United States v. One 1955 Model Buick Coupe Automobile

145 F. Supp. 72, 1956 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2554
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Georgia
DecidedSeptember 20, 1956
DocketCiv. No. 827
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 145 F. Supp. 72 (United States v. One 1955 Model Buick Coupe Automobile) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. One 1955 Model Buick Coupe Automobile, 145 F. Supp. 72, 1956 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2554 (S.D. Ga. 1956).

Opinion

SCARLETT, District Judge.

The libellant in the above styled case, the United States of America, filed a libel of information against the instant automobile alleging that the seized automobile had been used in violation of the Internal Revenue Liquor Laws after which a timely intervention was filed by the General Motors Acceptance Corporation alleging an interest in the seized automobile and praying for remission or mitigation of forfeiture should the automobile in question be forfeited inasmuch as it did not have knowledge or reason to believe that the automobile would be used in violation of the Internal Revenue Liquor Laws as prohibited under Title 18 U.S.C.A. § 3617 (b) (2) and that its purchaser did not have a record or reputation for such violations which would require an inquiry as required under Title 18 U.S.C.A. § 3617(b) (3).

Subsequently a claim was filed for said automobile by its owner, Eleanor C.'Arnold, denying knowledge of the alleged fact that her automobile had been used in violation of the Internal Revenue Liquor Laws and praying for its return.

Prior to the hearing of the libel action the claimant, Eleanor C. Arnold, dismissed her petition, thus leaving the General Motors Acceptance Corporation as the sole intervenor.

Thereafter, the Court heard evidence produced by the government to justify [74]*74forfeiture to the effect that the seized automobile had been used to transport materials used and intended to be used in the production of distilled spirits with intent to defraud the United States of the tax due on the distilled spirits produced and intended to be produced with said materials. The government also established that the automobile contained in its glove compartment a loaded P.38 caliber pistol together with a box of P.38 caliber cartridges and a box of .30-.30 caliber rifle cartridges. An order of forfeiture was entered and the court proceeded to hear the question of whether the intervenor was entitled to remission or mitigation.

The intervenor placed on the witness stand Dale Critz, the president of Critz Buick Company who established that his company had sold the seized automobile to Eleanor C. Arnold, and that an interest was transferred to the General Motors Acceptance Corporation through the assignment of a Conditional Sales Contract to G.M.A.C. and for the purpose of attempting to establish the fact that Critz Buick Company had no knowledge or reason to believe that the automobile would be used in violation of the Internal Revenue Liquor Laws. In making the assignment, Mr. Critz denied that his company acted as an agent for G.M.A.C. However, Mr. Critz testified on cross-examination that the Conditional Sales Contract assigned to G.M.A.C. was assigned the same date of the sale and in all probability during the time of the sales transaction under what is known as the G.M.A.C. Retail Plan. The consideration of the assignment was that Critz Buick Company guaranteed the full amount remaining unpaid thereon. The provisions of the assignment to General Motors Acceptance Corporation of the Conditional Sales Contract further provides that General Motors Acceptance Corporation specifically requests and authorizes Critz Buick Company to procure insurance against the contingency, of the death of the purchaser of the forfeited automobile and that such insurance shall be payable to Critz Buick Company in an amount equal to the balance remaining to be paid under the contract which shall be applied in payment of the obligation under the contract to the extent of such proceeds. General Motors Acceptance Corporation in consideration of such agreement waives and releases Critz Buick Company from any and all claims to all such rights, benefits or advantages as may accrue under such insurance. Mr. Critz acknowledged that the Conditional Sales Contract form and the assignment form, all of which is embodied in the same instrument, was made up and printed by G.M.A.C. for his company’s use. On further cross-examination, Mr. Critz acknowledged that the purchase of the seized automobile from the factory had also been financed by G.M.A.C. under what is known as the G.M.A.C. Wholesale Plan which enables dealers to carry an adequate stock of cars without tying up too much of their working capital. Reference was then made to the G.M.A.C. manual, which was later introduced into evidence by the government, and which states the foregoing purposes for which the G.M.A.C. Wholesale Plan was de-' signed and which states that the G.M. A.C. was organized for the purpose of providing a specialized financing service to General Motors automobile dealers. The Wholesale Plan finances the purchase of cars by the dealers from the General Motors factory and arranges for necessary insurance on these cars until the time of their subsequent sale to an individual purchaser who may finance through General Motors Acceptance Corporation on their Retail Plan. The Wholesale Plan allows the dealers to demonstrate these dealer financed cars but only under strict control. The manual sets out the conditions for G.M.A.C. responsibility under the retail plan assignments, one of which being that an investigation must be made by the dealer and such investigation indicated that the customer was not engaged in any business or occupation that is in violation of the State or Federal Laws and that the vehicle be used exclusively by the customer. It was pointed out that the manual states that the G.M.A.C. Retail Plan of financing constitutes an essential and effective [75]*75sales aid to the dealer and reduces the possibility of outside influence which might divert or delay the sale. The manual identifies the G.M.A.C. Retail Plan as the dealers’ time payment plan and states that the benefits accruing from the use of the G.M.A.C. Retail Plan gives dealers a tangible and direct interest in promoting the facilities for time payments under the plan. The manual compares its plan with bank financing by stating that the benefits of its plan will be sacrificed if through indifference or neglect of the opportunity to make an installment sale dealers are satisfied to let their customers pay cash with borrowed money since the dealer is left with the unprofitable trade-in part of the deal and none of the plus values of the G.M.A.C. Retail Plan when a bank takes over the financing.

The government continued to bring out on cross-examination the contents of the G.M.A.C. manual and showed that the manual provides that in order to get the most effective use of the G.M.A.C. Retail Plan an individual in each dealership would be designated to act as a specialist in this phase of the dealer’s car sales and that the individual must be carefully selected and thoroughly trained to utilize his contacts with prospective car purchasers to present as convincingly as possible the benefits and advantages of the installment payment facilities offered by the dealer under the plan. The manual establishes that G.M.A.C. would assist in training the specialist and would provide the dealers with posters, customer folders and other sales aids. The manual then states that it is more convenient for the customer to have the dealer make installment terms part of the car sale and that the time buyer from a dealer who uses the G.M.A.C. Retail Plan has the benefit of the dealer’s continued interest reflected in the dealer’s readiness to recommend any changes in payments that may prove desirable or further assist by accepting payments for transmission for G.M.A.C.

Upon completion of the testimony of Dale Critz the intervenor placed on the stand James T. Crane, the Savannah Manager of General Motors Acceptance Corporation, who testified that G.M.A.C.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
145 F. Supp. 72, 1956 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2554, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-one-1955-model-buick-coupe-automobile-gasd-1956.