J Robert Garcia v. Frank Rutledge
By Seventh District, Amarillo No. 9381 Court of Appeals of Texas
Release : 1982-10-26
Genre : Law, Books, Professional & Technical
Kind : ebook
John T. Boyd, Associate Justice Opinion ON MOTION FOR REHEARING Upon original submission we found the evidence insufficient to support the jury's answer to Special Issue 6 in which the jury awarded $6,000.00 to appellant for loss of use of his truck and, based upon that finding, remanded the case for re-trial. Appellant has now filed a motion for rehearing in which he waives his right to recover for loss of use of the truck in question. He now asks us, in accordance with the jury verdict, to render judgment in his favor for the $297.66 difference between the $3,600.00 amount awarded to him as the cost of remedying the breach of warranty less the $3,302.34 amount awarded Rutledge for his usual and customary charges, trebled, or a total of $892.98, plus $2,500.00 attorneys' fees, plus $3,000.00 for the value of the truck, together with interest and court costs. For reasons explained below, we grant appellant's motion and render judgment as hereinafter stated. Appellant contends, that under the provisions of the Deceptive Trade Practices - Consumer Protection Act (Tex. Bus. & Com. Code Ann. § 17.41 et seq), the $297.66 difference between the amount awarded to him as damages for appellee's breach of warranty and the amount awarded appellee as the value of the services, material and labor furnished by appellee should be trebled. We agree. Tex. Bus. & Com. Code Ann. § 17.50(b)(1) provides that a consumer prevailing in a suit under this section may obtain an award for the amount of actual damages he was found to have suffered and that in addition the court shall award two times that portion of the actual damages that does not exceed $1,000.00. As an individual seeking services from appellee, Garcia qualifies as a consumer under the Act, Tex. Bus. & Com. Code Ann. § 17.45(4), and his net amount of damage is under $1,000.00. He is, therefore, entitled to judgment for the actual net damages found - $297.66 - plus two times that finding for a total recovery of $892.98. Appellant is also entitled to the $2,500.00 found by the jury to be a reasonable attorneys' fee. Tex. Bus. & Com. Code Ann. § 17.50(d).
J Robert Garcia v. Frank Rutledge
By Seventh District, Amarillo No. 9381 Court of Appeals of Texas
Release : 1982-10-26
Genre : Law, Books, Professional & Technical
Kind : ebook
