Underwood v. Monte Asti Buick Co.

73 Pa. D. & C.2d 773, 1976 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 312
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Alleghany County
DecidedApril 8, 1976
Docketno. 3436
StatusPublished

This text of 73 Pa. D. & C.2d 773 (Underwood v. Monte Asti Buick Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Alleghany County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Underwood v. Monte Asti Buick Co., 73 Pa. D. & C.2d 773, 1976 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 312 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1976).

Opinion

FINKELHOR, J.,

— The above action in equity1 comes before the chancellor on plaintiffs prayer to rescind a contract for the purchase of a 1971 Opel automobile and to return to plaintiff either the purchase price of said vehicle or a new and similar car.

The resolution of this case rests on two basic legal issues: (1) the duty of the seller (defendant) of a motor vehicle to advise the purchaser (plaintiff) of repairs or replacements which may have been made to the vehicle prior to the purchase, and whether failure to so advise constitutes “fraud”; and (2) whether a purchaser who seeks rescission of a sale and refund of the full purchase price may continue to use the vehicle after notice to the seller.

[775]*775After a hearing held April 28, 1975, the chancellor makes the following findings of fact:

(1) Virgie Underwood, plaintiff, is a resident of Allegheny County, Pa., and is employed at Allegheny General Hospital as a practical nurse, and has been so employed for five years.

(2) Monte Asti Buick Co., Inc., defendant, is a Pennsylvania corporation, having its principal place of business in Sewickley, Allegheny County, Pa., and is engaged in the selling of new and used Buick and Opel automobiles as a franchise dealer of Buick Motor Company.

(3) On December 18, 1971, plaintiff purchased a 1971 Opel automobile for a cash selling price of $2,669.02 and a trade-in of a 1968 Opel for a credit of $1,072.02. The sale was financed by Mellon Bank.

(4) At the time of the sale, plaintiff was told that the automobile was a “demonstrator,” but the vehicle was designated “new” and plaintiff received an “A” title.

(5) Said vehicle had, in fact, been seriously damaged prior to the sale to plaintiff and repairs included the replacement of the front bumper, molding and brackets, two front lamps and headlight shell, right rear quarter panel, right door panel and right front fender, front grill and front air panel. The cost to the dealer for repairing this vehicle, including tax, was $728.61.

(6) Plaintiff was never advised prior to sale, or at any time after sale when she returned the vehicle to defendant for repairs, inspection and adjustment, that said vehicle had been damaged prior to sale.

(7) Plaintiff discovered the prior damage to the vehicle in September 1973, almost two years after the sale, during a State inspection by another repair [776]*776shop, and it was necessary at that time to replace the right front fender.

(8) Plaintiff showed the vehicle to defendant’s salesman, Mr. Dowdy, in September or October 1973, and in November 1973 presented the car for inspection to Monte Asti, the president of defendant company.

(9) On or about December 14, 1973, approximately three months after the discovery of the damage, plaintiff requested the return of her money from Monte Asti Buick and the rescission of the agreement.

(10) Plaintiff continued to use the car after notice to Monte Asti Buick, and as of November 1974 had driven the automobile approximately 36,000 miles.

(11) The basic complaint of plaintiff, regarding the function and performance of the vehicle, is that the tires wore out on the right side of the vehicle and that the right side rusted and required repairs.

(12) As of the date of trial, the vehicle had, in fact, been driven in excess of 50,000 miles.

(13) No evidence was presented by plaintiff of the specific diminution in value of the vehicle due to the pre-sale damages, other than the cost to the dealer to repair the vehicle for sale.

It is the position of defendant that he was under no duty to reveal to plaintiff prior repairs to the vehicle and that, even assuming such a duty, plaintiff failed to meet the prerequisites for rescission of the contract in that the vehicle was not returned to the seller.

It is plaintiffs position that the failure to reveal the previous repairs to the car amounted to fraud on the part of the seller, and that, upon discovery, plaintiff could rescind the agreement.

[777]*777FRAUD OR MISREPRESENTATION BY THE SELLER

Even though the instant case is a sales agreement and plaintiff is seeking to reject the product purchased, plaintiff seeks relief by way of an equitable rescission of the contract and not under the various remedies of the Uniform Commercial Code of April 6, 1953, P.L. 3, as amended, 12A P.S. §§1-101, et seq.2 Plaintiff has not alleged abreach of an express (section 2-313) or implied (section 2-314) warranty, but that the concealment by the seller of a material fact, i.e., the major repair of the vehicle, tainted the agreement and, upon discovery, supports plaintiffs demand for rescission. However, both parties seek to argue their positions by sections of the Commercial Code and cases thereunder.

In denying preliminary motions by defendant-seller, the chancellor has already ruled that an action in assumpsit under the code provisions is not an exclusive remedy for the rescission of a sales agreement: sections 2-716 and 2-721. See Galati v. Potamkin Chevrolet Co., supra.3

However, in order to determine whether plaintiff has established fraudulent conduct on the part of the seller, the principles of the Uniform Commercial Code which govern sales transactions are relevant.

[778]*778Thus, as stated in Purdon Commentary at 12A P.S. XXXIV — XXXV:

“Perhaps the most important provision in Article 1 [of the Code] is the explicit statement of an obligation of good faith in the performance or enforcement of every commercial transaction. Throughout the Act, and particularly in Article 2, this general obligation includes the observance of reasonable commercial standards by a merchant. Good faith is defined as ‘honesty in fact’ and the comments repeatedly refer to its connotation of demanding fairness and preventing surprise in all commercial dealings.” (Emphasis supplied.)

As defined in the Restatement, Contracts, fraud in the consummation of a sales agreement includes: (a) a knowing, intentional misrepresentation; (b) concealment; or (c) nondisclosure by any person intending or expecting thereby to cause a mistake in order to induce another to enter into a transaction: Restatement, Contracts, §471; Clement Martin, Inc. v. Gussey, 191 Pa. Superior Ct. 464, 157 A. 2d 412 (1959).

In Scaife Company v. Rockwell-Standard Corporation, 446 Pa. 280, 285 A. 2d 451 (1971), cert. denied 407 U.S. 920, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court defined fraud to include:

“. . . anything calculated to deceive, whether by single act or combination, or by suppression of truth, or a suggestion of what is false, whether it be direct falsehood or by innuendo, by speech or si-, lence, word of mouth, or look or gesture. It is any artifice by which a person is deceived to his disadvantage.” 446 Pa. at 285, 286.

See also Dejoseph v. Zambelli, 11 D. & C. 2d 447 (1957), affirmed 392 Pa. 24 (1958); Ellis v. Harris, 122 Pitts.L.J. 29 (1974).

[779]*779The purchase of motor vehicles by naive and non mechanic oriented consumers is, of necessity, based upon the reliance of the buyer on the good faith of the dealer or seller. See code sections 1-203, 2-103(b).

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Bluebook (online)
73 Pa. D. & C.2d 773, 1976 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 312, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/underwood-v-monte-asti-buick-co-pactcomplallegh-1976.