Havens v. Trawick
| Decision Date | 01 June 1990 |
| Citation | 564 So.2d 917 |
| Parties | W. Lamar HAVENS and Ann Havens v. Bill TRAWICK, et al. 89-130. |
| Court | Alabama Supreme Court |
John T. Bender, Mobile, for appellants.
Vincent F. Kilborn of Kilborn & Roebuck, Mobile, for appellees.
The plaintiffs, Lamar and Ann Havens, 1 appeal from a summary judgment entered in favor of the defendants, Bill Trawick, Hamp Griffin Volvo-Subaru, and others. The Havenses alleged fraud and breach of contract. Because we find that the trial court improperly entered a summary judgment for the defendants, we reverse and remand for further proceedings.
The Havenses claim that they were defrauded by the defendants because, they say, the defendants failed to live up to an offer made in a sales advertisement. This advertisement consisted of a flier announcing a special sale of new Volvo automobiles that were within the inventory of Griffin Volvo-Subaru on certain dates and times: sale times were from 5:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. on Friday, January 29, 1988; from 9:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 30, 1988; and from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 31, 1988. The flier also included the following language:
(Emphasis added.)
Ann Havens alleges that she went to Griffin Volvo-Subaru on the evening of January 29, 1988, and began discussing the possible purchase of a new Volvo with Billy Trawick, a Griffin salesman. The "New Vehicle Retail Buyer's Order" that the parties partially completed shows that Mrs. Havens and Trawick were discussing the possible sale of a 1988 Volvo, Model 240DL, four-door automobile, with black exterior, charcoal-colored interior, and nonmetallic paint. Neither Mrs. Havens nor Trawick or any other official of Griffin Volvo-Subaru executed the buyer's order form.
Mrs. Havens and Trawick entered into a discussion of the price to be paid for a Volvo 240DL. She says that Trawick told her that the lowest price for which he could sell a 240DL was $11,792.12. She alleges that when Trawick told her that the lowest price for which he could sell her a 240DL was $11,792.12, including her trade in, she felt that she had made her "best deal." This dispute arose, Mrs. Havens said, when she determined that she had made her best deal and then tendered the $1,000 draft and demanded that the price be reduced by the amount of the draft, and the draft was refused by Trawick. Mrs. Havens stated in her deposition that Trawick became "white as a ghost" when she produced the draft and that he immediately went to talk to his sales manager. Mrs. Havens said Trawick told her that the draft applied only to certain models and not to the 240DL's.
It appears that at the end of Friday night's negotiations Trawick gave Mrs. Havens his card with the price "$11,792.12" written on the back. She says that he again told her that this was the "rock bottom" price for which he could sell her a 240DL. She also says that Trawick told her to talk about the deal with her husband and that the $1,000 draft could not be deducted from the sale price. She says that he told her to come back Saturday and that they would then "finalize" the sale.
Ann Havens was given a blue Volvo 240DL to drive home from the dealership on Friday night. However, there is evidence that Havens did not want this vehicle. Moreover, it appears that this vehicle was loaned to her because her "trade in" would have exceeded 50,000 miles on the trip back to her home and thereby would have substantially decreased in value.
The record is unclear regarding what, if anything, occurred on the following Saturday and Havens did not contact any Griffin representative on Sunday, January 31. The following day, and for the next several days, Ann Havens made numerous telephone calls to the dealership in an attempt to talk with Hamp Griffin, the owner of the dealership. She alleges that each time she called she was referred to a Mr. Hardman, who, she says, "pretended like he didn't know" her. She stated at one point in her deposition that Hamp Griffin told her that he could not deduct the $1000 from the price of the automobile because if he did he would lose money. She contends that Griffin told her that he had sold 30 Volvos over the weekend and that he had "plenty of customers."
The Havenses claim that Ann negotiated a "best deal" with Trawick pursuant to the terms of the flier that the Havenses had received in the mail. Ann's deposition testimony indicates that she negotiated a final sale price, including a trade-in allowance of over $6,000 for her 1984 Oldsmobile. Ann alleges that the final price stated of $11,792.12 was represented by Trawick to be the "rock bottom" price for which Griffin Volvo-Subaru would sell her a car. We find persuasive the following exchange that took place during Ann Havens's deposition:
During this deposition, Ann Havens was asked if she was aware that the vehicle for which the "best deal" was to be struck must be in the inventory of Griffin Volvo-Subaru before Griffin would be bound to honor the $1,000 draft. Ann stated that she was aware of that requirement. She argued that she had decided that she wanted a 240DL, and that there were several in stock, but that she simply had not decided which color she wanted. Ann also states that she assumed that the draft would be good for any 240DL in inventory with the options she wanted: a trim package, protection package, retractable antenna, and AM/FM radio-cassette player. Ann argues that she would have taken a 240DL that Griffin had on the lot if a price could be agreed upon. She alleges that she had made her "best deal" at the point when Trawick informed her that $11,792 was the "rock bottom" price for which Griffin could sell her a 240DL that was equipped like she wanted.
The central question to be answered in this appeal is whether the plaintiff has produced any evidence...
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