585 N.E.2d 451 | Ohio Ct. App. | 1989
Plaintiffs-appellants, Rickey and Vickie Eckman, appeal from the summary judgment granted by the trial court in favor of defendant-appellant, Columbia Oldsmobile, Inc. ("Columbia Olds"). The Eckmans claim that the trial court erred in dismissing their complaint on the ground that they had elected rescission of their purchase of a new automobile and therefore were not entitled to recover damages under the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act, R.C.
The Eckmans purchased a new Oldsmobile from Columbia Olds on January 17, 1987. At that time, they made a downpayment of $1,000 and obtained financing for the balance of the purchase price with the dealership's assistance. Columbia Olds failed to disclose at the time of purchase that the car had previously been damaged and repaired, or that the repairs cost over $300.
The Eckmans alleged that Columbia Olds made subsequent misrepresentations regarding the applicability of various consumer protection statutes and the amount of damage previously repaired. The Eckmans further claimed that Columbia Olds entered into a written service contract containing an inconspicuous disclaimer of warranties and that Columbia Olds sold them paint, rustproofing and fabric warranties when the car was ineligible for coverage under the warranties. The Eckmans also alleged that the terms of the loan disclosure, note, and security agreement entered into with Columbia's assistance violated the Ohio Retail Installment Sales Act, R.C.
The Eckmans returned their car to Columbia Olds and, after filing a complaint seeking rescission, statutory damages, attorney fees and other statutory relief, they accepted a check from Columbia Olds refunding their downpayment of $1,000. The complaint alleged eight separate violations of OCSPA, two violations of ORISA and one violation of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty — Federal Trade Commission Improvement Act, Section 2301et seq., Title 15, U.S.Code.
The trial court granted summary judgment in Columbia Olds's favor because the Eckmans elected to rescind the sale by returning the car and accepting a refund of their downpayment, and were therefore precluded from seeking the alternative remedy of damages. The Eckmans argue that rescission under R.C.
R.C.
The separate violations in the instant case formed a single instance of actionable conduct resulting in a single injury which was cured by rescission of the transaction. The Eckmans' argument that the conduct constituted several distinct causes of action would lead to the illogical result that they would be entitled to multiple rescissions of the same transaction, if they elected rescission in each case instead of damages. Multiple awards of statutory damages for the same injury under either OCSPA, ORISA or the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act similarly cannot be justified in a civil action, where to do so would multiply the "punitive" recovery allowed in a commercial transaction. See Mihailoff v. Ionna (May 6, 1987), Hamilton App. No. C-860040, unreported, 1987 WL 10889.
The Eckmans also challenge the trial court's failure to award them costs of litigation and attorney fees under either OCSPA, R.C.
The judgment of the trial court is, accordingly, affirmed.
Judgment affirmed.
DOAN, P.J., KLUSMEIER and UTZ, JJ., concur.