Celebrating Another Court Victory for Our Client

                        
                            Real Estate Attorney in San Antonio                         
                    

JURY FINDS IN FAVOR OF OUR DEFENDANT-CLIENT IN LAWSUIT OVER VEHICLE REPOSSESSION

This week we are celebrating a defense jury verdict reached on behalf of our client SFM MOTORS, INC. (“SFM”).  The verdict came folloReal Estate Lawsuit San Antoniowing 2 1/2 days of jury trial in a four-year-old lawsuit filed in Bexar County Court.

SFM is a small, “buy here – pay here” used car dealership located on San Antonio’s west side. For more than 20 years, SFM has sold vehicles to San Antonians who can’t obtain traditional financing for automobiles.  Unlike most car dealerships, SFM finances its sales in-house.  It has sold approximately 3,000 cars to thousands of satisfied customers — many of whom (including the Plaintiff in the lawsuit) have purchased multiple vehicles from the dealership.

The Plaintiff purchased a vehicle from SFM in 2009, but lost it to repossession in December 2011 when she failed to make payments under her car note.  Notably, this was the 4th vehicle that the customer had purchased from SFM since 2000, and the vehicle in question was repossessed on two separate occasions for defaults under the car note.

Following the 2nd repossession, the Buyer sued SFM claiming that she had left (and SFM had converted) cleaning equipment and supplies in the vehicle, that SFM had converted a new car battery during the first repossession, that the repossession was improper, and that SFM’s documents relating to the sale of the vehicle (and authorizing repossession in the event of default) contained illegal provisions.

The Plaintiff’s lawsuit requested a maximum damages award of $185,000, including over $110,000 in attorneys’ fees and wages allegedly lost when the Buyer was unable to complete a cleaning contract.  The Plaintiff also sought exemplary damages from SFM of up to $75,000.

Although SFM originally hired another law firm to defend the suit, the dealership “switched horses” to R L WILSON LAW FIRM following our highly successful representation of the corporate President in an unrelated lawsuit pertaining to commercial real estate.

At the close of the Plaintiff’s case-in-chief, SFM declined to call any additional witnesses, relying instead upon the cross-examination of those witnesses called by the Plaintiff and the documents admitted into evidence.

After just 25 minutes of deliberation, the jury returned a verdict finding that SFM had not converted any property, had not acted with malice toward the Plaintiff, and that the Plaintiff should not recover any damages or attorneys’ fees.

While the final Judgment in the case will be entered following post-trial hearings before the Court, we are ecstatic to celebrate the jury’s entry of a zero verdict, and its vindication against claims that SFM acted dishonestly or with malice.

Although this type of case was outside of our usual wheelhouse, we appreciate the great trust that our real estate clients place in us for all of their legal needs. We stand ready to represent the hard-working business owners of San Antonio within and outside of the courtroom.

Congratulations to SFM MOTORS, INC.