Craig Chevrolet v. GM Corporation

USCA1 Opinion









November 18, 1994 [NOT FOR PUBLICATION] [NOT FOR PUBLICATION]

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT

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No. 94-1305

CRAIG CHEVROLET, INC., ET AL.,

Plaintiffs, Appellants,

v.

GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION,

Defendant, Appellee.

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APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF MAINE

[Hon. Morton A. Brody, U.S. District Judge] ___________________
[Hon. Gene Carter, U.S. District Judge] ___________________

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Before

Selya, Circuit Judge, _____________

Bownes, Senior Circuit Judge, ____________________

and Cyr, Circuit Judge. _____________

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Ralph A. Dyer for appellants. _____________
Daniel L. Goldberg, with whom Lawrence S. Buonomo, Edward W. __________________ ___________________ _________
Risko, and Bingham, Dana & Gould were on brief, for appellee. _____ _____________________

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Per Curiam. In this case, plaintiffs-appellants Craig __________

Chevrolet, Inc. and Norman S. Craig sued defendant-appellee

General Motors Corporation (GM) for damages arising out of (a)

appellants' purchase of a Chevrolet franchise in Island Falls,

Maine, and (b) the subsequent failure of that franchise.

Appellants' amended complaint contained no fewer than eight

separate statements of claim, two of which were later voluntarily

dismissed. The remaining six statements of claim included counts

for intentional misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation,

breach of contract, negligent infliction of emotional distress,

violation of the Maine Dealer Protection Statute, Me. Rev. Stat.

Ann. tit. 10 1171-1186 (West 1980 & Supp. 1993), and violation

of the federal Automobile Dealers' Day in Court Act, 15 U.S.C.

1221-1225 (1988). In a pretrial order, the district court

(Brody, U.S.D.J.) granted summary judgment on four of these

claims. See Fed. R. Civ. P.56. The case proceeded to trial on ___

the remaining two claims. At the close of the evidence, the

district court (Carter, U.S.D.J.) granted the defendant's motion

for judgment as a matter of law. See Fed. R. Civ. P.50(b). This ___

appeal ensued.

We have carefully reviewed both the summary judgment

record and the trial transcript. In addition, we have

entertained oral argument, studied the parties' briefs, read the

district court's decisions, and researched the applicable law.

We conclude, without serious question, that the lower court

appropriately entered judgment in GM's favor. Accordingly, we


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affirm the



judgment for substantially the reasons stated in Judge Brody's

and Judge Carter's rulings.1



Affirmed. Affirmed. ________



































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1Judge Brody's rescript accepts in large part, and relies
upon, a report and recommendation of Magistrate Judge Beaulieu
dated January 25, 1994. To that extent, we, too, approve Judge
Beaulieu's recommendation.

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