Opinion ID: 2994808
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Ill App. 3d 742, 750, 652 N.E.2d 1351, 1357 (1st

Text: Dist. 1995); Duran v. Leslie Oldsmobile, Inc., 229 Ill. App. 3d 1032, 1039-40, 594 N.E.2d 1355, 1361-62 (2d Dist. 1992). The district court reasoned that Priebe’s ICFA claim failed because Autobarn did not knowingly fail to inform Priebe that the vehicle had been in a prior accident. Priebe protests that the district court’s rationale is flawed, and we agree. In reaching its conclusion, the district court erroneously applied an exception to the ICFA created by the Illinois legislature exclusively for sellers of real estate. See 815 ILCS 505/10b(4); Totz v. Continental DuPage Acura, 236 Ill. App. 3d 891, 902, 602 N.E.2d 1374, 1381 (2d Dist. 1992) (section 10(b) [of the ICFA] mentions certain exceptions to the applicability of the Act but does not exempt used car dealers from any of the Act’s requirements.). In most cases under the ICFA, including this one, the seller’s knowledge or ignorance about the falsity of its representations is irrelevant. See Breckenridge v. Cambridge Homes, Inc., 246 Ill. App. 3d 810, 823, 616 N.E.2d 615, 623 (2d Dist. 1993). Priebe has failed to show a material issue of fact as to damages. The ICFA creates both public and private claims. To state a private cause of action, the plaintiff must show that the defendant’s deception has caused his damages. See 815 ILCS 505/10a(a) (1999); Duran, 229 Ill. App. 3d at 1039-40, 594 N.E.2d at 1361-62 (2d Dist. 1992) (stating that damages are a required element of a private claim and distinguishing Greenburg v. United Airlines, 206 Ill. App. 3d 40, 45-46, 563 N.E.2d 1031, 1036 (1st Dist. 1990), which held that damages are not an element of a public claim). Illinois courts have found that private parties failed to state an ICFA claim when they failed to show that they suffered damages, see Dwyer, 273 Ill. App. 3d at 750, 652 N.E.2d at 1357 (finding that plaintiffs failed to state a claim under the ICFA when they failed to allege how they were damaged by defendant’s practice of selling customers’ addresses to other companies), or failed to prove that the defendant’s deception caused their damages, see Duran, 229 Ill. App. 3d at 1039-40, 594 N.E.2d at 1361-62 (finding that plaintiff failed to state an ICFA claim when the damages did not stem from the deception proved). Priebe does not address the issue of damages in his brief. In his amended complaint, Priebe’s mention of damages is exceedingly vague and cursory. He claims: (1) damages consisting of cost of cover, insurance fees, loss of use, amounts paid, cancellation of the installment contract and incidental and consequential damages with no estimates of the value of each; (2) punitive damages; and (3) costs and attorney’s fees. Nowhere does he explain how Autobarn’s deception resulted in these undefined damages. We cannot infer Autobarn’s fault as these damages could have been caused by Priebe’s accident. Further, the facts of the case belie the idea that Priebe suffered any damage. Priebe’s insurance covered the cost of repairing the prior accident damage and the car was restored such that Priebe continued to drive it. In the absence of proof of damages and an explanation connecting Autobarn’s deception to Priebe’s undefined losses, we hold that Autobarn is entitled to summary judgment on the ICFA claim. E. Common Law Fraud Claim To support his claim for common law fraud, in contrast to an ICFA claim, Priebe must produce some evidence that Autobarn knew it lied to Priebe when it represented that the Acura had never been in an accident. See Cramer v. Ins. Exchange Agency, 174 Ill.2d 513, 529, 675 N.E.2d 897, 905 (Ill. 1996) (citation omitted). As the district court found, Priebe has failed to bring any evidence showing that Autobarn knew that the Acura had been in a prior accident. The prior damage to the car was structural. Indeed, it was necessary to dismantle the car to discover the prior damage. At best, Priebe has shown that Autobarn performed an extensive 64-point mechanical check of the car. We cannot infer from this evidence that Autobarn knew of the prior accident. The district court rightly granted summary judgment in favor of Autobarn on this common law fraud claim.