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Under California’s Automobile Sales Finance Act (ASFA),

1 automobile sales contracts must contain certain terms and disclosures

2 for the protection of consumers.

3 In addition, certain provisions of such contracts are required to be prominently displayed in fonts of specified size, and in specified locations and sequences, again for the protection of consumers. On top of that, regulated sales contracts are required to be reproduced as a “single document,”

4 so that the necessary terms and notices may not be concealed from consumers by being shunted to an unseen appendix. The extensive formalities and requirements are mandatory,

5 and a contract that does not substantially conform to the requirements is unenforceable.

6 1 Civ. Code §§ 2981–2984.6. 2 Civil Code section 2982 provides that a conditional sale contract subject to the ASFA must contain disclosures mandated by federal Regulation Z, 12 C.F.R. §§ 226.1– 226.48 (2009).

Regulation Z implements the Truth in Lending Act, which is found at 15 U.S.C. §§ 1601–1667f.

3 See, e.g,. Cerra v. Blackstone, 172 Cal. App. 3d 604, 608 (1985) (“The legislative purpose in enacting the [ASFA] was to provide more comprehensive protection for the unsophisticated motor vehicle consumer.”).

4 Civ. Code § 2981.9 (part of the ASFA). Although our analysis focuses on automobile sales contracts, we note that the same language appears in other consumer sales statutes, and we have no reason to believe that our analysis would not apply to them as well. See Civ. Code § 2985.8 (part of the Vehicle Leasing Act, Civ. Code §§ 2985.7–2994); Civ. Code § 1803.2 (part of the California Retail Installment Sales Act).

5 Civ. Code § 2982(m) states that the required terms “may” be printed according to the specified regulations. However, experts in the field and judicial decisions uniformly construe these consumer-protection rules as mandatory.

See, e.g., Justice William Masterson (Retired), Justice Elizabeth Baron (Retired) & Louise LaMothe, California Civil Practice Business Litigation, § 58:11 (Thomson Reuters 2009); Cynthia L. Fatica, California Transactions Forms: Business Transactions Vol. 5, § 34:33 (Thomson Reuters 2009); Kunert v. Mission Fin. Serv. Corp., 110 Cal. App. 4th 242, 248 (2003).

6 See Kunert v. Mission Fin. Serv. Corp., 110 Cal. App. 4t h at 248.

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Every conditional sale contract subject to this chapter shall be in writing and, if printed, shall be printed in type no smaller than 6-point, and shall contain in a single document all of the agreements of the buyer and seller with respect to the total cost and the terms of payment for the motor vehicle, including any promissory notes or any other evidences of indebtedness.

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A rule of court is not drafted by the Legislature, and the rule at issue in the Alan case pertains to litigant protection, rather than consumer protection in the commercial arena.

We nonetheless find it significant that, in applying ordinary principles of statutory construction to the rule , the Court’s view of the function of the single document requirement was the same as that of the Ninth Circuit in Morgan. And we find both cases relevant to, as well as consistent with, our understanding of the ordinary meaning of the term “single document.”

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Accordingly, we conclude that the single document requirement for automobile sales contracts is satisfied if the document consists of multiple pages that are attached to each other and integrated by means such as inclusive sequential page numbering (e.g., “1 of 4”, “2 of 4”, etc.).

Under the provisions of the car buyer bill of rights, all sales, including cash transactions REQUIRE a conditional sales contract from the selling dealer with ALL required disclosures, including the car buyer bill of rights option.

car buyer bill of rights

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