Atlanta Auto Auction v. Ryles
Atlanta Auto Auction v. Ryles
Opinion of the Court
Plaintiffs, the operators of an automobile auction, filed a complaint under the Fair Business Practices Act (Code Ann. § 106-1213 (c)) to set aside an investigative demand which had been caused to be served on them by the defendant, the administrator of the Office of Consumer Affairs. After a hearing, the trial court made findings of fact, conclusions of law, and denied the requested relief. Held:
1. The plaintiff claims that the investigative demand does not comply with the applicable part of the FBPA. The statute provides in this particular area: "Each such investigative demand shall . . . describe the class or classes of documentary material to be produced thereunder with such definiteness and certainty as to permit such material to be fairly identified...” Code Ann. § 106-1213 (d). The investigative demand required plaintiff to provide: "Any and all records of automobiles
2. Plaintiffs make the argument that since the transactions here involved both sales and purchases between plaintiffs who are dealers and a third party auto dealer, the transactions do not fall within the scope of FBPA as it applies only to consumer transactions as defined in the Act which does not include inter dealer business relationship. Plaintiffs cite State of Ga. v. Meredith Chevrolet, 145 Ga. App. 8 (244 SE2d 15) in support of this contention. In Meredith we held that the FBPA does not authorize defendant administrator to bring a direct civil action against a dealer for alleged violations of the Act where the claimed illegal transactions took place between two dealers and no consumer participated in the sales transaction. Here, while no consumers participated in the sale or purchase of automobiles, defendant is not bringing a civil action against a dealer for violating the Act as was the case in Meredith. He is merely utilizing the authority granted
3. The plaintiffs also argue that compliance with the investigative demand will have a detrimental effect on its business. We have examined this contention and it is without merit.
Judgment affirmed with direction.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.