McDONALD, J.—
Defendant CarMax Auto Superstores California, LLC (CarMax), advertises and sells cars as "certified" used vehicles. It sold a certain 2008 used Jeep Wrangler (the Jeep) to plaintiff Jessica L. Brooks. CarMax had promoted the Jeep as a certified used vehicle, inspected the Jeep, conducted some repairs, and ultimately placed a signed certified quality inspection document (the CQI Certificate) for the Jeep in the Jeep's glove box. The CQI Certificate remained in the glove box at all relevant times.
Several months after Brooks purchased the Jeep, she drove it through a deep puddle and the engine was so severely damaged that it had to be replaced. She thereafter demanded (among other things) that CarMax rescind the purchase agreement and buy the Jeep back. When CarMax rejected her demands, she filed this action alleging it violated Vehicle Code section 11713.18 (section 11713.18) in connection with her purchase of the Jeep, because neither the content of the CQI Certificate nor its method of delivery to her complied with CarMax's duties under section 11713.18. Brooks pleaded claims against CarMax under California's Consumer's Legal Remedies Act (Civ. Code, § 1750 et seq.; CLRA) and unfair competition law (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17200 et seq.; UCL).
After a court trial on stipulated facts, the court ruled Brooks had suffered no damage from CarMax's alleged violations of section 11713.18, and therefore concluded she did not have standing to pursue claims under the CLRA or the UCL. The court entered judgment for CarMax. Brooks asserts on appeal that reversal is required because she adequately demonstrated the type of damage necessary to prosecute a claim under the CLRA or the UCL or, alternatively, she was entitled to prosecute her claims under the CLRA or the UCL without showing any injury.
CarMax advertises and sells cars as "certified" used vehicles. Brooks was searching for a used vehicle and, on November 11, 2011, she bought the Jeep, which was a "certified" used vehicle, from CarMax. She would not have purchased the Jeep had it not been a "certified" vehicle.
CarMax performs a certified quality inspection (CQI) on every vehicle it sells to consumers, and performed that inspection on the Jeep. CarMax expended at least 15.7 man-hours and over $1,000 in conducting the CQI for the Jeep, not including the additional time spent on repairs it sublet to other shops. When CarMax technicians conduct a CQI, the technicians use a document (the CQI/VQI checklist) that lists components and observations concerning the vehicle, and information from the CQI/VQI checklist is entered into a CarMax vehicle repair order history database, but the physical CQI/VQI checklist is not retained by CarMax. Upon completion of the CQI, a signed CQI Certificate is placed into the glove box of the inspected vehicle. The signed CQI Certificate for the Jeep, which listed the Jeep's stock number, was placed in its glove box at the time the inspection was completed and remained in the glove box until after Brooks purchased the Jeep.
Brooks drove the Jeep for over 3,000 miles without any problems. However, on February 11, 2012, she drove it through a 6-inch- to 12-inch-deep puddle and the engine seized. She used a third party repair shop to replace the engine, but the Jeep thereafter had occasional problems with the starter and with warning light activations.
Brooks demanded (among other things) that CarMax rescind the purchase agreement and buy the Jeep back. When it rejected her demands, she filed this action alleging CarMax violated section 11713.18 in connection with her purchase of the Jeep, because neither the content of the CQI Certificate nor its method of delivery to her complied with CarMax's obligations under section 11713.18.
Brooks argued CarMax violated the mandates of section 11713.18: (1) the content of the CQI Certificate was inadequate because it failed to "`indicat[e] all components inspected,'" and (2) the placement of the CQI Certificate in the Jeep's glove compartment did not comply with CarMax duty to provide it "`prior to sale.'" She asserted those violations of section 11713.18 were adequate to support her claims under the CLRA and UCL. The court concluded that, even assuming the content or mode of delivery of the CQI Certificate did not strictly comply with section 11713.18, Brooks did not have standing to pursue claims under the CLRA and UCL for noncompliance unless she also showed she suffered some tangible injury from noncompliance, and there was no evidence she was actually damaged by either the content of CarMax's CQI Certificate or by the mode it was delivered to her. The court noted it was undisputed the Jeep was actually inspected pursuant to the terms of CarMax's used vehicle certification program, and a certificate memorializing its compliance with the terms of that program was issued by CarMax. The court reasoned that because this was the product Brooks wanted to purchase and actually received on November 11, 2011, the fact the paperwork memorializing CarMax's certification (i.e., the CQI Certificate) was "provided" to her in her glove box (rather than in some other fashion) caused no actual injury to her.
There are two distinct standards of review applicable to our resolution of Brooks's claims in this appeal. Because this case was tried on stipulated facts, the stipulated facts are conclusive and may not be contradicted. (Linsk v. Linsk (1969) 70 Cal.2d 272, 276 [74 Cal.Rptr. 544, 449 P.2d 760].) However, because the trial court made inferences based on those stipulated facts, we must review those additional factual findings based on those inferences under the substantial evidence standard of review. (Axis Surplus Ins. Co. v. Glencoe Ins. Ltd., supra, 204 Cal.App.4th at p. 1222.) Our review of these additional factual findings "`"`begins and ends with the determination as to whether there is any substantial evidence contradicted or uncontradicted which will support the finding of fact.' [Citations.]"'" (Ibid.)
On appeal, we must affirm the judgment if it is correct on any theory, even if the trial court's reasoning was erroneous (Muller v. Fresno Community Hospital & Medical Center (2009) 172 Cal.App.4th 887, 906-907 [91 Cal.Rptr.3d 617]) because "`we review the trial court's result for error, and not its legal reasoning'" (Bains v. Moores (2009) 172 Cal.App.4th 445, 478 [91 Cal.Rptr.3d 309]). Even if the statement of decision reveals the legal basis for the ruling was incorrect, we "cannot undo the effect of the ruling or the ensuing judgment on the ground that the court may have misapplied [the law] as long as any other correct legal reason exists to sustain [the judgment]." (Rappleyea v. Campbell (1994) 8 Cal.4th 975, 981 [35 Cal.Rptr.2d 669, 884 P.2d 126].)
Brooks first claims a violation of section 11713.18 is "per se" actionable under the CLRA and UCL, regardless of any injury. Section 11713.18,
Brooks argues that section 11713.18, subdivision (b), by providing that a violation of section 11713.18 "is actionable under [the CLRA or the UCL]," was intended to exempt her from showing the "actual injury" predicate ordinarily necessary to making a claim "actionable" under the CLRA and the UCL. She cites no pertinent authority for this reading of section 11713.18, subdivision (b), and instead relies solely on Rojas v. Platinum Auto Group, Inc. (2013) 212 Cal.App.4th 997 [151 Cal.Rptr.3d 562] (Rojas). Although Rojas did conclude a specific remedy provided under the so-called Rees-Levering Act (Civ. Code, § 2981 et seq.) could be invoked even if the plaintiff suffered no actual harm (Rojas, at p. 1005), it did not hold the CLRA and UCL claims asserted by the plaintiff in that action (Rojas, at p. 1006)
Brooks's principal contentions seek to bring her action under the ambit of Kwikset. Her first contention is that section 11713.18, subdivision (a)(6), requires a "completed inspection report indicating all the components inspected" in order to label the vehicle as "certified," and she claims that document effectively was never provided because the CQI Certificate provided by CarMax to Brooks does not satisfy this statutory requirement and was therefore a nullity. Because this violation of section 11713.18, subdivision (a), precluded CarMax from promoting or selling the Jeep as a "certified" vehicle, Brooks argues her action falls within the ambit of Kwikset.
However, we conclude the trial court correctly entered judgment against Brooks (Rappleyea v. Campbell, supra, 8 Cal.4th at p. 981) because we reject Brooks's claim that the CQI Certificate was deficient in its content. The plain language of the statute requires only a "report indicating all the components inspected," and we conclude CarMax's CQI Certificate does satisfy the minimal obligations imposed by section 11713.18, subdivision (a)(6). We begin by noting that our role in statutory construction starts with the words of the statute, "because they generally provide the most reliable indicator of legislative intent." (Hsu v. Abbara (1995) 9 Cal.4th 863, 871 [39 Cal.Rptr.2d 824, 891 P.2d 804].) A court "`may not provide words or language which are not found in a statute in order to accommodate a litigant'" (Mocek v. Alfa Leisure, Inc. (2003) 114 Cal.App.4th 402, 408 [7 Cal.Rptr.3d 546]), and "our own views concerning the theoretical desirability or value of such [language is] beside the point. In construing this, or any, statute, our office is simply to ascertain and declare what the statute contains, not to change its scope by reading into it language it does not contain or by reading out of it language it does. We may not rewrite the statute to conform to an assumed intention that does not appear in its language" (Vasquez v. State of California (2008) 45 Cal.4th 243, 253 [85 Cal.Rptr.3d 466, 195 P.3d 1049]).
We are unpersuaded by Brooks's arguments that section 11713.18, subdivision (a)(6), requires "something more" than is provided by CarMax's CQI Certificate. For example, Brooks contended below that the actual results of the inspection, such as the CQI/VQI checklist used by CarMax technicians that lists the order in which the various parts and systems are to be inspected and notates their observations concerning the specific vehicle, would be necessary to satisfy the "report" requirement imposed by section 11713.18, subdivision (a)(6). Although the CQI/VQI checklist certainly would satisfy the "report" requirement, we cannot conclude the CQI/VQI checklist is the minimum required to satisfy section 11713.18, subdivision (a)(6).
Although the legislative history provides little insight into the precise claims asserted by Brooks, we have taken judicial notice of documents (see fn. 2, ante) showing that, as originally written, section 11713.18, subdivision (a)(6) provided "[p]rior to sale, the dealer provides the buyer with a completed inspection report indicating all the components inspected pursuant to the vehicle certification program and certifies that all of the inspected components meet the express written standards of the vehicle certification program." (Assem. Bill No. 68 (2005-2006 Reg. Sess.) § 7, as amended May 5, 2005, some italics omitted.) However, both the "pursuant to the vehicle certification program" language and the "certifies that all the inspected components meet the express written standards of the vehicle certification program" language was deleted from the enactment, which deletion is persuasive that the enactment "`should not be interpreted to include what was left out'" (Murphy v. Kenneth Cole Productions, Inc. (2007) 40 Cal.4th 1094, 1107 [56 Cal.Rptr.3d 880, 155 P.3d 284]). Thus, the Legislature originally contemplated requiring more than a report "indicating all the components inspected," both by language that would have tied that report to the entirety of the dealer's inspection program (i.e., by requiring the report to indicate "all the components inspected pursuant to the vehicle certification program") and by language that would have required the report to guarantee the postinspection condition of these components (by requiring the report "certif[y] that all of the inspected components meet the express written standards of the vehicle certification program"). (Assem. Bill No. 68
Brooks alternatively asserts that, even assuming the content of the CQI Certificate satisfied section 11713.18, subdivision (a)(6), CarMax's chosen
Although the trial court premised its judgment on Brooks's lack of actual injury, we affirm the judgment as correct (Rappleyea v. Campbell, supra, 8 Cal.4th at p. 981) because we conclude both the content of the CQI Certificate and the mode it was provided to Brooks satisfied the requirements of section 11713.18, subdivision (a)(6).
The judgment is affirmed. CarMax is entitled to costs on appeal.
Huffman, Acting P. J., and Aaron, J., concurred.