Opinion ID: 1526964
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 20

Heading: we care!

Text: The package also contained a two foot by three foot double-faced pump island sign, designed to contain a series of point-of-sale messages during the year; a large, double-faced pole sign; window signs; pressure sensitive decals; cards and We Care pens for distribution to customers; and, a Chevron car care guide. It is a fair inference that Walker's Chevron participated in this program, but the record does not indicate the extent of its participation. Nine years later, when this incident occurred, the only visible remnants of the program were decals bearing only the words We Care and the Chevron hallmark. These were located on the poles supporting the canopy over the service island, on the desk in the office, and on a service bay door. There is no suggestion in this record that Dr. Lesch or his wife ever saw any of the We Care promotional materials except the decals, or that these decals conveyed a message to them different in kind from that generally conveyed by the other Chevron insignia prominently displayed throughout the station. In short, the presence of the We Care decals under the particular circumstances present here does nothing to bolster the case of reasonable reliance. Dr. Lesch also sought to prove his reasonable reliance on the involvement of Chevron U.S.A. with Walker's Chevron by referring to a conversation he had in 1980 or 1981 with Benny Walker, son of Ben Walker. At the time of this conversation, Ben Walker had died, and his son had become an owner of the business. [7] Dr. Lesch said that he had always had the greatest respect for the integrity and mechanical ability of Ben Walker. He knew, however, that Benny Walker did not have his father's mechanical ability. For this reason, and because he was experiencing some difficulties with a vehicle that Weeks was working on for him, he inquired of Benny Walker concerning Weeks's experience and ability. He related the conversation as follows: A. Mr. Lloyd Creighton, one of the owners, mentioned to me when I inquired as to  it must have been shortly after Mr. Walker passed away, and I had my son's old '67 Valiant out to Walker's to have some engine problems, that we took it back once or twice, and Mr. Weeks was working on it, and there were some problems that kept recurring. And I asked Mr. Creighton, I said, not knowing that much about Mr. Weeks at the time, and having to adjust to new mechanics, after having years of faith in Mr. Walker, I had mentioned, questioning his ability, is he a good mechanic, or does he know what he's doing. And his answer was, oh, yes, he is sent to courses or he goes to courses. And by this I assumed or believed that this was a strong implication that he did indeed attend refresher courses or modernization courses, whatever, that were perhaps given by a national organization, most likely the one his gas station was affiliated with by its logo. Q. Did he tell you which organization he went to these courses? A. No. He said, oh, yes, he's a good mechanic, he regularly is sent to, or has to go to, not as if it was his own volition, as if it was a requirement. So, I felt much more secure at that point in time, knowing that there were requirements or standards to be met by the employees. Dr. Lesch said that he inferred from that conversation that Walker's Chevron was being backed up by the major concern of Chevron. The conversation does not support the inference. There was nothing in the answer given by Creighton that involved Chevron. [8] Moreover, if Dr. Lesch was misled, it was not by any representation of Chevron U.S.A., and it is the manifestations of the party to be charged that are significant in this analysis. See Restatement (Second) of Agency, supra at § 267; Note, Theories of Liability for Retail Franchisors: A Theme in Four Variations, 39 Md.L.Rev. 264, 280 (1979). In assessing the reasonableness of any reliance claimed by the Lesches, we also consider the history of the Lesches' dealings with the Walkers. Dr. Lesch began dealing with Ben Walker in 1959, when Walker owned the Sinclair branded service station business on Rock Spring Road. As noted above, Dr. Lesch held in high regard Ben Walker's mechanical ability and personal integrity. As a result, with the exception of warranty work on new vehicles, he had all of his automobiles serviced exclusively at Ben Walker's station. When Ben Walker moved his business to the Conowingo Road station, Dr. Lesch followed him. When Ben Walker changed from the Sinclair station to a BP station, and later from a BP station to a Chevron station, Dr. Lesch stayed with him. Dr. Lesch knew that Ben Walker owned the business at that time and recognized also that Chevron did not employ Ben Walker. In describing the time of the transition from BP to Chevron, Dr. Lesch testified: When his British Petroleum station became a part of the Chevron system. Or Chevron was the one who, I can't say employed him, but was the organizational head, or his supplier of gasoline and gasoline-related products. (emphasis added). After Ben Walker's death in 1980, Dr. Lesch knew that the business continued to be privately owned. [9] He described Lloyd Creighton as a part owner of the station. The national product branding that existed at Walker's Chevron in 1985 differed very little from that which we found to exist in B.P. Oil Corp. v. Mabe, supra . Here, as there, we conclude that the reasonable inference that may be drawn from such indicia is that products of the featured national oil producer are sold at that station. The problem presented by a factual situation of this kind was well stated in an article dealing with vicarious liability appearing in the Yale Law Journal: The negligent repair cases pose somewhat more difficult issues. Certainly, the mere display of brand-name petroleum products hardly constitutes a representation about the skill of an auto mechanic. It may, however, lead a few customers to believe that the financial resources of the oil company are available to satisfy the judgment in the event of faulty repairs, or even that the mechanic has received some training from the oil company. Whether such beliefs are reasonable, however, is another question. Just as it is inefficient to allow sellers to deceive buyers, it is in general inefficient to impose liability on sellers for illogical or unreasonable beliefs of buyers. To do so would impose costs on sellers that are attributable to buyers' unpredicable idiosyncrasies, and would thereby lead to higher prices and to a smaller scale of operation with no attendant loss-avoidance benefits. Thus, the requirement of reasonable or justifiable reliance in the apparent authority rule is efficient, and it is certainly questionable whether the mere display of brand name logos and products at a service station constitutes a reasonable basis for any specific customer beliefs about the skill or financial status of the enterprise and its employees. (footnote omitted). A. Sykes, The Economics of Vicarious Liability, 93 Yale L.J. 1231, 1277 (1984). It was not reasonable for the Lesches to conclude that Chevron owned or operated the station, or that it so controlled the employees of the station so as to be considered their master, and therefore responsible for their negligence. The facts of this case, viewed in light most favorable to the plaintiffs, do not support the imposition of vicarious liability against Chevron U.S.A. JUDGMENT OF THE COURT OF SPECIAL APPEALS REVERSED; CASE REMANDED TO THAT COURT WITH INSTRUCTIONS TO AFFIRM THE JUDGMENT OF THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR HARFORD COUNTY; COSTS IN THIS COURT AND IN THE COURT OF SPECIAL APPEALS TO BE PAID BY RESPONDENTS.