide cargo space. It is designed primarily for transportation of passengers, light cargo or both.

A motor home is a self-propelled vehicle which contains complete living facilities, including kitchen, dining, sleeping and bathroom facilities. It is designed not only to transport passengers but also to house them on a temporary basis.

No definition of a truck includes a vehicle designed primarily to house and transport human beings, such as a motor home. Frank Motor Homes, Inc. v. United States, 230 F.Supp. 782, 784 (E.D.Mich.1964), aff’d 354 F.2d 660 (6th Cir. 1965). Similarly, no reasonable definition of either “passenger ear” or “station wagon” includes a motor home. A motor home is built on a specially designed heavy duty chassis; it lacks the usual front and back seats of a passenger car, is larger in size, and again, it is designed not only to transport passengers but to house them temporarily. The Court concludes that a motor home is not embraced within the ordinary meaning of the statutory language “passenger car, truck or station wagon.”

Plaintiff argues that motor homes are a hybrid of passenger cars, trucks and station wagons and should be included' by analogy.

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Bluebook (online)
371 F. Supp. 137, 1974 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12108, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/river-oaks-motor-homes-inc-v-winnebago-industries-inc-txsd-1974.