Opinion ID: 2428959
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Trebling of Jury AwardDirect Appeal

Text: Smith's first argument on direct appeal is that the trial court erred in refusing to treble the $19,195.31 in damages awarded by the jury. This argument has no merit. Smith relies on 15 U.S.C. § 1989, and contends that the $19,195.31 awarded by the jury are actual damages and therefore should have been trebled by the trial court. In the present case, the trial court followed Fenton Ford, 427 F.Supp. 1328. The Federal Odometer Fraud Act was applied; although it is impossible to tell from the verdict itself, the trial court interpreted the $19,195.31 verdict as including $17,860.31 in Smith's payments and characterized such as restitution of the payments made; the restitution was given but not trebled; the statutory minimum $1,500.00 was also given, without clear explanation as to why; and attorneys fees and costs were awarded. WBF, the transferor, was allowed to keep the vehicle. The problem with Smith's argument is that it is contrary to the legislative intent behind the Federal Odometer Fraud Act. Congress passed the Act to provide a national policy against odometer tampering. Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act, Pub.L. No. 92-513, 1972 U.S.C.C.A.N. 3960. There is no doubt that the purpose of 15 U.S.C. § 1989 is to punish odometer tamperers by imposing civil penalties upon them and to reward the purchaser who discovers such tampering. Delay, 373 F.Supp. 791. The purposes of punishment and reward are necessary because, ordinarily, the amount of damages awarded for the fraud in such a case would be relatively small. Thus, while we have concluded that the Act does not preclude recovery based on a contract disaffirmance theory, we do not interpret the legislative intent behind the Act to include a trebling of an award based on such a theory. Rather, we think the intent was to provide for trebling of damages awarded for the fraud of odometer tampering. Most likely the jury's award of $19,195.31 included some form of contract disaffirmance damages. Thus, it was not error for the trial court to refuse Smith's request to treble that portion of verdict.