Opinion ID: 1864168
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Damage to the Mobile Home

Text: Mr. Crawford alleged that Palm Harbor fraudulently suppressed the fact that the Palm Harbor mobile home he purchased had been damaged while on the All Star lot and the fact that a Palm Harbor representative had performed an inferior-quality repair of the damage. He further alleged that as a result of Palm Harbor's failure to inform him of the damage and inferior repair before he purchased the mobile home, he was proximately caused to suffer damage. Palm Harbor argues that it had no legal duty to disclose to Mr. Crawford the fact that the mobile home had been damaged and then repaired. Palm Harbor states that the damage occurred after title to the mobile home had passed from Palm Harbor to All Star, and that it had repaired the damage only because All Star had requested it to do so. Palm Harbor contends that All Star, not it, had the duty to disclose the damage and the repair. Palm Harbor argues that its retailer All Star had an independent duty to inform Mr. Crawford of the damage and the repair, and citing McGhee v. Oryx Energy Co., 657 So.2d 853 (Ala.1995), it argues that because of that duty Palm Harbor had the right to rely on All Star to perform that duty. In response, Mr. Crawford argues, first, that the same federal manufactured housing standards that required Palm Harbor to give a written warranty imposed on Palm Harbor the duty to disclose the damage and the repair. Mr. Crawford argues alternatively that the nature of the relationship between him and Palm Harbor imposed on Palm Harbor a duty to disclose that the mobile home had been damaged and repaired. He relies on Hines v. Riverside Chevrolet-Olds, Inc., 655 So.2d 909 (Ala.1994), which held that even in the absence of a contractual relationship the existence of a duty to disclose can be a question of fact for the jury. Thus, Mr. Crawford contends, because Palm Harbor custom-built the home according to specifications and requirements supplied by him and his wife, and because Palm Harbor had learned of the damage to the mobile home and had repaired that damage, it had a duty to inform him of the damage before he purchased the home. In its order denying Palm Harbor's post-judgment motions, the trial court stated: There was evidence from which the jury could find, by a clear and convincing standard, that Palm Harbor committed fraud against the Plaintiffs by suppressing from them damage which was done to the mobile home when it was backed into while on the dealer's lot prior to it being delivered to the Plaintiffs. The court rejects the Defendant's argument that it owed no duty to the Plaintiffs to inform them of the damage. There was undisputed evidence that the mobile home was custom-built by Palm Harbor for the Plaintiffs.... Palm Harbor knew the mobile home was being built for the Crawfords. The Crawfords' name and address appeared on Palm Harbor documents, such as the invoice. During construction of the home, employees at Palm Harbor talked directly with the Crawfords.... ... Within 24 hours of this damage being done, and prior to the closing with the Plaintiffs, Palm Harbor sent its repairman to repair the damage. There was substantial evidence from which a jury could find the repair work done by the Palm Harbor repairman was shoddy and unacceptable. The repaired area was covered over by vinyl siding material and was not noticeable without removing the vinyl siding which covered over the repaired area. It was undisputed that the Plaintiffs were never told of the damage or the repairs. Mr. Crawford testified that had he known of the damage and shoddy repairs he would not have accepted the mobile home. In order to establish a prima facie case of fraudulent suppression of a material fact under Ala.Code 1975, § 6-5-102, a plaintiff must show: (1) that the defendant had a duty to disclose a material fact; (2) that the defendant concealed or failed to disclose the material fact; (3) that the defendant's concealment or failure to disclose the material fact induced the plaintiff to act or to refrain from acting; and (4) that the plaintiff suffered actual damage as a proximate result. Hines, supra; Soniat v. Johnson-Rast & Hays, 626 So.2d 1256 (Ala.1993). Viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to Mr. Crawford, the nonmovant in regard to the motions for a directed verdict and a J.N.O.V., we conclude that he presented substantial evidence of all the elements of his claim. McGhee v. Oryx Energy Co., 657 So.2d 853 (Ala.1995), cited by Palm Harbor, is not controlling. In McGhee, we held that a propane gas manufacturer had no duty to warn the ultimate users of its product about the propane's dangerous properties because the manufacturer had no way of ascertaining the identity of the users and, thus, no way of submitting product information to them except through its retail distributor. 657 So.2d at 855. However, in this case, Palm Harbor knew that the Crawfords were the ultimate users of the damaged Palm Harbor home, and Palm Harbor had the means and the information necessary to inform them that the home had been damaged. Thus, we believe that, even without contractual privity, the nature of the relationship between Palm Harbor and Mr. Crawford, the value of the fact allegedly suppressed, and the particular circumstances of this case, see Hines, supra, created at least a question of fact as to the existence of a duty on the part of Palm Harbor to disclose material facts to Mr. Crawford. Mr. Crawford presented substantial evidence indicating that Palm Harbor had superior knowledge of a material fact regarding the mobile home it had just custom-built for Mr. Crawford; the custom building was a process in which Palm Harbor and the Crawfords had worked together. He proved that Palm Harbor had repaired the damage; that it had done shoddy repairs; and that the repairs were completed in such a manner that the poor workmanship was concealed from view. Mr. Crawford also presented substantial evidence that Palm Harbor's failure to disclose that the home had been damaged and subsequently repaired induced him to purchase the home, and that he was caused to suffer damage as a proximate result. Accordingly, this fraudulent suppression claim was also a good count.