Litigation

Car is Devalued $7,000 When Thief Drives it For One Hour Without Damages

By H. William Allen et al.

The Arkansas Court of Appeals affirmed judgment in Bull Motor Company v. Murphy, No. 07-183 (12/19/07). A thief stole a truck from Bull Motor Company (BMC), but the police recovered it an hour later. The truck  had been driven 40 miles, and it had sustained no damage. BMC later sold the truck as new for $33,495 to Murphy. When he learned the truck was stolen, Murphy filed this suit.

BMC asked  the trial court to adopt the definition of "new" in the Arkansas Motor Vehicle Commission Act. That law defines a "new" vehicle as one whose title has not been transferred to a purchaser. See A.C.A. § 23-112-103(22). Using this definition, the truck was new. Murphy argued this was not the definition the parties used, and the trial court let the jury decide the definition of "new."

At trial, Murphy claimed his damages were $8,000 - $10,000 because the vehicle had been stolen. There was no damage to the truck, and he offered no expert testimony regarding damages. The jury decided the truck was not new and returned a verdict for Murphy for $7,000.

The court of appeals held that the generally understood definition of "new" did not comply with the AMVCA definition. The court noted that the AMVCA governs car dealers; it was not drafted to control automobile transactions. Additionally, the court held it is well established that the owner of personal property can give testimony as to the value of the property without having any professional qualifications. The court affirmed the jury award.

Full post as published by Arkansas Business Litigation Blog on December 20, 2007 (boomark / email).