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Teague-Strebeck Motors Inc. v. Chrysler Insurance Co.3/8/1999
at the judgment is based on tortious conduct-the negligent misrepresentations made by Rudel, Chrysler's agent. Chrysler, on the other hand, contends that the district court apparently believed that the cause of action "sounded primarily in contract."
{64} We agree with Chrysler. The district court awarded damages as measured by standard contract law. Mills-Strebeck was awarded the benefit of its bargain, the extent of insurance coverage promised by Rudel. See Hubbard v. Albuquerque Truck Ctr., Ltd., 1998-NMCA-058, 15, 125 N.M. 153, 958 P.2d 111 (goal of damages for breach of contract is to put injured party in as good a position as if promise had been kept). Such damages are not ordinarily recoverable for a negligent misrepresentation. See First Interstate Bank of Gallup v. Foutz, 107 N.M. 749, 751, 764 P.2d 1307, 1309; Restatement (Second) of Torts, supra, at § 552B(2). Although the record is not clear regarding what legal doctrine was employed by the district court to award benefit-of- the-bargain damages, the award can best be understood as an application of the doctrine of promissory estoppel, which is generally considered to be a contract cause of action, see Strata Prod. Co. v. Mercury Exploration Co., 121 N.M. 622, 628, 916 P.2d 822, 828 (1996) (Frost, C.J.); Fryar, 94 N.M. at 81, 607 P.2d at 619. Accordingly, we affirm the interest rate awarded in the judgment on the components of the judgment other than the damages for bad faith. We note, however, that our task of interpreting Section 56-8-4(A) is made more difficult by the absence of any apparent rationale for having the rate of post-judgment interest depend on the nature of the cause of action.
VII. UNFAIR PRACTICES ACT
{65} The district court ruled that "the evidence does not support a Conclusion that [Chrysler] violated the New Mexico Unfair Trade Practices Act." Mills-Strebeck contends that the court erred in this ruling because Rudel's misrepresentations violated the Act. It asserts that the judgment "should be modified to reflect an award of treble damages" for violation of the Unfair Practices Act. We are not persuaded.
{66} The Unfair Practices Act defines an "unfair or deceptive trade practice" as
" ny false or misleading oral or written statement, visual description or other representation of any kind knowingly made in connection with the sale, lease, rental or loan of goods or services in the extension of credit or in the collection of debts by any person in the regular course of his trade or commerce, which may, tends to or does deceive or mislead any person." NMSA 1978, § 57-12-2(D) (1995) (second alteration in original).
The definition then catalogs seventeen potential types of such practice. For purposes of this appeal, the key element of the definition is that the false or misleading statement must be "knowingly made." Accordingly, Mills-Strebeck had the burden of persuading the district court that Rudel knew that his representations regarding coverage were false or misleading.
{67} Mills-Strebeck did not meet this burden. The district court did not enter a finding that Rudel knew that the misrepresentations were false or misleading. When the factfinder rules against the party bearing the burden of persuasion, we must affirm if it was rational for the factfinder to be unpersuaded by the evidence supporting the party bearing the burden. See Lopez v. Adams, 116 N.M. 757, 758, 867 P.2d 427, 428 (1993). Mills-Strebeck has not demonstrated that every rational factfinder would have found that Rudel had the requisite knowledge.
{68} Nevertheless, Mills-Strebeck asserts that Ashlock v. Sunwest Bank, 107 N.M. 100, 753 P.
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