Fraudulent Representations involving Purchasing a Car - What should I do?
You go to the used car lot and fall in love with a specific car. You decide you absolutely have to have that car, but you only want it if it has never been in an accident. The salesman clearly tells you that the car is in perfect condition and has never been wrecked, so you happily sign the contract to purchase the car and drive it off the lot that day. Soon after purchasing the car, you take it to the mechanic for body and engine trouble, and you find out that the car had indeed been in an accident and that the salesman lied. What do you do?
This exact fact scenario occurred in the seminal case of City Dodge, Inc. v. Gardner, where the court stated the principle that the injured party gets to choose his remedy. The Georgia Court of Appeals stated in that case: “Where the purchaser of personal property has been injured by the false and fraudulent representations of the seller as to the subject matter thereof, he ordinarily has an election whether to rescind the contract, return the article, and sue in tort for fraud and deceit, or whether to affirm the contract, retain the article, and seek damages resulting from the fraudulent misrepresentation.”
The court in City Dodge, Inc. held that rescission was accomplished in the following scenario: When the buyer discovered the misrepresentation, “he notified defendant dealer that he was rescinding the purchase by reason of fraud simultaneously making an unconditional return of the automobile. When the dealer refused to accept such delivery the buyer made it a continuing tender by informing defendant he would place the car at his residence where it would remain and would not be used and where dealer was authorized to take possession thereof at any time.”
Continue reading "Fraudulent Representations involving Purchasing a Car - What should I do?" »
