KENAI CHRYSLER CENTER, INC. V. DENISON
167 P.3d 1240 (2007)
NATURE OF THE CASE: Denison (P) got summary judgment voiding their ward's dealings with
Kenai (D) and both parties cross appealed.
FACTS: Denison is developmentally disabled and has been under the legal guardianship of
his parents since 1999, when he turned eighteen. P was living in his own apartment, but his
parents strictly controlled his finances. They visited him at least once each week to make
sure he had a clean and safe place to live and was budgeting his food money properly. They
also visited him socially several times every week. They first learned that P wanted to buy
a car when P called his father, from D and asked him to cosign for a used car; the father
refused to cosign. P then tried to buy a new car, a Dodge Neon, and called his mother to ask
for money for a down payment. She refused and told him not to buy a car. P used his debit
card and bought the Neon. The total price came to $17,802. P only needed $500 in cash with
his trade and factory rebate. D financed the remaining $12,851.77 at 11.99% APR for five
years. P's mother came to D with P and informed the salesman who had sold the car and a
Kenai Chrysler manager that P was under the legal guardianship of his parents and had no
legal authority to enter into a contract to buy the Neon. She asked them to take back the
car. The manager refused; she insisted that the contract was void, but the manager ignored
her and handed the keys to P over her objection. P drove off in the new car. P damaged the
Neon in a one-car accident. They returned the car back to D, but six days later, when P
called to ask for his Pontiac back, someone at the dealership told him that he could not
have it but could pick up his new car any time. P got a ride to D and picked up the Neon.
The next day the parents were able to convince P to return the car to D yet again, and this
time he left the car there. P's consulted the Alaska State Association for Guardianship and
Advocacy and the Disability Law Center; they confirmed that the contract was void. The
court-appointed investigator for P's guardianship case contacted D's general manager,
Bannock, and advised Bannock that the guardianship did indeed make the contract legally
void; Bannock refused to listen to the advice. An advocate from the Disability Law Center
contacted Robert Favretto, the owner of and Favretto would not listen to the advocate's
advice. D sought no legal advice concerning the validity of the sales contract until
November 15, a full month after the sale. D assigned P's loan to the General Motors
Acceptance Corporation (GMAC) but never informed GMAC of P's incapacity. It also demanded
storage fees from P for keeping the Neon on its lot. It sold P's Pontiac trade-in on the
same day Ps brought the Neon back for the second time, even though Ps were still contesting
the sale. GMAC eventually repossessed the Neon and sold it, resulting in a deficiency on the
loan. After the P's' attorney informed GMAC of the guardianship, GMAC agreed to treat the
loan as uncollectible. D paid GMAC the deficiency without asking whether GMAC intended to
collect the loan. P sued D. Eventually, the court granted the Ps' motion for summary
judgment and declared the sales contract void as a matter of law. It also summarily granted
judgment against D on its affirmative defenses and counterclaims. The jury returned a
verdict in P's favor. The superior court later awarded P treble damages under the UTPA; the
award totaled $30,450. P also got 80% of its $63,280 request for attorney fees. Both parties
appealed.
ISSUE:
RULE OF LAW:
HOLDING AND DECISION:
LEGAL ANALYSIS:
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