Opinion ID: 1668442
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Trial court properly submitted the case to the jury.

Text: Questions of fraud and deceit are generally questions of fact and as such are to be determined by the jury. Tucek v. Mueller, 511 N.W.2d 832 (S.D.1994); Garrett v. BankWest, Inc., 459 N.W.2d 833 (S.D.1990). An action for deceit requires proof that the misrepresentation was material to the formation of the contract and that the other party relied on the misrepresentation to her detriment. Littau v. Midwest Commodities, Inc., 316 N.W.2d 639 (S.D.1982). Such misrepresentations include true statements which the maker knows or believes to be materially misleading because of his failure to state additional or qualifying matter. Restatement (Second) of Torts § 229 (1977). The credibility of the witnesses, the weight to be accorded their testimony, and the weight of the evidence is determined by the jury, and we accord the jury some deference based on its observations of the witnesses and the evidence. Mash v. Cutler, 488 N.W.2d 642, 646 (S.D.1992). As the deceit claim arose from the purported failure of Jacobs Motor to inform Maybee that the 1984 van contained an engine which was 18 years its senior, the trial court properly submitted the issue to the jury to determine the credibility of the witnesses and to determine if the omission constituted a misrepresentation. Id. Jacobs Motor maintains that the trial court's actions are tantamount to overturning Taggart v. Ford Motor Credit Co., 462 N.W.2d 493, 499 (S.D.1990), which held, This court has never imposed a duty to disclose information on parties to an arm's length business transaction, absent an employment or fiduciary relationship. In Taggart, the defendants were not parties to the transaction; but in Ducheneaux v. Miller, 488 N.W.2d 902 (S.D.1992), both parties were parties to the transaction. We distinguished Taggart and applied Restatement (Second) of Torts § 551(2)(e): (2) One party to a business transaction is under a duty to exercise reasonable care to disclose to the other before the transaction is consummated .... (e) facts basic to the transaction, if he knows that the other is about to enter into it under a mistake as to them, and that the other, because of the relationship between them, the customs of the trade or other objective circumstances, would reasonably expect a disclosure of those facts. (Emphasis supplied.) Thus, the jury was properly left to decide if the engine's age and condition were facts basic to the Maybee-Jacobs Motor transaction. Finally, Jacobs Motor employs, as a defense, Maybee's signed disclaimer of all express and implied warranties as a safety net for any wrongdoing, an affirmative defense, so to speak. Although as is clauses place the risk upon the buyer to accept the product with all its faults, this does not grant the seller a license to mislead the buyer or conceal facts. 37 Am.Jur.2d Fraud and Deceit § 158 (1968). When a person purchases a 1984 vehicle, is the presence, within that vehicle, of an engine built for a 1966 model vehicle which requires a fuel not typically used by vehicles on the road today, a fact basic to the transaction? The jury so found and this Court finds that the evidence can support such a finding. Lytle v. Morgan, 270 N.W.2d 359, 361 (S.D.1978). Nevertheless, a new trial on all issues is warranted due to our decision in the second issue.