Village Mobile Homes, Inc. v. Porter

716 S.W.2d 543, 2 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 908, 1986 Tex. App. LEXIS 8596
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 25, 1986
Docket14451
StatusPublished
Cited by38 cases

This text of 716 S.W.2d 543 (Village Mobile Homes, Inc. v. Porter) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Village Mobile Homes, Inc. v. Porter, 716 S.W.2d 543, 2 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 908, 1986 Tex. App. LEXIS 8596 (Tex. Ct. App. 1986).

Opinion

BRADY, Justice.

Appellant, Village Mobile Homes, Inc., appeals from an adverse judgment rendered by the district court of Travis County. Appellee, Terry A. Porter, sued appellant alleging, among other things, that it had violated the Deceptive Trade Practices — Consumer Protection Act (DTPA or Act). Tex.Bus. & Com.Code Ann. § 17.41 et seq. (Supp.1986). The cause was tried before a jury which returned findings favorable to appellee. Based upon the jury’s findings, the district court rendered judgment for appellee. We will reverse and render judgment in part, modify the judgment and, as modified, affirm it in all other respects.

Appellee, while serving in the United States Air Force, was assigned to a unit at Bergstrom Air Force Base. Being newly assigned and a single parent, appellee required housing off base. Because she wished to make a permanent investment, appellee determined that she would buy rather than rent a dwelling. Appellee then began searching for a mobile home to purchase.

During her search, appellee approached appellant’s representative, Douglas Darwin, who showed her several models. At this time, appellee agreed to purchase a Flamingo Redman from appellant for $21,- *546 739.10. Appellee paid $1,000.00 as a down payment for this particular mobile home. Shortly after the parties had entered into this agreement, Darwin contacted appellee and informed her that appellant had a used home for sale which could be occupied immediately.

The mobile home Darwin described was a Fuqua Challenger. Being a used home, it sold for slightly less than the other model and had the added advantage of being larger. Of particular importance to appellee was the fact that the home was already located in a mobile home park.

On February 11,1981, appellee agreed to purchase the used home from appellant for $19,000. The parties entered into a retail installment sales contract which obligated appellee to pay appellant $294.27 a month for a period of 12 years. In addition, appel-lee was required to pay $764 in sales tax, and $75 in title and licensing fees.

THE DISPUTE

Appellant allegedly represented to appel-lee that the home was in good condition, that all its appliances were in good working order and that the exterior of the home had recently been painted. Shortly after taking up residence at the home, however, appel-lee found it necessary to make certain repairs in order to make the home habitable. She noticed that the paint on the exterior of the home had cracked and peeled, leaving the home’s exterior unprotected. To preserve the home and her investment, ap-pellee was required to paint the home’s exterior. Rather than pay a professional, appellee chose to do the job herself.

Appellee found that several of the home’s appliances were either missing or in disrepair. For instance, the oven did not operate properly, forcing her to replace both the stove and oven. As hot weather approached, appellee found that the home’s air conditioner had a malfunctioning air compressor.. She replaced this item at her own expense in order to live comfortably during the summer months. Various light fixtures as well as certain curtain rods were missing, requiring replacements.

Contrary to appellant’s alleged representation that it was the only lienholder, appel-lee discovered that Kensington Mortgage Finance Corporation also possessed a lien against the home. Title to the home had never been transferred to appellee; the only owner of record was Oliver Basey who had purchased the home originally. Further, the sales tax and fees appellee was required to pay when she entered into the contract to purchase had never been sent to Travis County and the State of Texas.

Upon discovery of these matters, appel-lee turned to the Attorney General’s office for help. With Mr. Ed Salazar of that office aiding her, appellee attempted to resolve the differences between herself and appellant. Appellant in turn made two offers to settle the dispute, but neither were satisfactory to appellee.

At some point after these negotiations began, appellee received orders transferring her to an Air Force base in Arizona. It was then that appellee decided to rescind the contract to purchase the mobile home. By this time, appellee had retained private counsel who notified appellant of appellee’s decision to rescind and continued with the settlement negotiations. Again appellee found appellant’s settlement offers unsatisfactory. When it appeared to appellee that negotiations had reached an impasse, she notified appellant that she was rescinding the contract and abandoning the home. Thereafter, she filed this lawsuit alleging, among other things, common law fraud and a suit for revocation of acceptance.

APPELLEE’S CAUSES OF ACTION

By way of trial amendment appellee alleged a DTPA cause of action. § 17.41 et seq., supra. Appellee asserted at trial that appellant, by representing that it was the only lienholder, had induced her to buy a home she would not have bought otherwise. By such conduct, she argued, appellant represented the agreement to purchase conferred rights or remedies it did not truly have, violating Tex.Bus. & Com. Code Ann. § 17.46(b)(12) (Supp.1986).

*547 By her pleadings, appellee also alleged a cause of action under the Texas Consumer Credit Code, Tex.Rev.Civ.Stat.Ann. art. 5069-1.01, et. seq. (Supp.1986). More specifically appellee alleged that appellant, by omitting to tell her that Kensington Mortgage possessed a first lien against the mobile home, had violated art. 5069-6A.05(2) 1 , which requires that all creditors to a transaction be clearly identified.

Finally, appellee prayed for a revocation of her acceptance under the contract, due to the title defects she had discovered since the purchase.

At trial, the jury found that appellant had, indeed, made representations regarding the agreement which conferred rights which the agreement did not have. In addition, the jury found such representations to have been made knowingly. The jury concluded as well that appellant had violated art. 5069-6A.Q5(2). Based substantially on the jury’s findings the trial court rendered judgment in favor of appellee, awarding her $8,143.57 in actual damages on her DTPA claim; $4,500 in punitive and treble damages under the DTPA; $4,000 under the Texas Consumer Credit Code; and $12,-056 in attorney’s fees. The trial court also allowed appellant an offset in the amount of $3,600 for the rental value of the mobile home.

POINTS OF ERROR DEALING WITH DTPA CLAIM

Appellant brings four points of error concerning appellee’s DTPA cause of action. By its first point, appellant complains that appellee failed to comply with Tex.Bus. & Com.Code Ann. § 17.50A(a) (Supp.1986).

Section 17.50A(a) provides:

§ 17.50A. Notice Offer of Settlement.

(a) As a prerequisite to filing a suit seeking damages under Subdivision (1) of Subsection (b) of Section 17.50 of this subchapter against any person,

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716 S.W.2d 543, 2 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 908, 1986 Tex. App. LEXIS 8596, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/village-mobile-homes-inc-v-porter-texapp-1986.