Vista Chevrolet, Inc. v. Lewis

704 S.W.2d 363, 1 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 1165
Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided June 28, 1985·No. 13-84-314-CV·Published·Cited by 25 cases

Opinion

704 S.W.2d 363 (1985)

VISTA CHEVROLET, INC., Appellant,
v.
Kelly LEWIS, Appellee.

No. 13-84-314-CV.

Court of Appeals of Texas, Corpus Christi.

June 28, 1985.
Rehearing Denied September 5, 1985.

*366 Rick Rogers, Porter, Rogers, Dahlman & Gordon, Corpus Christi, for appellant.

C.M. Henkel, III, Corpus Christi, for appellee.

Before UTTER, KENNEDY, and BISSETT[1], JJ.

OPINION

UTTER, Justice.

This suit involves (1) a claim for revocation of acceptance of an automobile pursuant to TEX.BUS.COMM.CODE ANN. § 2.608 (Vernon Supp.1985) and (2) a claim for damages under the Texas Consumer Protection—Deceptive Trade Practices Act, TEX.BUS.COMM.CODE ANN. § 17.41 et seq. (Vernon Supp.1985) (DTPA). From a judgment rendered against Vista Chevrolet, Inc., and General Motors Corporation following a jury trial, only Vista Chevrolet appeals. We affirm in part and reverse and remand in part.

On December 24, 1980, Mr. and Mrs. Kelly Lewis purchased from appellant Vista Chevrolet a 1981 Chevrolet Monte Carlo automobile. Although Mrs. Lewis shopped for the automobile and was the intended primary user of the automobile, appellee signed the contract for the automobile, and title to the automobile was placed in appellee's name.[2] The contract reflected a "Deferred Payment Price" of $13,992.80.

On the morning of March 3, 1981, Mrs. Lewis attempted to start her automobile after it had not been used over the weekend. Mrs. Lewis could not start the automobile, had to "jump start" it and drove the automobile to Vista Chevrolet to have it repaired. Subsequently, over a period of approximately sixteen (16) months, Mrs. Lewis continued to experience the "exact same problem" ("it wouldn't start after it sat"), and the automobile was returned to Vista Chevrolet to be repaired for the same problem on a total of ten separate occasions. Work orders pertaining to each occasion noted above were admitted into evidence at trial and indicated the nature of the complaint and the work and/or services performed on each occasion. Mrs. Lewis testified that, in addition to the ten occasions, she experienced the same problem "three or four" times between July and November 1981 and that there were other times when she "wouldn't always take it in" because she "couldn't take it in at the time." Mrs. Lewis testified that, each time the automobile was "picked up" at Vista Chevrolet following alleged repairs, she had been told that the car had been "fixed" except that, when she "picked up" the automobile on May 19, 1982, Phillip Neessen, President of Vista Chevrolet, told her *367 that Vista Chevrolet "could not fix the car." However, at trial, Mr. Neessen denied ever telling Mrs. Lewis or anyone that her car could not be repaired.

Mrs. Lewis testified that, after Neessen told her that the automobile could not be fixed, she contacted her attorney. Consequently, the attorney wrote and sent a demand letter, dated June 21, 1982, to Vista Chevrolet; a copy of the letter was sent to General Motors. Mrs. Lewis stated that, as a result of the letter, on July 19, 1982, "we took the car back to Vista. They wanted us to bring the car back and give them one more chance to fix it." Mrs. Lewis then testified that, after a few days, someone called and told her to "pick it up that afternoon. It would be ready." She testified that, when she picked up the automobile, she was told that it had been "fixed" and "it was ready to be picked up." However, according to Mrs. Lewis, Bobby Ybarra, the repair shop foreman for Vista Chevrolet, later telephoned her and said that "he wanted me to bring the car back in, that it had not been ready to be picked up." Mrs. Lewis refused to return the automobile. She testified that, after she had let it sit over the weekend, the automobile wouldn't start again.

The record shows (1) that, on March 3, 1981 (the date of the first occurrence of the problem), the automobile had been driven approximately 2,498 miles, (2) that, at the time of the alleged revocation of acceptance on June 21, 1982, the automobile had been driven approximately 22,232 miles and (3) that, at the time of trial (beginning February 27, 1984), the automobile had been driven approximately 40,000 miles.

On August 17, 1982, appellee Kelly Lewis filed suit against Vista Chevrolet and General Motors asserting that he had "properly exercised [his] right to revoke acceptance of said vehicle" pursuant to TEX.BUS.COMM.CODE ANN. § 2.608 (Vernon Supp.1985) and alleging certain violations of the DTPA.

The trial court, based upon the jury's findings, rendered judgment on both the revocation of acceptance and the DTPA causes of action in favor of appellee Kelly Lewis against Vista Chevrolet and General Motors.

In its first six points of error, appellant challenges the failure of the trial court to grant its motion for instructed verdict and the sufficiency of the evidence to support appellee's claimed revocation of acceptance of the automobile pursuant to TEX.BUS.COMM.CODE ANN. § 2.608 (Vernon Supp.1985).[3]

The overruling of a motion for instructed verdict will be reviewed on appeal, only if it was recited in a formal order or in the judgment. Since appellant's complaint was not so preserved in the record, it cannot be considered. Superior Trucks, Inc. v. Allen, 664 S.W.2d 136 (Tex.App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1983, writ ref. n.r.e.); Steed v. Bost, 602 S.W.2d 385 (Tex.Civ.App.—Austin 1980, no writ).

In considering a "no evidence" or "insufficient evidence" point of error, we will follow the well established test set forth in Glover v. Texas General Indemnity Company, 619 S.W.2d 400 (Tex.1981); Garza v. Alviar, 395 S.W.2d 821 (Tex.1965); Allied Finance Company v. Garza, 626 S.W.2d 120 (Tex.App.—Corpus Christi 1981, writ *368 ref'd n.r.e.); CALVERT, No Evidence and Insufficient Evidence Points of Error, 38 Texas L.Rev. 361 (1960).

Appellant asserts that there is no evidence or insufficient evidence in the record to show (1) that the claimed defect or nonconformity of the automobile substantially impaired the value of the automobile to appellee, (2) that the alleged revocation of acceptance occurred before any substantial change in the condition of the automobile not caused by the claimed defect or nonconformity and (3) that the revocation of acceptance occurred within a reasonable time after discovery of the claimed defect or nonconformity. Also, appellant asserts that there was no evidence to show that appellant tendered the value of the benefit received from the use of the automobile at the time of the alleged revocation of acceptance.

Appellant argues that, since Mrs. Lewis had driven the automobile approximately 22,200 miles over approximately a twenty (20) month period before the alleged revocation of acceptance, (1) the claimed defect or nonconformity could not have substantially impaired the value of the automobile to her and (2) the revocation did not occur before any substantial change had occurred in the automobile which was not caused by the claimed defect or nonconformity. The evidence reflects Mrs.

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Vista Chevrolet, Inc. v. Lewis, 704 S.W.2d 363, 1 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 1165 (Tex. Ct. App. 1985).

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