Papenheim v. Lovell

530 N.W.2d 668 (1995)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Papenheim (P) filed a petition claiming the operator of a vehicle Lovell (D) owned had negligently damaged his vehicle. D did not file an appearance or an answer, and the court declared him in default. The court then held a hearing on the issue of P's damages. P claimed D's truck struck his own vehicle twice in the rear after the truck pulled out from a parking place. P drove a 1991 Oldsmobile Toronado which at the time of the accident had been driven 2900 miles. P requested damages for: (1) the difference between the market value of his vehicle before and after the occurrence; (2) the reasonable value of the loss of use of the vehicle for the time required to repair it; and (3) compensation for lost time and inconvenience. Kannegeiter, an owner of two used car dealerships and a body shop, was recognized as an expert witness. Kannegeiter testified that the focus of his current business is to purchase damaged cars at insurance auctions around the country, rebuild, and sell them. In the last ten years, he has probably purchased seven to eight hundred cars for this purpose. Kannegeiter observed the car and testified that it was his opinion that repair work could not return P's vehicle to the condition it had been in prior to the accident. He noted the reverse lights do not line up with the bumper correctly, some 'body lines are off,' the bumper does not fit the quarter panel properly, the wheel moldings do not fit, the trunk jamb is 'pretty messy,' the trunk lid gap is not correct, and the paint applied following repair has begun to chip. The original window sticker price of the Oldsmobile Toronado was $25,509. Kannegeiter believed that at the time of the accident, the vehicle had a market value of $22,000. An employee of Badger Chevrolet, Buick, Pontiac, Inc., located in Parkersburg, Iowa, provided a statement that the book value of a 1991 Oldsmobile Toronado with 3000 miles on it was $21,300 but had never observed P's car. In Kannegeiter's opinion, the value of P's vehicle in its damaged condition was $11,000. It was his opinion that if he purchased the vehicle in its damaged state for $11,000 and repaired it for an estimated $4000, it would have a resale market value of $17,000 to $18,000. Kannegeiter testified that the damage to this 1991 Oldsmobile greatly reduced the market value of the vehicle because potential purchasers would expect to pay a lower price for a vehicle that had been damaged to this extent. The car dealer who repaired the car estimated the amount of damage to be $4,666.63. Northwest Paint and Body Shop, located in Parkersburg, estimated the damage at $4,158.23. Northwest ultimately repaired the vehicle for this amount. As for loss of use of the car, P testified that he made inquiries at an Avis. He could get a Pontiac Bonneville or Oldsmobile Delta 88 for a weekly price of $219. Avis rented luxury automobiles such as Cadillacs for $319 per week. Northwest Paint did not complete the repair of the vehicle until over thirteen weeks after the accident occurred. P spent the 'first couple of weeks' negotiating on a price of repair, and all local body shops were unusually busy due to a severe hail storm. P got a total award in the amount of $5,423.63 plus interest accruing from the date he filed the lawsuit and court costs. Specifically, the court awarded P $4,666.63 for repairs and $657 for loss of use of the car for three weeks, calculated at a rate of $219 per week. The court granted the loss-of-use award for only a three-week period because it believed the actual thirteen-week period was unreasonably long. Finally, the court ruled that $100 was reasonable compensation for P's inconvenience and loss of time. P appealed.