Winder v. Paul Light's Buckhead Jeep Eagle Chrysler Plymouth Inc.

A jury question remained as to whether a dealership knowingly sold plaintiff a vehicle with an altered odometer.

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In March of 1996, Maryanne Winder bought a 1987 Corvette from Paul Light’s Buckhead Jeep Eagle Chrysler Plymouth, Inc. which had recently acquired the car as a trade-in from the only previous owner, Richard F. Rivers. Shortly after the purchase, Winder claimed she discovered the car’s odometer had previously been tampered with and set back to reflect lower than actual mileage. She sued Paul Light’s and Rivers alleging that both defendants knowingly tampered with and set back the odometer, and that Paul Light’s knowingly sold her the car with the altered odometer, all with the intent to defraud her in violation of OCGA § 40-8-5. Winder appeals from the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Paul Light’s in Case No. A01A0140 and in favor of Rivers in Case No. A01A0141. We consolidate these appeals for consideration in this opinion. As to Winder’s claims against Paul Light’s, we find the evidence was sufficient to create a jury issue on the claim that Paul Light’s knowingly sold the car with an altered odometer, but was insufficient to create a jury issue on the claim that Paul Light’s knowingly tampered with the odometer. Accordingly, we affirm in part and reverse in part the grant of summary judgment in Case No. A01A0140. Because the evidence was sufficient to create a jury issue on Winder’s claim that Rivers tampered with the odometer, we reverse the grant of summary judgment in Case No. A01A0141.

After visually inspecting and test-driving the car, Winder bought the car from Paul Light’s on March 11, 1996. Despite being a 1987 model, she paid the $16,990 asking price because of the car’s well-kept appearance and because it showed only 16,984 miles on the odometer. Three days after the purchase, Winder started having mechanical problems with the car and took it to a mechanic for an inspection.

Winder v. Paul Light's Buckhead Jeep Eagle Chrysler Plymouth Inc.

A jury question remained as to whether a dealership knowingly sold plaintiff a vehicle with an altered odometer.

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