Opinion ID: 1982643
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Ascertainable Loss

Text: Chambers also asserts that the State failed to establish the existence of an ascertainable loss. It contends that because rustproofing of an automobile was frequently included in the total sales price, it cannot be determined on this record that the customer who did not pay a separate price for rustproofing suffered an ascertainable loss. In a related argument Chambers contends that the customer's receipt of a warranty for the rustproofing prohibited the trial court from ordering the relief granted to the customers. It bases this argument on the grounds that (1) the court could not determine the value of the rustproofing warranty, (2) because Rusty Jones pursuant to its warranty would repair rust damage, customers holding a Rusty Jones warranty suffered no loss even though Chambers applied no rustproofing, and (3) because the Bob Chambers warranty required a follow-up inspection within 2 years or 20,000 miles, no recovery should be allowed a customer who failed to have his automobile inspected within that time frame. We disagree. 5 M.R.S.A. § 209 allows the courts to restore money or property acquired by means of an unfair trade practice to persons who suffered any ascertainable loss due to the unfair practice. [3] Thus, any ascertainable loss is a threshold requirement that must be met before any individual may be eligible for court-ordered relief. In this case the trial court's order limits relief to customers who paid for rustproofing but received inadequate or no rustproofing as revealed by a court ordered inspection. There was evidence before the trial court that customers who had not negotiated a package price for a vehicle purchased from Chambers paid between $135 and $165 for the rustproofing. Customers who had negotiated paid less and rustproofing was often included in the price of the automobile or thrown in by Chambers. It was the trial court's task to determine the fair market value of the rustproofing included in the total purchase price of a car. A fair market value may be established by approximation as long as the fact finder can reach a specific conclusion. Doane v. Pine State Volkswagen, Inc., 377 A.2d 481, 485 (Me.1977). Here, the $125 figure for restitution to customers who negotiated a package price is well within the range of the price of rustproofing established by the evidence. The trial court properly found that it reflects the amount of money acquired by Chambers when as a part of the price paid by its customers for a vehicle it also sold materially defective rustproofing. Whether the express warranty that accompanied the purchase of rustproofing has an independent value and the existence of a Rusty Jones rustproofing warranty is irrelevant in this case. A warranty does not prevent a loss but merely offers one possible avenue of redress. The trial court properly determined the restitution due customers pursuant to section 209. It was not necessary to such determination that a separate value be established for the rustproofing warranty or that the court consider what avenue of redress might be pursued by any particular customer who had purchased defective rustproofing from Chambers. Chambers does not challenge the trial court's specific finding that Chambers' failure to conduct adequate follow-up rustproofing inspections was one of the components of its violation of section 207. Instead, it argues that a customer who holds a Chambers warranty should not be allowed recovery for inadequate rustproofing if the customer had failed to return the vehicle to Chambers for a later inadequate inspection of the vehicle. We find no merit in this argument. The trial court properly concluded that customers who had paid Chambers for an inadequate rustproofing of their vehicles were injured independent of the return of their vehicles for warranty inspections.