Costa v. Mauro Chevrolet, Inc.
| Decision Date | 18 July 2005 |
| Docket Number | No. 03 C 8223.,03 C 8223. |
| Parties | James COSTA and Richard Alvarado, Plaintiffs, v. MAURO CHEVROLET, INC., Jason Larson (finance manager), Joseph Bosco (general manager), and General Motors Acceptance Corporation, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois |
Christopher V. Langone, Craig Rein Frisch, Langone Law Firm, Jeffrey Naffziger, Sudekum, Cassidy & Shulruff, Chtd., Chicago, IL, for Plaintiffs.
Plaintiffs James Costa and Richard Alvarado (collectively, "Plaintiffs") filed suit against defendants Mauro Chevrolet, Inc., Jason Larson, Joseph Bosco and General Motors Acceptance Corporation (collectively, "Defendants"). Plaintiffs' amended complaint (the "Amended Complaint") variously alleges violations of the Credit Repair Organizations Act (Count I), the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (Count II), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (Count III), the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act (Count IV), and Article 9 of the Illinois Commercial Code (Count VI). (D.E.27.) The Amended Complaint also alleges common law fraud in the inducement (Count V), and conversion (Count VII). (Id.)1
Mauro Chevrolet, Inc. ("Mauro Chevrolet") is named as a defendant in Counts I through V. Jason Larson ("Larson") and Joseph Bosco ("Bosco") are named as defendants as to Counts II, III, IV, and V. General Motors Acceptance Corporation ("GMAC") is named as a defendant as to Counts IV, VI, and VII.
Defendant Mauro Chevrolet moved to dismiss Counts I through V. (D.E. 29.) Defendants Larson and Bosco moved to dismiss Counts II through IV. (D.E.30.) Defendant GMAC moved to dismiss Counts IV, VI and VII. (D.E.28.) For the reasons stated below, the Court denies the motions to dismiss.
In May 2002, Plaintiff Richard Alvarado ("Alvarado") went with his girlfriend to Mauro Chevrolet in order to purchase a car. (D.E. 27 ¶ 6.) "Michael" — a salesman at the car dealership — checked the credit history of Alvarado and his girlfriend, and then informed them that Mauro Chevrolet would not arrange a car loan for them because Alvarado had no credit history, and Alvarado's girlfriend was unemployed. (Id. ¶ 7.) Apparently, neither Michael, nor the two managers on duty at the dealership (Defendants Larson and Bosco), submitted Alvarado's credit application to a financing source. (Id.) Instead, Michael asked Alvarado if he knew anyone willing to co-sign a car loan for him. (Id. ¶ 8.) Alvarado told Michael that either his girlfriend's mother or perhaps his friend, Plaintiff James Costa ("Costa"), could co-sign the loan. (Id. ¶ 9.)
Approximately one week later, Alvarado returned to Mauro Chevrolet with Costa. (Id. ¶ 11.) After checking Alvarado's and Costa's respective credit reports, Michael told them that Mauro Chevrolet would arrange a car loan for Costa, but not for Alvarado, and suggested that Costa purchase the car in his name only. (Id. ¶¶ 12-13.) Alvarado and Costa told Michael that this was unacceptable because one of the purposes of purchasing the car was to establish Alvarado's credit history. (Id. ¶ 14.)3 Michael reiterated that Mauro Chevrolet could not arrange for a car loan in Alvarado's name. (Id. ¶ 15.) Alvarado and Costa told Michael that they would not consent to any financing in which Alvarado was not listed as the purchaser. (Id. ¶ 16.)
As Alvarado and Costa were leaving the car dealership, Michael stopped them and said that he would see what his manager could do for them. (Id. ¶ 17.) Thereafter, Defendant Bosco, the general manager, came to meet with Alvarado and Costa. (Id. ¶ 18.) Bosco told Alvarado and Costa the same thing that Michael told them, namely that Mauro Chevrolet could not approve a loan for Alvarado based on his lack of credit history, but could approve a car loan in Costa's name. (Id.) Alvarado and Costa refused Bosco's offer, again stating that the car loan needed to be in Alvarado's name to establish his credit history. (Id. ¶ 19.) They also told Bosco that Costa would co-sign a loan for Alvarado only if the subsequent paperwork, title, and payments were in Alvarado's name. (Id.) Bosco responded that Mauro Chevrolet would approve a car loan with Alvarado as the purchaser, and Costa as the co-signor, if Alvarado and Costa each submitted paycheck stubs from their respective jobs. (Id. ¶ 20.) At Alvarado's request, Bosco agreed that they could bring the paycheck stubs to the car dealership at a later date. (Id. ¶ 21.) Bosco then indicated that he approved the deal with Alvarado listed as the buyer and Costa listed as the co-signor. (Id.)
After Alvarado selected a car, a 2002 Chevrolet Cavalier, Alvarado and Costa met with Larson, the finance manager at Mauro Chevrolet. (Id. ¶ 22-23.) They asked Larson if the arrangement with Bosco with respect to the car loan would help establish Alvarado's credit history. (Id. ¶ 24.) Larson confirmed that having Alvarado listed as the buyer, and Costa listed as the co-signor, would help establish Alvarado's credit history. (Id. ¶ 25.) Alvarado and Costa then signed the car loan documents, and Alvarado provided a down payment in the amount of $1,400.00. (Id. ¶ 28.)
Once the documents were signed, Costa left. (Id. ¶ 29.) Alvarado stayed at the dealership while the car was cleaned and prepared for delivery. (Id. ¶ 30.) When Larson gave the car keys to Alvarado, he did not give Alvarado a copy of the retail installment contract or other documents associated with the sale. (Id. ¶ 31.)
Approximately one month later, Alvarado noticed that he had not received a monthly car loan payment booklet in the mail, and he went to Mauro Chevrolet to inquire about the booklet. (Id. ¶¶ 33-34.) At the dealership, Alvarado met with Larson, who told him that this occurs all the time, and that he could make payments directly at the car dealership until he received the payment booklet in the mail. (Id. ¶ 34.) Larson then directed Alvarado to an on-site cashier to make the first car loan payment. (Id. ¶ 35.)
Alvarado returned to the car dealership one month later and told Larson that he still had not received the payment booklet. (Id. ¶ 36.) Larson replied: "It's ok, this happens and I'll call GMAC and ask them about it." (Id. ¶ 36.) Alvarado made his second car loan payment while he was at the dealership. (Id. ¶ 37.) Approximately two weeks later, Alvarado called Larson and told him that he still had not received the payment booklet. (Id. ¶ 38.) Larson responded, (Id.)
Alvarado later returned to the dealership to make his third car loan payment. (Id. ¶ 39.) While there, he again asked Larson about the missing payment booklet. (Id.) In response, Larson asked Alvarado whether Costa received the payment booklet. (Id. ¶ 40.) Alvarado told him that Costa had not received the payment booklet. (Id. ¶ 41.)
A month later, Alvarado called Larson again about the missing payment booklet. (Id. ¶ 42.) Alvarado also told Larson that Costa had not received a payment booklet. (Id.) This time, Larson told him to wait another month and that it was "GMAC's fault that they haven't sent the booklet." (Id. ¶ 45.) The next month, when Alvarado called Larson about the missing payment booklet, Larson told him to wait for the booklet and make the two payments due with respect to the car loan at once. (Id. ¶ 46.) After another month passed, and Alvarado still had not received the payment booklet, Alvarado called Larson and made the two payments due over the telephone. (Id. ¶¶ 47-48.)
On or about November 18, 2002, Alvarado noticed that the car was missing. (Id. ¶ 49.) After checking with his mother and his girlfriend to determine whether either of them moved the car, he went to the police station to report the car missing. (Id. ¶¶ 49-51.) At the police's suggestion, Alvarado called "311" to find out whether his car had been towed. (Id. ¶ 52.) A "311" operator informed him that the car had been repossessed (Id. ¶ 53.) Alvarado then called Mauro Chevrolet to find out why the car had been repossessed. (Id. ¶ 54.) Alvarado contacted Larson, who said that he did not know why the car was repossessed. (Id. ¶ 54-55.) Alvarado then asked to speak with Bosco, who also said that he did know anything about the repossession. (Id. ¶ 56.)
A couple of days later, Alvarado called Larson. (Id. ¶ 57.) On the call, Larson informed Alvarado that, according to GMAC, Alvarado missed some car loan payments. (Id. ¶ 57.) Alvarado then contacted GMAC. (Id. ¶ 59.) GMAC told him that the car was repossessed due to his having failed to make several payments. (Id.) Alvarado informed GMAC that he could prove that he had not missed any car loan payments. (Id. ¶ 60.) When Alvarado asked GMAC about the payment booklet, he was told that GMAC did send the booklet to him. (Id. ¶ 61.)
Alvarado and Costa subsequently made several attempts to obtain a copy of the sales contract with respect to the car, but Bosco and Ted Hess, Mauro Chevrolet's sales manager, would not provide them with a copy of the contract. (Id. ¶ 62.) On July 13, 2003, a GMAC representative called Costa and told him that he had one month to start making payments with respect to the car loan, otherwise a collection agency would take over the account. (Id. ¶ 63.) Thereafter, Costa contacted GMAC and requested a copy of the sales contract. (Id. ¶ 64.) The GMAC representative replied, "I wouldn't waste my time pursuing the contract because then both you and [Alvarado] would be held accountable for the debt[.]" (Id. ¶ 65.) GMAC apparently refused to send Costa a copy of the contract. (Id. ¶ 66.)
"A motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) challenges the sufficiency of a complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted." Johnson v. Rivera, 272 F.3d 519, 520-21 (7th Cir.2001). In deciding a ...
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