Verdonck v. Scopes

590 N.E.2d 545, 226 Ill. App. 3d 484, 168 Ill. Dec. 908, 1992 Ill. App. LEXIS 591
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedApril 15, 1992
Docket2-91-0584
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 590 N.E.2d 545 (Verdonck v. Scopes) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Verdonck v. Scopes, 590 N.E.2d 545, 226 Ill. App. 3d 484, 168 Ill. Dec. 908, 1992 Ill. App. LEXIS 591 (Ill. Ct. App. 1992).

Opinion

JUSTICE NICKELS

delivered the opinion of the court:

Plaintiff, Phil Verdonck, purchased a used 1984 Cadillac El Dorado from defendant, Les Scopes, in August 1987. Plaintiff subsequently filed a four-count complaint alleging that defendant had induced plaintiff to buy the car by misrepresenting the car’s mileage. The complaint alleged causes of action under (1) the odometer requirements of the Federal Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act of 1972 (Federal Act) (15 U.S.C.A. §1981 et seq. (West 1982)); (2) the odometer certification requirements of the Illinois Vehicle Code (Illinois odometer law) (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 95½, par. 3—112.1); (3) the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act (Consumer Fraud Act) (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 121½, par. 261 et seq.); and (4) common-law fraud.

After the trial court directed a verdict for defendant on the Consumer Fraud Act count, a jury found for plaintiff in the amount of $64,400 compensatory damages based on actual damages of $16,000 plus treble that amount and $37,000 punitive damages. The trial judge reduced the compensatory damage finding to $6,100 and, pursuant to the requirements of the Federal Act (see 15 U.S.C.A. § 1989(a) (West 1982)), tripled the compensatory damages to $18,300 and awarded plaintiff $18,975 in attorney fees and $912.22 in costs. Pursuant to the Consumer Fraud Act (see Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 121½, par. 270a(c)), the trial court awarded defendant attorney fees based on the directed verdict on the Consumer Fraud Act count. The trial court later vacated both attorney fee awards and entered judgment. Plaintiff now appeals, and defendant cross-appeals.

Plaintiff argues that (1) the trial judge erred in vacating the award of attorney fees, as such an award is mandatory under the Federal Act; and (2) the trial court erred in directing a verdict for defendant on the Consumer Fraud Act count of the complaint. Defendant claims that (1) awarding plaintiff both statutory treble damages and common-law punitive damages amounted to an impermissible double recovery; (2) the size of the punitive damage award was excessive because plaintiff put on no evidence of defendant’s financial means; and (3) the trial court erred in allowing plaintiff to recover $2,400 actual damages for the cost of repairs to the car, as no evidence showed that these repairs were the result of defendant’s fraudulent misrepresentations.

We hold that (1) plaintiff was entitled to attorney fees under the Federal Act; (2) plaintiff’s actual damages are modified to exclude the $2,400 in repair bills; (3) the trial court properly awarded plaintiff $37,000 in punitive damages; and (4) plaintiff was not entitled to both an award of punitive damages and statutory enhancement of his actual damages. We need not and do not decide whether the trial court properly directed a verdict on the Consumer Fraud Act count.

We discuss the evidence presented at the trial only as it is necessary to an understanding of the issues on appeal. Early in August 1987, defendant purchased the automobile from Richard and Gail Newman for $10,000. At this time, the car had been driven a total of approximately 51,000 miles. About two weeks afterward, according to evidence that the jury credited, defendant sold the car to plaintiff for $13,700. In purchasing the car, plaintiff relied on the odometer reading of 28,780 miles driven. According to plaintiff, defendant did not tell plaintiff that the odometer was inaccurate and later admitted to plaintiff that he had set back the reading on the odometer. After defendant refused to rescind the purchase, plaintiff brought this action.

At the close of plaintiff’s evidence, the trial court granted a directed verdict for defendant on plaintiff’s Consumer Fraud Act count. The judge explained that, although defendant had attempted with partial success to sell several other automobiles late in 1987, defendant was not an automobile dealer or otherwise in the business of selling automobiles; therefore, the Consumer Fraud Act did not apply to this single transaction.

The jury returned a general verdict for plaintiff, finding that plaintiff was entitled to $64,400 compensatory damages and $37,000 punitive damages.

Both parties filed petitions for attorney fees. The trial court initially entered an order that found that the jury’s verdict clearly reflected a finding for plaintiff on the Federal and State statutory causes of action. The court found that, under the Federal Act, plaintiff was entitled to reasonable attorney fees of $18,975 and costs of $912.22, and that, under the Consumer Fraud Act, defendant was entitled to reasonable attorney fees of $2,436.50. The court incorporated the jury’s verdict into the order.

Pursuant to defendant’s motion, the court issued a modified judgment order. The court vacated the attorney fee award to defendant, concluding that defendant was not entitled to fees for prevailing on the Consumer Fraud Act count as plaintiff did not bring the count in bad faith.

The court also reduced the compensatory damage award from $64,400 to $18,300. The court found that defendant’s alteration of the odometer caused plaintiff actual damages of $6,100, the sum of the $3,700 difference between the price plaintiff paid for the car and the car’s fair-market value and the $2,400 that plaintiff paid for repairs to the car. The court tripled this $6,100 figure pursuant to the Federal Act.

The court found further that the award of $37,000 punitive damages was proper and that the directed verdict on the Consumer Fraud Act count was correct. However, the court vacated the award of attorney fees to plaintiff. The judge explained that although the amount plaintiff’s attorney requested was necessary and reasonable, an award of attorney fees was not warranted in view of the $37,000 punitive damages already awarded plaintiff. Plaintiff timely appealed, and defendant timely cross-appealed.

Plaintiff argues first that the trial court lacked discretion to deny him reasonable attorney fees for his successful claim under the Federal Act. Plaintiff relies on the language of section 1989:

“(a) Any person who, with intent to defraud, violates any requirement imposed under this subchapter shall be liable in an amount equal to the sum of—
(1) three times the amount of actual damages sustained or $1,500, whichever is greater; and
(2) in the case of any successful action to enforce the foregoing liability, the costs of the action together with reasonable attorney fees as determined by the court.” (Emphasis added.) 15 U.S.C.A. § 1989(a) (West 1982).

Plaintiff maintains that the foregoing language makes the award of attorney fees mandatory. He argues that similar language in the State odometer law (see Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 95½, par. 3—112.1(e)) makes the award of fees mandatory under that statute also. We agree.

Where the language of a statute is clear, the duty of a court is to enforce the unambiguously expressed intent of the legislature. (Norfolk & Western Ry. Co. v. American Train Dispatchers Association (1991),

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Bluebook (online)
590 N.E.2d 545, 226 Ill. App. 3d 484, 168 Ill. Dec. 908, 1992 Ill. App. LEXIS 591, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/verdonck-v-scopes-illappct-1992.