Larry Joe Mounts v. Roadstar Motors, LLC

Summary

The Southern District of Ohio granted Roadstar Motors, LLC’s cross-motion for summary judgment and denied Larry J. Mounts’s motion for summary judgment in a dispute arising from the purchase and financing of a used vehicle. The court held that Mounts and Roadstar formed a binding rescission agreement, which precluded Mounts’s Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act damages claims, and that Mounts failed to establish a Truth in Lending Act violation. The court ordered Mounts either to return the vehicle in exchange for specified refunds or to pay Roadstar $6,499 plus applicable taxes and fees.

Holdings

1. The parties reached a binding agreement on May 21, 2024, when Mounts unequivocally demanded rescission and Roadstar accepted that demand. Attorney fees raised later were not an essential term that prevented formation of the rescission agreement, so Mounts was bound by the rescission and could not continue seeking damages or attorney fees as part of the transaction.
2. Roadstar was entitled to summary judgment on Mounts's TILA claim because Mounts presented no evidence that Roadstar retained any portion of the disputed third-party lender fee or that the credit extension was conditioned on use of a third party. The record therefore did not establish a TILA violation.
3. Mounts was not entitled to summary judgment, and Roadstar was entitled to summary judgment on the claims presented because Mounts failed to establish a genuine dispute of material fact sufficient to support either the OCSPA damages theory or the TILA theory.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Mounts's unequivocal demand for statutory rescission, followed by Roadstar's acceptance, formed a binding rescission agreement that foreclosed his ability to pursue damages under the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act.
2. Whether Roadstar violated the Truth in Lending Act by including a disputed third-party lender fee in the vehicle's cash price without separately disclosing it as a finance charge.
3. Whether either party was entitled to summary judgment on the OCSPA and TILA claims.

Disposition

other