Shumaker v. Hamilton Chevrolet, Inc.

920 N.E.2d 1023, 184 Ohio App. 3d 326
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedSeptember 28, 2009
DocketNo. 08CA28
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 920 N.E.2d 1023 (Shumaker v. Hamilton Chevrolet, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Shumaker v. Hamilton Chevrolet, Inc., 920 N.E.2d 1023, 184 Ohio App. 3d 326 (Ohio Ct. App. 2009).

Opinion

Harsha, Judge.

{¶ 1} Charles Shumaker filed suit against Hamilton Chevrolet, Inc. (“Hamilton”) after he learned that the used 2002 Chevrolet Blazer that Hamilton sold him had sustained significant damage in a prior accident. Following a bench trial, the trial court found that Hamilton violated the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act (“CSPA”), ordered a rescission of the sales contract, and awarded Shumaker attorney fees. Shumaker appeals the trial court’s decision to award him attorney fees in the amount of $14,250. Hamilton cross-appeals, challenging the trial court’s findings that Hamilton violated the CSPA and that Shumaker was entitled to a rescission of the sales contract and attorney fees in any amount.

{¶ 2} Initially, Shumaker contends that Hamilton has already rescinded the sales contract, rendering its cross-appeal moot. Generally, satisfaction of a judgment renders an appeal from that judgment moot. However, Hamilton contends that the judgment has not been “satisfied” because it has not paid Shumaker’s court-awarded attorney fees. Because the rescission and the attorney-fee award are distinct, severable remedies, and because Hamilton rescinded the sales contract instead of seeking a stay of the trial court’s decision, we find Hamilton’s cross-appeal moot to the extent that it seeks a reversal of the court’s rescission order. However, to the extent that Hamilton’s cross-appeal challenges Shumaker’s entitlement to attorney fees in any amount, it is not moot. Because each of Hamilton’s cross-assignments of error, if meritorious, could affect Shumakei-’s entitlement to those fees, we proceed to address them.

{¶ 3} In its first cross-assignment of error, Hamilton argues that its technical violation of Section 455.2(c), Title 16, C.F.R., of the FTC Used Motor Vehicle Trade Regulation Rule (“FTC rule”), i.e., failure to place its name and address on the back of the vehicle buyer’s guide, did not constitute an unfair act in violation of the CSPA. Because a reasonable consumer would not be misled about any material fact in this transaction based upon the mere omission of Hamilton’s name and address from the back of this guide, we agree. Therefore, we sustain Hamilton’s first cross-assignment of error.

{¶ 4} In Hamilton’s second cross-assignment of error, it contends that it did not violate the CSPA by failing to comply with Ohio Adm.Code 109:4-3-16(B)(22), which requires motor vehicle dealers to integrate all material statements into the [331]*331written sales contract. We agree. Apart from the parol evidence issues the trial court’s findings on this matter raise, no evidence adduced at trial indicates that Hamilton made two of the supposed material statements the trial court implicitly attributed to it. In addition, the trial court erroneously found that Hamilton’s oral disclosure of paint damage to the exterior of the vehicle constituted a material statement within the meaning of the regulation. A dealer’s mere disclosure of damage to a vehicle, without more, would not induce a reasonable consumer to purchase the vehicle. Therefore, we sustain Hamilton’s second cross-assignment of error and reverse the trial court’s judgment to the extent that it awarded Shumaker attorney fees. And because that decision renders moot the parties’ contentions regarding Shumaker’s entitlement to attorney fees and the amount of those fees, we need not address them.

I. Facts

{¶ 5} In July 2006, Shumaker filed a complaint alleging that after he purchased a used 2002 Chevrolet Blazer with a General Motors warranty from Hamilton, he learned that the vehicle had prior damage so severe that he believed it had been reconstructed. Shumaker alleged that Hamilton (1) violated the CSPA, (2) failed to comply with the FTC rule and thereby violated the CSPA, (3) failed to comply with Ohio Adm.Code 109:4-3-16 and thereby violated the CSPA, and (4) committed fraud. Shumaker sought damages or rescission for the CSPA violations, actual and punitive damages for the fraud claim, attorney fees, litigation expenses, and costs. The trial court bifurcated Shumaker’s request for attorney fees and costs from the main case.

{¶ 6} The court granted Shumaker partial summary judgment on his second claim, specifically finding that Hamilton “failed to provide their [sic] name and address on the [back of the] Buyer’s Guide as required in 16CFR455.2(c) [sic]” of the FTC rule. Immediately before the jury trial commenced, Shumaker withdrew his fourth claim for fraud, and the parties agreed to proceed with a bench trial. For the CSPA claims, Shumaker elected to seek rescission of the sales contract in lieu of damages.

{¶ 7} At the bench trial, Shumaker offered testimony that prior to the sale, Hamilton did not tell him that the vehicle had previously sustained over $5,000 in damage from an accident in New York, including damage to the fenders, headlights, parking lights, hood, grill, and left side of the vehicle frame. Shumaker also offered testimony that parts from Taiwan had been used to repair the vehicle and were not covered under the rust-proof provision in his warranty. Hamilton denied that it knew of these accident damages or the use of Taiwanese parts on the vehicle.

[332]*332{¶ 8} Shumaker also offered testimony that the clear coat paint on the right rear quarter panel of the vehicle was peeling. Shumaker and his wife could not recall whether Gail Scarberry, a Hamilton salesperson, had told them about this problem. Scarberry testified that she told Shumaker about the peeling and recalled him saying, “I have a buddy who can take care of that.” On cross-examination, Scarberry acknowledged that the disclosure of the paint problem was important to the deal but was not in the sales contract. Edmond Marshall, Hamilton’s general manager, testified that the disclosure should have been written in the sales contract but was not.

{¶ 9} Regarding the FTC rule violation, Shumaker testified that he did not read the buyer’s guide prior to purchasing the vehicle or know it had a back side. He acknowledged that Hamilton’s name appears on the front of the buyer’s guide and that he knew Hamilton’s name and address without the guide.

{¶ 10} The trial court found that in addition to failing to provide its name and address on the back of the buyer’s guide as required by the FTC rule, Hamilton failed to comply with Ohio Adm.Code 109:4-3-16(B)(22), in violation of the CSPA, because it failed to include in the written contract “any written description of paint damages to a portion of the exterior of [the] car; wreck damage repair exceeding $5,000.00[;] or the use of repair auto parts made in the country of Taiwan, which would violate portions of the warranty remaining on the said automobile.” The court ordered rescission of the sales contract. Following a separate hearing, the trial court awarded Shumaker $14,250 in attorney fees. Shumaker filed an appeal, and Hamilton filed a cross-appeal of the court’s judgment.

II. Assignments and Cross-Assignments of Error

{¶ 11} Shumaker assigns the following error for our review:

Assignment of Error
The trial court abused its discretion in deciding appellant’s attorney fee motion.

{¶ 12} In its cross-appeal, Hamilton assigns the following errors for our review:

Cross-Appellant’s Assignment of Error No. 1

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Bluebook (online)
920 N.E.2d 1023, 184 Ohio App. 3d 326, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/shumaker-v-hamilton-chevrolet-inc-ohioctapp-2009.