Gouskos

Plaintiffs Angelo Gouskos and Pete Gouskos sued defendants Aptos Village Garage, Inc. (Aptos), and Don Brownell for various causes of action arising from an automobile repair dispute. The trial court granted defendants’ motion for directed verdict as to the fifth cause of action (violation of the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (Civ. Code, § 1788 et seq.) (Act)), and a jury rendered a verdict for defendants on the remaining causes of action. The trial court rendered judgment and a postjudgment order awarding defendants approximately $24,000 in statutory attorney fees. On appeal from the judgment, plaintiffs contend that the trial court erred in (1) granting defendants’ motion for directed verdict, (2) excluding proffered evidence of prior similar incidents, and (3) granting defendants’ motion for attorney fees. We disagree and affirm the judgment.

Scope of Review

“The order [granting nonsuit or directed verdict] may be made only when there is no substantial conflict in the evidence. In ruling on the motion, the court does not consider credibility of witnesses but gives to the evidence of the party against whom it is directed all its legal value, indulges…