Rice Motors, a Montana Corporation v. Melvin L. Hammatt

85 F.3d 637 NOTICE: Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3 provides that dispositions other than opinions or orders designated for publication are not precedential and should not be cited except when relevant under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, or collateral estoppel. RICE MOTORS, a Montana Corporation, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Melvin L. HAMMATT, Defendant-Appellant. No. 95-35205. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Submitted April 11, 1996. * Decided May 8, 1996. Before: WRIGHT, PREGERSON and TASHIMA, Circuit Judges. 1 MEMORANDUM ** 2 In 1990, defendant-appellant Melvin L. Hammatt ("Hammatt") traded-in his 1983 Cadillac to plaintiff-appellee Rice Motors ("Rice"). A Rice employee filled out an odometer disclosure statement required under former 15 U.S.C. § 1988 1 . The employee failed to note that the odometer had already turned-over, and thus had been driven 100,000 more miles than reflected on the odometer. Hammatt signed the form attesting to its accuracy. 3 After realizing the error, Rice sued Hammatt under both state and federal law. Hammatt counterclaimed. After a bench trial, the district court found against Rice on the federal claim (which required an…