Brigadier Homes, Inc. v. Thompson
Brigadier Homes, Inc. v. Thompson
Opinion
The defendant, Brigadier Homes, Inc. ("Brigadier"), manufacturer of a mobile home, appeals a judgment entered on a jury verdict against it for $30,000. We affirm.
The issues are whether there was sufficient evidence preented as to the defects in the mobile home to sustain the jury's verdict; and whether the trial court committed reversible error when it instructed the jury on terms contained in the Magnuson-Moss Act,
The plaintiff, William Thompson, bought a mobile home from Circle South Mobile Homes ("Circle South") in Dothan. The mobile home was manufactured by Brigadier. The purchase price of the mobile home was $36,795. Thompson made a down payment of $6,795 and financed the remaining $30,000. The mobile home came with Brigadier's one-year warranty for defects in material and workmanship. Circle South delivered the home to Auburn, Alabama, and set it up for Thompson to move into it. The home had numerous, serious defects that were noticeable upon delivery. Thompson contacted Circle South and reported these problems. Circle South reported some of the problems to Brigadier. Both Circle South and Brigadier failed to satisfy Thompson in regard to the problems. Thompson then sued Circle South and Brigadier for rescission of the contract; fraud; breach of warranties; violation of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act; and claiming status as a third-party beneficiary of a contract between Circle South and Brigadier. The trial court allowed the case to be tried to the jury on the following counts: as to Circle South, breach of contract and negligence; as to Brigadier, breach of express and implied warranties. The jury returned a general verdict against Circle South for $2,500 and against Brigadier for $30,000. Brigadier appeals from a judgment based on that verdict.
In addition, Thompson's expert at trial, Emery McKinney, testified that the mobile home had a significant number of defects and examples of poor workmanship. The more serious defects that he testified to were as follows: when he was within 300 to 400 feet of the mobile home, he could see bulges in the siding; the ceilings bulged in several places throughout the home; the pipes under the kitchen sink had not been sealed properly to prevent bugs and vermin from entering the home; the dishwasher had been improperly installed so that unfinished wood was protruding from around the dishwasher; the kitchen counter was badly warped as a result of a failure to laminate the particle board out of which the counter was constructed; the home had been improperly ventilated, thereby causing the windowsills to buckle; the dining room walls had numerous nail holes, as did the shower enclosure; there was no evidence of any attic ventilation; and the roof was improperly constructed.
Unless the jury's award of damages is "so excessive, or so grossly inadequate, as to be indicative of prejudice, passion, partiality, or corruption," we will not disturb that award.Alabama Great Southern Ry. v. Baum,
"There are certain terms that are used in The Magnusson/Moss Act which will now be explained to you.
"The term 'supplier' means any person engaged in the business of making a consumer product directly or indirectly available to consumers.
"The term 'warrantor' means any supplier or other person who gives, or offers to give, a written warranty, or who is or may be obligated under an implied warranty.
"The term 'written warranty' means:
*Page 1034"(1) Any written affirmation of fact or written promise made in connection with the sale of a consumer product by a supplier to a buyer, which relates to the nature of the material or workmanship and affirms or promises that such material or workmanship is defect-free or will meet a specified level of performance over a specified period of time, or,
"(2) Any undertaking in writing in connection with the sale by a supplier of a consumer product to refund, repair, replace or take other remedial action with respect to such product in the event that such product fails to meet the specifications set forth in the undertaking, which written affirmation, promise or undertaking becomes part of the basis of the bargain between a supplier and a buyer for the purposes other than resale of such product.
"The term 'implied warranty' means an implied warranty arising under state law (as modified by other sections of this Act), in connection with the sale by a supplier of a consumer product."The term 'remedy' means whichever of the following actions the warrantor elects:
"(1) Repair;
"(2) Replacement; or
"(3) Refund
except that the warrantor may not elect refund unless (i) the warrantor is unable to provide replacement and repair is not commercially practical, or cannot be timely made, or (ii) the consumer is willing to accept such refund.
"The term 'replacement' means furnishing a new consumer product which is identical or reasonably equivalent to the warranted consumer product.
"The term 'refund' means refunding the actual purchase price (less reasonable depreciation based on actual use where permitted by the rules of the commission)."
After the trial judge read the requested charges, counsel for the defendant made the following objection regarding request number 16:
"Judge, the only objection I have is to giving number sixteen for the plaintiff.
"I think it can be misleading to the jury, because they could believe that they could refund the plaintiff's purchase price in this case, which, of course, that is not the measure of damages in this case."
If a jury charge is a correct statement of law, as applied to the facts of the case in question, the remedy for the party opposing the instruction is an explanatory charge. UnitedInsurance Co. of America v. Ray,
The judgment is affirmed.
AFFIRMED.
HORNSBY, C.J., and JONES, SHORES and HOUSTON, JJ., concur.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Brigadier Homes, Inc., a Corporation v. William E. Thompson.
- Cited By
- 3 cases
- Status
- Published