Research On The Application Of Punitive Damages To Second-Hand Accident Vehicle Fraud

In the transaction of second-hand accident vehicles,if the seller does not inform or without professional appraisal,it is difficult for the consumer as the buyer to make an accurate judgment on the accident information before the transaction object,such as the cause of occurrence,damage consequences,repair status,etc.In recent years,the fraud of concealing the car in accident occurred frequently in the second-hand car trading,and the punitive compensation lawsuits brought by consumers after they know about the fraud have increased.At present,Chinese academic circles in the second-hand accident car sales fraud cases of punitive compensation theory is not deep enough,the protection of consumer rights and interests of the relevant provisions are too principled,the judicial lack of a clear definition of "accident car" and for "fraud" and "compensation amount" refining standards,leading to the judgment standard is different,the same case of different judgments frequent.Using the methods of case analysis,empirical analysis,comparative analysis and economic analysis,this thesis makes a more in-depth study on the application of punitive compensation in the field of second-hand accident vehicles.First of all,through the method of case analysis,summed up in judicial practice,the second-hand accident car sales contract dispute cases on the understanding of the accident car,operator fraud identification,punitive compensation calculation standard three aspects of the focus of the dispute.Secondly,combined with the relevant laws and regulations,the theoretical scholars’ viewpoints and the key points of judgment in practical cases,the scope of managers’ disclosure obligation,the subjective fault form,the compensation base and so on are analyzed.At the same time,investigate the development and application of the punitive compensation system of common law and civil law systems,explore a new tool to solve the problem of punitive compensation in the field of second-hand accident vehicles.Finally,the author puts forward some suggestions to apply punitive compensation to second-hand car fraud.The first is to clarify the identification criteria of second-hand car fraud,taking whether it affects consumers’ purchase intention as the criteria for operators to fulfill the obligation of notification;Considering the particularity of "consumer protection Law",the gross negligence is included into the subjective fault form of operator fraud,while extending the period of reversal of the burden of proof.The second is to set up a scientific and reasonable standard for calculating punitive damages,taking into full consideration the subjective severity of operators,income and other factors on the basis of applying the elastic model;In order to determine the base of punitive damages,the overall fraud and partial fraud can be distinguished by the serious situation of the operator’s concealment accident,and the legal regulation effect of substantial fairness can be achieved.