FLADEBOE v. AMERICAN ISUZU MOTORS INC., Part I
Where court following bench trial issued minute order finding that car dealers lacked standing to assert claims against car company over company's withholding of consent to their request to transfer dealership, and that dealers had unclean hands and suffered no damages arising out of a withdrawn request to transfer dealership; court made no express factual findings on issue of whether company's withholding of consent was unreasonable; and plaintiffs did not request a formal statement of decision, object to court's factual findings, or bring any ambiguities or omissions in those findings to court's attention; doctrine of implied findings compels inference that court impliedly made every factual finding necessary to conclude company did not unreasonably withhold consent. Where dealers secretly operated as a company dealership using a former dealer's identification number and by misrepresenting to company that former dealer was still acting as its authorized dealer, substantial evidence supported jury verdict that dealers committed fraud or made negligent misrepresentations to company. Trial court properly awarded restitution to company for dealer sales incentives it paid where court found that dealers sold company's vehicles to public without a dealer sales license issued by state, and used former dealer identification number to order new vehicles and parts and to obtain dealer sales incentive payments and warranty repair reimbursements from company.
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