Tеrrance GOLDEN, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. GORNO BROS., INC., d/b/a Gorno Ford, Defendant-Appellee.
No. 03-1991.
United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit.
Argued: Nov. 4, 2004. Decided and Filed: June 14, 2005.
391 F.3d 879
Before: MOORE and GIBBONS, Circuit Judges; MILLS, District Judge.*
MILLS, D. J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which GIBBONS, J., joined. MOORE, J. (pp. 885-88), delivered a separate dissenting opinion.
OPINION
MILLS, District Judge.
This case presents a question of first impression in this Circuit.
Terrance Golden appeals from the district court‘s dismissal of his claim pursuant to the
I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
The sole basis of federal subject matter jurisdiction in this case was Terrance Golden‘s single claim pursuant to the
The Ford Mustang began to exhibit obvious mechanical and design problems within one week of its purchase by Golden on May 21, 2001. On May 29, the Mustang was returned to Gorno Ford‘s repair facility for warranty repairs. The first set of repairs was completed on June 1. Six dаys later, Golden returned the vehicle to the repair facility for the same problems and other defects. This set of repairs was not completed until July 12, 2001. Gorno Ford had kept the vehicle for 36 days in order to service these defects under warranty.
The persistent problem was that the Mustang‘s serpentine belt and throttle cable rubbed against the insulation under the hood, causing a burning smell and a risk of fire. Even after the second set of repairs, these problems continued. On the same date that the Mustang was purportedly repaired a second time, July 12, 2001, Golden again returned the vehicle to Gorno Ford‘s repair facility to be repaired under warranty. On July 13, Gorno Ford replaced the serpentine belt.
According to Golden, the problems with the Mustang did not end. On October 1, 2001, Golden returned the vehicle to Gorno Ford for warranty repairs because it was leaking fuel. The following day, Gorno Ford repaired the Mustang‘s fuel injector.
On March 25, 2002, Golden returned the vehicle to Gorno Ford‘s repair facility for a fifth time, still hoping that the constant problems would be repaired under warranty. On this occasion, Gorno Ford replaced the entire front hood on the vehicle. This repair was completed on April 10, 2002; Gorno Ford therefore retained possession of the Mustang for morе than two weeks. Golden attempted to drive the vehicle, but problems persisted with the cable, the belt, and the interior of the hood. Because of the burning odor and the constant problems with the Mustang, Golden was worried about the possibility of a fire. He determined that he could no longer risk driving a vehicle with such major defects.
Golden filed suit in the Eastern District of Michigan, asserting several claims against Gorno Ford. In addition to his
The issue before the district court was whether the entire amount of the contract, including the finance charges, should be included in determining the amount in controversy. The district court entered an order dismissing Golden‘s action for failure to meet the $50,000 amount in controversy requirement of the
II. STANDARD OF REVIEW
A motion to dismiss pursuant to
III. ANALYSIS
The
The district court determined that Golden‘s measure of damages under Michigan warranty law would be considerably less than the purchase price of the Mustang. It concluded, therefore, that he was unable to satisfy the $50,000 amount in controversy requirement of
Under certain conditions, Michigan law allows a consumer to revoke the acceptance of a good “whose nonconformity substantially impairs its value to him if he has accepted it.” See
How to calculate the amount in controversy in this situation is an issue of first impression in this Court. Recently, the Seventh Circuit addressed how the amount in controversy requirement of the
The Illinois statutes pertaining to revocation of acceptance contain the same language as do the Michigan statutes in the case sub judice. See, e.g.,
If the district court were to determine that Schimmer could revoke his acceptance of the car and receive a refund of the purchase price, then Jaguar would also be entitled to re-take possession of the car (now worth only $54,013.00, as explained below). In addition, Jaguar would also be entitled to a credit for the value Schimmer received from his use of the car while it was in his possession. Hence, Schimmer‘s true money damages-and concomitantly, the true аmount in controversy-would equal only the difference between the price of the new car and the worth of the allegedly defective car, reduced by his beneficial use of the defective car. Jaguar could not lose $69,513, any more than Schimmer could gain that amount. We so held in a similar Magnuson-Moss case and calculated damages using the following formula: the price of a replacement vehicle, minus both the present value of the allegedly defective car and the value that the plaintiff received from the use of the allegedly defective car.
384 F.3d at 405-06 (citing Gardynski-Leschuck v. Ford Motor Co., 142 F.3d 955, 957 (7th Cir. 1998); Voelker v. Porsche Cars North America, Inc., 353 F.3d 516, 521 (7th Cir. 2003)). The Seventh Circuit proceeded to specify how the amount in controversy would be calculated in that case:
We know from Schimmer‘s complaint that the purchase price of a replacement XK8 is $69,513.00 because that is what he paid for the allegedly defective vehicle. Prior to filing the present suit, Schimmer hired an expert to inspect the XK8 and opine as to its diminished value based on its alleged defects. According to the expert‘s inspection of the XK8, the car was worth $54,013.00 when Jaguar removed the case. Applying the numbers to the Gardynski-Leschuck formula, the cost of a replacement vehicle ($69,513.00) minus the present value of the defective car ($54,013.00) yields $15,500.00. To complete the formula, this $15,500.00 figure must be further reduced by the value that Schimmer obtained from his use of the XK8. Although we have no way of knowing what this figure might be, even if it is $0.00, the maximum Schimmer could recover (and the maximum loss to Jaguar) under Illinois law would be $15,500.00. As this figure is well below the $50,000 amount in cоntroversy requirement necessary to establish subject-matter jurisdiction under the Magnuson-Moss Act, we find that this case was improperly removed from state court and must be dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.
Id. at 406 (footnote omitted).
A review of the facts of this case and those of Schimmer shows that there is actually a stronger argument in favor of federal jurisdiction in Schimmer, on the basis that the cost of the vehicle in that case exceeded $50,000. Conversely, the pre-tax purchase price of the Mustang in this case was significantly below the amount required for federal jurisdiction. Golden‘s argument that the amount in controversy is satisfied depends on adding the interest over the life of the loan to the purchase price. Accordingly, Golden would not dispute that if he had paid cash for the vehicle (like the buyer in Schimmer), the amount in controversy would be less than $50,000 and federal subject matter jurisdiction would be lacking. As Gorno Ford notes, it was never entitled to anything more than the $42,903.41 that it received. Certainly, the question of whether federal jurisdiction exists under the
According to Golden, the Sixth Circuit case which is most directly on point to this case is Rosen v. Chrysler Corp., 205 F.3d 918 (6th Cir. 2000). In Rosen, the plaintiff sought rescission of a purchase contract under several theories pursuant to New Jersey law; it did not involve the
We are not persuaded by Golden‘s argument. Golden contends that there is no reason why a case involving rescission should be analyzed differently than one involving revocation of acceptance. However, this Court in Rosen relies in part on Jadair, Inc. v. Walt Keeler Co., 679 F.2d 131, 133 n. 5 (7th Cir. 1982) for the proposition that the contract‘s entire value, without offset, is the amount in controversy in a diversity case when a plaintiff seeks rescission. See Rosen, 205 F.3d at 921. Based on the damages formula in Schimmer, 384 F.3d at 405-06, and Gardynski-Leschuck, 142 F.3d at 957, and given that Jadair, Inc. has not been overruled, it is clear that the Seventh Circuit does not determine the amount in controversy in rescission cases in the same manner as it does in cases involving revocation of acceptance. We agree with the analysis of the Seventh Circuit. Even if Golden is entitled to a refund of the full contract price upon revocation of acceptance, therefore, it does not follow that the amount in controversy requirement has been satisfied.
Golden also relies on Roberts v. Chandeleur Homes, Inc., 237 F. Supp. 2d 696 (S.D. Miss. 2002), in support of his argument that this Court should find that the amount in controversy is the full value of the contract, including the finance charges to be paid over the life of the loan. In Roberts, the plaintiffs purchased a defective mobile home and sought rescission of the purchase agreement. Pursuant to the agreеment, the amount financed to purchase the mobile home was $30,496.00; the total payments, including interest, required under the agreement were in excess of $120,000. See id. at 697. The
We conclude that this Court should follow the reasoning of the Third and Seventh Circuits when determining the amount in controversy under the
IV. CONCLUSION
Even assuming that Golden continues to make payments on the $61,708.80 contract, the amount in controversy would be further reduced by $25,000 because Gorno Ford would be entitled to the Mustang upon the cancellation of the contract. The district court determined that the vehicle was worth that amount, and that finding has not beеn contested. Thus, the amount in controversy would not exceed $50,000 even if the finance charges are included in the calculation. Because the amount in controversy between the parties is less than $50,000, this Court lacks jurisdiction under the
We AFFIRM.
KAREN NELSON MOORE, Circuit Judge, dissenting.
Because I believe Terrance Golden‘s (“Golden“) complaint sufficiently alleges an amount in controversy exceeding $50,000, I would reverse the district court‘s order dismissing Golden‘s Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (“MMWA“) suit for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
In St. Paul Mercury Indemnity Co. v. Red Cab Co., 303 U.S. 283, 288-89, 58 S. Ct. 586, 82 L. Ed. 845 (1938), the Supreme Court established the now-familiar “legal certainty” test for amount-in-controversy challenges to federal jurisdiction; that is, if a plaintiff filing suit in federal court has alleged in his or her complaint damages in excess of the amount-in-controversy threshold for federal jurisdiction, the defendant must show to a legal certainty that the plaintiff cannot recover such damages in order to defeat federal jurisdiction:
The rule governing dismissal for want of jurisdiction in cases brought in the federal court is that, unless the law gives a different rule, the sum claimed by the plaintiff controls if the claim is apparently made in good faith. It must appear to a legal certainty that the claim is really for less than the jurisdictional amount to justify dismissal. The inability of plaintiff to recover an amount adequate to give the court jurisdiction does not show his bad faith or oust the juris
diction. Nor does the fact that the complaint discloses the existence of a valid defense to the claim. But if, from the face of the pleadings, it is apparent, to a legal certainty that the plaintiff cannot recover the amount claimed or if, from the proofs, the court is satisfied to a like certainty that the plaintiff never was entitled to recover that amount, and that his claim was therefore colorable for the purpose of conferring jurisdiction, the suit will be dismissed.
Id. (footnotes omitted). Because Golden‘s complaint specifically claims damages in excess of the MMWA‘s $50,000 amount-in-controversy requirement, Golden‘s suit should be dismissed for lack of federal subject matter jurisdiction only if Gorno Bros., Inc. (“Gorno Ford“) cаn establish to a legal certainty that Golden cannot recover such damages.
The majority opinion, adopting the MMWA amount-in-controversy formula set forth in Schimmer v. Jaguar Cars, Inc., 384 F.3d 402 (7th Cir. 2004); Voelker v. Porsche Cars North America, Inc., 353 F.3d 516 (7th Cir. 2003); and Gardynski-Leschuck v. Ford Motor Co., 142 F.3d 955 (7th Cir. 1998), concludes that the proper measure of the amount in controversy in this case is the cost of a replacement vehicle minus both the salvage value of Golden‘s defective car and the value Golden obtained from using the defective car. When devising this formula, the Seventh Circuit began with the observation that “[t]he standard remedy under [Illinois] state law for delivery of a defective and useless product is ‘cover‘-the purchase of a conforming product in the market, with damages equal to the price difference.” Gardynski-Leschuck, 142 F.3d at 957 (citing Illinois‘s version of
As the majority correctly notes, determining the amount in controversy in this case requires an examination of what relief Golden could obtain under Michigan law. See Schimmer, 384 F.3d at 405.
(1) Where... the buyer rightfully rejects or justifiably revokes the acceptance then with respect to any goods involved, and with respect to the whole if the breach goes to the whole contract (section 2612), the buyer may cancel and whether or not he has done so may in addition to recovering so much of the price as has been рaid
(a) “cover” and have damages under the next section as to all the goods affected whether or not they have been identified to the contract; or
(b) recover damages for nondelivery as provided in this article (section 2713).
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(3) On rightful rejection or justifiable revocation of acceptance a buyer has a security interest in goods in his possession or control for any payments made on their price and any expenses reasonably incurred in their inspection, receipt, trаnsportation, care and custody and may hold such goods and resell them in like manner as an aggrieved seller.
Thus, pursuant to
I also disagree with the majority‘s position that the financing charges included in the Retail Installment Contract should not be included in determining the amount in controversy in this case. In the majority‘s view, financing charges should not be included when calculating the amount in controversy in MMWA suits because the MMWA provides that there is no federal jurisdiction “if the amount in controversy is less than the sum or value of $50,000 (exclusive of interests and costs).”
Gorno Ford also contends that the vehicle financing charges should be excluded from the amount in controversy in this case because Ford Motor Credit Company was dismissed subsequent to the filing of Golden‘s complaint. Because federal jurisdiction is determined at the time a complaint is filed, however, I do not believe that Ford Motor Credit Company‘s dismissal impacts the amount in controversy. See St. Paul Mercury Indem. Co., 303 U.S. at 289-90 (“Events occurring subsequent to the institution of suit which reduce the amount recoverable below the statutory limit do not oust jurisdiction.“) (footnote omitted); Klepper v. First Am. Bank, 916 F.2d 337, 340 (6th Cir. 1990).
In sum, I rеspectfully disagree with the majority‘s conclusion that Gorno Ford has
