This is a direct appeal from the trial court's grant of a directed verdict against Appellant Stivers Automotive of Lexington, Inc., in its contract dispute with Respondent South Carolina Federal Credit Union. We reverse and remand for a new trial.
Appellant Stivers Automotive of Lexington, Inc. (Stivers) and Respondent South Carolina Federal Credit Union (SCFCU) were parties to a Dealer Agreement (Agreement), under which SCFCU agreed to purchase sales contracts between Stivers and purchasers of its vehicles. Among other provisions in the Agreement, Stivers warranted with respect to its sales contracts assigned to SCFCU:
The Agreement also provided that Stivers would be in default "if any warranty, representation or statement made or furnished by or on behalf of [Stivers] in connection with this
In November 2005, Hiram Riley (Riley) sought to purchase a vehicle from Stivers but was unable to qualify for financing. Stivers' salesman, Tom Roper (Roper), indicated that Riley could get the car if he found a co-signer. Riley contacted his sister, Mildred Higgins (Higgins), who agreed to co-sign for the car. Upon receiving that information from Riley, Roper contacted Higgins to check her credit and prepare the appropriate documents.
Ultimately, SCFCU approved the loan to Higgins for the purchase price. Riley picked up the vehicle, with the understanding that he was to make the payments. Shortly thereafter, Riley drove the vehicle to Charleston, and Higgins told him that she wanted to see "what she signed for." After viewing the car, she and Riley again visited in her home.
After making initial payments, one of Riley's checks bounced.
In December 2006, SCFCU filed a complaint against Higgins, given that her name was on the loan. Higgins denied the allegations in the complaint, stating that she was incompetent at the time of the execution of the contract. Subsequently,
A jury trial was held in December 2008. At the conclusion of the testimony, the trial court granted SCFCU's motion for a directed verdict against Stivers, finding Higgins lacked capacity to contract and Stivers breached the Agreement in that regard. The trial court's initial order focused solely upon the issue of capacity. In February 2009, the trial court amended its order, affirming its initial order, but adding that Stivers committed "six unequivocal breaches of the contract," including the capacity issue.
Stivers raises six issues on appeal.
We dispose of this appeal on the basis of the first three issues and need not reach the remaining issues.
When considering a directed verdict motion, the trial court should view the evidence and all reasonable inferences in
We find that the trial court erred by directing a verdict against Stivers on the issue of capacity.
The trial court erred by weighing the evidence presented. Garrett, 309 S.C. at 99, 419 S.E.2d at 845 (stating that the trial court should not be concerned with the credibility or weight of evidence, only its existence). The trial court stated, "It is not what the car salesman on one brief visit may have thought Higgins' condition was, it is what it actually was based on her doctor's exams and her husband's experience with her that is important." That statement reflects the trial court's favoring of one party's evidence and improper weighing of credibility. There may be a clear basis for the fact-finder to reject the testimony of Riley and Roper, but that credibility determination lies with the jury, not the court at the directed verdict stage. We hold the evidence under the proper standard of review presented a question of fact as to Higgins' capacity.
We additionally hold that the trial court erred in granting a directed verdict to SCFCU as to the other warranties contained in the contract, as well as the amount of damages due SCFCU. As stated above, the trial court's original order held Stivers breached the warranty as to capacity. Following Stivers' motion to reconsider, the trial court expanded upon its initial and sole basis for a directed verdict by adding that Stivers breached other warranties as well, providing only a conclusory discussion and analysis. It is unclear whether the trial court's post-trial attempt to expand the directed verdict grounds was in recognition of the improper grant of a directed verdict based on Higgins' lack of capacity to contract.
We recognize the option to remand the matter for further development of the additional warranty issues. We decline a remand limited to the liability issue because a new trial is warranted on the issue of damages in any event. The vehicle was repossessed only months after the sale. Following repossession of the car by SCFCU, it was sold at auction for approximately $9,700, which was less than fifty percent of its original sale price. We are aware the sale price included the finance charges and a sale at auction would bring less. Stivers
In light of our reversal of the trial court's grant of a directed verdict, we decline to address any remaining issues raised by Stivers.
TOAL, C.J., and PLEICONES, J., concur.
BEATTY, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part in a separate opinion in which HEARN, J., concurs.
Justice BEATTY:
Having reviewed the facts in the light most favorable to Stivers, I would affirm the trial judge's granting of a directed verdict on the breach of warranty claim; however, I would reverse on the damages issue and remand.
It is undisputed that the collateral was delivered to Riley not Higgins. This violated paragraph (9) of the warranties agreement. Roper knew that he had prepared the documents to reflect Higgins as the buyer although Riley was the true purchaser. This resulted in Higgins being a "straw purchaser," which violated paragraph (9).
It is also undisputed that Roper never informed SCFCU of Riley's involvement in the purchase and that the application for credit was actually for Riley and that Higgins should have been a co-signer. This arguably caused SCFCU to lower its interest rate because Higgins had good credit; it also deprived SCFCU of an opportunity to fairly assess the loan's risk. This failure to disclose material information violated paragraph (16) of the warranties agreement.
HEARN, J., concurs.