Accettura v. Vacationland, Inc.

2019 IL 124285

155 N.E.3d 406

440 Ill.Dec. 636

Kimberly ACCETTURA et al., Appellants,

v.VACATIONLAND, INC., Appellee.

Docket No. 124285

Supreme Court of Illinois.

Opinion filed September 19, 2019

Dmitry N. Feofanov, of ChicagoLemonLaw.com, P.C., of Lyndon, for appellants.

Daniel S. Porter and Jennifer L. Friedland, of Momkus LLC, of Lisle, for appellee.

Peter S. Lubin, of Lubin Austermuele P.C., of Elmhurst, and Terry J. Adler, of Grand Blanc, Michigan, for amici curiae National Association of Consumer Advocates et al.

JUSTICE GARMAN delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion.

¶ 1 Plaintiffs Kimberly Accettura and Adam Wozniak purchased a recreational vehicle (RV) from defendant Vacationland, Inc. When it leaked during a rainstorm, they brought it in for repair. When it leaked again, they brought it back. A little more than two weeks after they dropped it off the second time and without a timetable for when the vehicle would be repaired, they told the seller that they no longer wanted the RV and asked for their money back. At issue is whether plaintiffs properly revoked their acceptance without permitting defendant a reasonable opportunity to cure the defect.

¶ 2 BACKGROUND

¶ 3 On April 19, 2014, plaintiffs purchased a new 2014 Palomino trailer from defendant for $26,000.25. They took possession of the RV on April 25. That June, they discovered water leaking into the RV from the emergency exit window. They brought the RV back to defendant for repair, which defendant performed without charge.

¶ 4 In July 2014, plaintiffs took the RV to Michigan. During a rainstorm, the RV leaked extensively into the dinette area, damaging the walls and causing electrical failure. Plaintiffs towed the RV back to defendant for repair on July 14. Defendant was unable to repair the defect itself, so one of its employees told plaintiffs that it would have to send the RV to the manufacturer for repair. Defendant's employees could not estimate how long the manufacturer would take to repair the RV. Plaintiffs state that they called the manufacturer, which also would not give them a time estimate and referred them to defendant. On August 2, before the manufacturer picked up the RV, plaintiffs called defendant and verbally revoked acceptance of the RV. The manufacturer picked the RV up on or around August 4 and returned it on or around September 23. Defendant called plaintiffs on September 23 to inform them that the RV was repaired and that they could pick it up. Plaintiffs' attorney sent defendant a letter on September 28 confirming the earlier revocation of acceptance of the RV.

¶ 5 On October 29, 2014, plaintiffs filed a complaint in the circuit court of Kane County, seeking return of their purchase price and other damages under four theories of recovery: revocation of acceptance under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty-Federal Trade Commission Improvement Act (Magnuson-Moss Act) ( 15 U.S.C. § 2310(d) (2012) ); breach of implied warranty of merchantability under the Magnuson-Moss Act (id. ); revocation of acceptance and cancellation of contract under Illinois's adoption of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) ( 810 ILCS 5/2-608(1)(b), 2-711(1) (West 2014)); and return of purchase price under section 2-711(1) of the UCC (id. ). Defendant moved for summary judgment pursuant to section 2-1005 of the Code of Civil Procedure ( 735 ILCS 5/2-1005 (West 2016) ), arguing that plaintiffs' failure to give it a reasonable opportunity to cure was fatal to their claims. The circuit court granted summary judgment to defendant on all four counts, finding that the record clearly showed that plaintiffs revoked acceptance on or before August 2, 2014, and did not give defendant a reasonable time to cure. The appellate court affirmed. On appeal to this court, plaintiffs only seek review of the revocation of acceptance claim under the UCC ( 810 ILCS 5/2-608(1)(b) (West 2014)). We allowed the National Association of Consumer Advocates and Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety to jointly file an amicus brief. Ill. S. Ct. R. 345 (eff. Sept. 20, 2010).

¶ 6 ANALYSIS

¶ 7 Although plaintiffs alleged several counts against defendant, the only issue on appeal to this court is whether plaintiffs could revoke acceptance of the RV under Illinois's adoption of the UCC ( 810 ILCS 5/1-101 et seq. (West 2014)). The statute at issue, adopted verbatim from the UCC, states:

"(1) The buyer may revoke his acceptance of a lot or commercial unit whose non-conformity substantially impairs its value to him if he has accepted it

(a) on the reasonable assumption that its non-conformity would be cured and it has not been seasonably cured; or

(b) without discovery of such non-conformity if his acceptance was reasonably induced either by the difficulty of discovery before acceptance or the seller's assurances." 810 ILCS 5/2-608(1) (West 2014).

See U.C.C. § 2-608(1) (Am. Law Inst. & Unif. Law Comm'n 1952).

¶ 8 On appeal to this court, defendant does not dispute that the defect, without repair, substantially impaired the RV's value to plaintiffs. Plaintiffs' expert opined that the defective unit was worth a mere 10% of its purchase price. The record does not show that defendant rebutted this opinion. Rather, defendant relied on its argument that plaintiffs must have given it an opportunity to seasonably cure, which would have remedied any impairment of value.

¶ 9 Defendant likewise does not dispute that plaintiffs were unaware of the defect in the RV at the time they accepted it. Thus, subsection (1)(a) cannot apply, for that subsection, by its plain language, contemplates a buyer who accepted a good she knew to be nonconforming "on the reasonable assumption that its non-conformity would be cured." Id. § 2-608(1)(a). Thus, if plaintiffs can revoke their acceptance, they can do so because they accepted the RV "without discovery of such nonconformity" and their "acceptance was reasonably induced either by the difficulty of discovery before acceptance or the seller's assurances." Id. § 2-608(1)(b).

¶ 10 Plaintiffs brought the RV to defendant for repair on July 14. Before defendant sent the RV to the manufacturer, one of its employees gave plaintiffs what plaintiffs described as a "very vague and extended" timeline. Plaintiffs state that they then called the manufacturer, who referred them back to defendant. Upset with defendant's and the manufacturer's inability to give them a timeline for repair, plaintiffs thereafter called defendant to revoke their acceptance of the RV. Defendant argues that plaintiffs were required to give it a reasonable time to cure before they could revoke acceptance.

¶ 11 Interpretation of subsection (1)(b) is an issue of first impression in Illinois. The standard of review for questions of statutory interpretation is de novo . Taylor v. Pekin Insurance Co. , 231 Ill. 2d 390, 395, 326 Ill.Dec. 34, 899 N.E.2d 251 (2008). The primary objective of our analysis is to ascertain and give effect to the legislative intent. Illinois Graphics Co. v. Nickum , 159 Ill. 2d 469, 479, 203 Ill.Dec. 463, 639 N.E.2d 1282 (1994). The most reliable indicator of the legislature's intent is the statutory language itself, given its plain and ordinary meaning. Id. "It is a basic rule of statutory construction that the words of a statute should be given their plain, ordinary[,] and accepted meaning, unless to do so would defeat the legislative intent." Peoria Savings & Loan Ass'n v. Jefferson Trust & Savings Bank of Peoria , 81 Ill. 2d 461, 468, 43 Ill.Dec. 712, 410 N.E.2d 845 (1980). We do not depart from the plain language of the statute by reading into it exceptions, limitations, or conditions that conflict with the expressed intent. Blum v. Koster , 235 Ill. 2d 21, 29, 335 Ill.Dec. 614, 919 N.E.2d 333 (2009).

¶ 12 Plaintiffs argue that the statutory language is plain: subsection (1)(a) contemplates and expressly mentions a cure; subsection (1)(b) does not. Under subsection (1)(a), they argue, the cure is part of the contract while under subsection (1)(b) it is not. They illustrate their argument with an analogy: subsection (1)(a) would apply to a buyer who purchased an RV that she knew leaked and included in the sales contract an agreement that the seller would seasonably cure the leak. Subsection (1)(b), they assert, contemplates a buyer who purchases an RV that she reasonably believes does not leak but, she later finds out, does leak. Under plaintiffs' theory, the buyer who knows of the leak and has an agreement with the seller to cure must give the seller a reasonable time to do so, but the buyer who is not aware of the leak can just return the RV to the seller and revoke acceptance, as long as the leak substantially impairs the RV's value. Plaintiffs argue that a majority of other jurisdictions have reached this conclusion.

¶ 13 We agree with this interpretation. The plain language of the statute evinces the General Assembly's intention to allow a buyer to revoke acceptance of a substantially impaired commercial unit under two separate and distinct circumstances. The first circumstance is when the buyer knows of the nonconformity, the buyer accepts the nonconforming unit with a reasonable assumption that the nonconformity will be cured, and the seller fails to seasonably cure it. 810 ILCS 5/2-608(1)(a) (West 2014). The second is when the buyer accepts the nonconforming unit without knowledge of the nonconformity and either the nonconformity was difficult to discover or the seller assured her that the unit conformed to the specifications. Id. § 2-608(1)(b).

¶ 14 Both situations contemplate a nonconformity that substantially impairs the unit's value to the buyer. Where they diverge is in the buyer's expectation. The first contemplates a buyer who accepts a nonconforming unit and expects the seller to cure the nonconformity. When she does not get that cure seasonably, she can revoke her acceptance. The second contemplates a buyer who accepts what she believes to be a conforming unit. When she does...