Balch Pontiac-Buick, Inc. v. Commissioner of Motor Vehicles
Balch Pontiac-Buick, Inc. v. Commissioner of Motor Vehicles
Opinion of the Court
The defendant, the commissioner of motor vehicles, following a hearing held before a hearing officer of the department of motor vehicles, and as a result of reviewing the evidence therein produced, concluded that the plaintiff, Balch Pontiac-Buick, Inc., had violated § 14-64 of the General Statutes in that it made a false statement to a customer concerning the mileage on the motor vehicle which he had purchased from the plaintiff. The commissioner also concluded that there was no violation of $ 14-145. As a result, all of the plaintiff's general distinguishing numbers, marks and any ,and all phases of operation at its location were ordered suspended for a period of three days. As prescribed by § 14-64,
On December 10, 1971, the plaintiff was notified by the defendant to appear at a hearing and answer charges that § 14-145 was violated, and also that § 14-64 was violated in that “a false statement [was] made regarding the condition of a 1970 Chevrolet Kingswood, Id. #164360T196155 sold to David Ewbank, in that Balch Pontiae-Buick, Inc. stated that the mileage on the vehicle was approximately 16,600 miles when in fact it was 26,505 miles.”
There was evidence presented at the hearing that disclosed the following: The MV-50 form showing “Date of purchase 7/8/71” and “Date of sale 7/8/71” marked “Original Certificate of Sale” and designated “State of New York Department of Motor Vehicles” indicates “J. L. Kafka, Inc., 1545 Jerome Ave., Bronx, N.Y.” as the owner of a 1970 Chevrolet “serial or identification No. 164360T196155” and the purchaser as “Balch of East Windsor 67 Post Rd. Warehouse Point Conn.” In a space captioned “Present Odometer Reading” was written “true mileage unknown 26,505.” On July 9, 1971, a sale of this Chevrolet was reported through a “State of Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles Form Ql,” by Balch of East Windsor to it. On July 21, 1971, a sale of this Chevrolet to David Ewbank, the complainant, was reported through a similar Ql form. In order to register the vehicle for the consumer the licensee was required to have MV-50 and Ql forms. According to the MV-50 form on file with the plaintiff, at Kafka and the New York police, the
As a result of a review of the evidence produced at the motor vehicle department hearing, the commissioner found the following facts: On or about July 8, 1971, the plaintiff purchased the Chevrolet from J. L. Kafka, Inc., Bronx, New York. The state of New York department of motor vehicles form MV-50, dated July 8, 1971, indicated that the vehicle’s mileage was 26,505, with true mileage unknown and that it was received by the plaintiff from Kafka. On July 21,1971, the Chevrolet was sold to Ewbank by the plaintiff at which time it was represented to have original mileage of 16,505 as displayed on the odometer. The plaintiff had in its possession the
“ ‘False’ may mean untrue, or it may mean designedly untrue, implying an intention to deceive. When applied to the representations of one inducing an act to another’s injury, it implies a purpose to deceive.” Sallies v. Johnson, 85 Conn. 77, 82, 81 A. 974; see Salt’s Textile Mfg. Co. v. Ghent, 107 Conn. 211, 215, 139 A. 694. The facts of the ease bring it within the widely accepted rule that, although .a vendor may, under the circumstances, have no duty to speak, nevertheless, if he does assume to speak he must make a full and fair disclosure as to the matters about which he assumes to speak. Franchey v. Hannes, 152 Conn. 372, 379, 207 A.2d 268. Prom the facts as found by the commissioner it is apparent that Ewbank was led to believe that he was purchasing an automobile that had gone only 16,505 miles. It was so represented to him on behalf of
The word “condition” as it appears in § 14-64 is to be construed according to the commonly approved usage of the language. General Statutes § 1-1; Hartford Electric Light Co. v. Water Resources Commission, 162 Conn. 89, 100, 291 A.2d 721. “Or, stated another way, statutory language is to be given its plain and ordinary meaning.” Klapproth v. Turner, 156 Conn. 276, 280, 240 A.2d 886. “ ‘Condition’ means ‘ [m] ode or state of being; state or situation; essential quality; property; attribute.’ Black, Law Dictionary (4th Ed.).” Fitzpatrick’s, Inc. v. Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, 165 Conn. 416, 420, 334 A.2d 476. We hold that the conclusion of the commissioner that the plaintiff violated the provisions of § 14-64 in that a false statement was made to the buyer concerning the mileage on the automobile purchased by him clearly relates to its condition and is fully supported by a permissible and reasonable view of the evidence before him.
The defendant assigns error in the conclusion reached by the court that in the motor vehicle department hearing the admission of the plaintiff’s prior violations was substantial error; that the hearing officer acting in behalf of the defendant failed to maintain a posture of neutrality at the hearing;
At the hearing, Jody Balch, the plaintiff’s vice-president, and Claude Paradis, the plaintiff’s general manager, were present, and they testified and participated in the proceedings. The record does not disclose that either Balch or Paradis objected to going on with the hearing without being represented by counsel. Nor does the record indicate that this was the first motor vehicle department experience in which the plaintiff was involved. On the contrary, the appendix discloses various warnings issued in the past to the plaintiff and at least two hearings held in regard to alleged statutory violations.
The plaintiff contends that it was entitled to a notice or warning that alleged prior violations would be introduced into the hearings and that it was not fairly apprised of the type of evidence to be considered. At the commencement of the motor vehicle department hearing, the hearing officer stated: “I will read into the record previous warnings and violations for Balch Pontiac-Buick, Inc.” He then re- . lated a series of episodes by date and case number. The record fails to show that either Balch or Para-dis objected nor is the claim made that they did object. In reviewing this aspect of the hearing, the trial court, stated that nine of these items consisted of alleged statutory violations while two involved warning letters; that none of the cases so recited led to suspension or license revocation, the matters having been resolved on the basis of warning letters. One complaint was withdrawn and the final marking on another recites “Matter resolved” without further action by the defendant. The court found
General Statutes § 14-3, entitled “Powers and duties of commissioner,” provides in part: “Said commissioner shall enforce the provisions of the statutes concerning motor vehicles .... Said commissioner shall keep a record of proceedings and orders pertaining to the matters under his jurisdiction and of all licenses and certificates granted, refused, suspended or revoked by him and of all reports sent to his office.” From the language of the statute it is clear that the commissioner was required to keep a record of the previous warnings and violations as related to the plaintiff. Such a record would contain the very items which the hearing officer read into the record. It must be observed that in so doing, the hearing officer indicated nothing for the record as to his personal observation or judgment regarding his recital of those prior events. Following the hearing on January 12, 1972, there can be no doubt that by virtue of § 14-3 the commissioner already had available to him all of the information stated by the hearing officer, and in order to “enforce the provisions of the statutes concerning motor vehicles,” and before imposing a suspension under § 14-64, he was not precluded from examining the plaintiff’s past record kept by him. He may act upon facts which are known to him even though they are not produced at the hearing. Jaffe v. State Department of Health, 135 Conn. 339, 349, 64 A.2d 330.
It is stipulated by the parties that as of the day of the hearing the department of motor vehicles had not adopted and promulgated rules of practice and procedure for the hearings pertaining to suspension or revocation of dealer’s licenses. The claim is made that this deprived the plaintiff of a fair hearing. Sections 4-41 to 4-50 of the General Statutes make provision for the adoption of regulations for state agencies. Section 4-41 defines “regulation” as “designed to implement, interpret or prescribe law or
While the court concluded that the hearing was unfair and not impartial, a review of the proceedings before the hearing officer shows clearly that no objection was raised to any of the evidence produced at the hearing. The plaintiff argues that the hearing officer had the duty to advise the plaintiff of a constitutional right to be represented by counsel at the hearing. We can find no basis for this claim. The short answer is that the plaintiff, an automobile dealer having had prior experience with the motor vehicle department regarding hearings, could have been represented by counsel but obviously chose not to do so.
The plaintiff also claims that its right to a fair hearing was further prejudiced when the hearing examiner admitted hearsay evidence wherein Ew
The burden of proving that the commissioner acted arbitrarily, illegally or in abuse of his discretion was on the plaintiff. McCrann v. Town Plan & Zoning Commission, 161 Conn. 65, 74, 282 A.2d 900; Rocchi v. Zoning Board of Appeals, 157 Conn. 106, 110, 248 A.2d 922. The record fails to show that this burden was sustained and the court was in error in so finding.
There is error, the judgment is set aside and the case is remanded with direction to render judgment dismissing the appeal.
In this opinion House, C. J., and MacDonald, J., concurred.
“[General Statutes] See. 14-64. suspension and revocation. The commissioner shall suspend or revoke the license or licenses of any licensee when, after notice and hearing, it is determined that such licensee has violated any provision of this subdivision (D) or any other statute of this state pertaining to his business as a licensee. Any person who violates any provision of said sections or makes any false statement as to the condition of any motor vehicle sold, exchanged, transferred or repaired shall, in addition to suspension or revocation of license, be fined not less than twenty-five dollars nor more than one hundred dollars. After such finding or conviction and before reinstatement, the licensee shall furnish to the commissioner a bond satisfactory to him in the amount of one thousand dollars, conditioned upon compliance with all laws pertaining to the business of the licensee and the regulations of the commissioner, which bond may be forfeited for further violation and the claim arising therefrom shall be settled or compromised subject to the approval of the commissioner.”
Dissenting Opinion
(dissenting). The majority opinion states that although a hearing before the motor vehicle commissioner need not follow any particular rule of practice or procedure, it is required that the conduct of the hearing shall not violate the fundamentals of natural justice. I cannot agree with the majority that the conduct of the hearing in this case followed that principle.
The record discloses that at the beginning of the hearing the hearing officer read into the record eleven previous charges of statutory violations against the plaintiff and the disposition of each. The record is silent as to any objection by the plaintiff. This omission, however, does not result in a waiver, since this was not a case of failure to object to testimony introduced by a party to the trial or hearing. The procedure in this instance had the hearing officer himself read in prior convictions, not as testimony by anyone but as a preliminary step prior to, and independent of, the taking of testimony. As the error assigned does not go to admissibility of evidence but to a procedure which is claimed to be highly prejudicial, the failure to object is not fatal under these circumstances to a review by this court. Why such prior violations were read into the record of the hearing is unknown. I agree that the record does support facts found by the commissioner as stated in the majority opinion. The record, however, would also support facts which indicate that when the plaintiff’s manager bought the vehicle from its vendor in New York, the odometer registered 16,505 miles and that the vendor, who later gave an affidavit that the mileage actually was 26,505, accepted a check for the vehicle at the time of purchase which stated on its face the figure of
I do not claim that the commissioner should have believed the evidence presented by the plaintiff, but I firmly believe that the credibility of the witnesses of the plaintiff could have been materially affected by the fact that the record showed he was an eleven-time “loser.” Proceedings before administrative agencies are necessarily informal, but hearings are required to be conducted so as not to violate the fundamentals of natural justice. Parsons v. Board of Zoning Appeals, 140 Conn. 290, 292-93, 99 A.2d 149; see Wadell v. Board of Zoning Appeals, 136 Conn. 1, 8-10, 68 A.2d 152.
I am confused by the statement in the majority opinion that it is assumed that a commissioner will “perform his duty.” This dissent is not meant to be interpreted as a reflection on the integrity of administrative officers. I do not claim that the commissioner acted improperly, but that the initial procedure which includes the prior alleged violations in the record used for determination of guilt is itself violative of due process.
“In determining the issues concerning the revocation or suspension of a dealer’s license, the commissioner acts in a quasi-judicial capacity.” Dan M. Creed, Inc. v. Tynan, 151 Conn. 677, 679, 202 A.2d 239. The fact that the commissioner does have in bis office or at his disposal a record of prior violations does not give him the right to consider such violations in determining whether a licensee has violated a statute any more than a judge, prior to a trial, may go to the clerk’s office to determine
In this dissenting opinion Bogdanski, J., concurred.
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