Thompson discovered that the automatic transmission in his car was leaking even though it otherwise was operating properly. He took the car to Mr. Transmission, a transmission repair business, told the people there he wanted the transmission seals replaced because the automatic transmission was leaking, signed a work order, and left the car with them expecting to pay their advertised fee of $69.95. When he returned to the shop several hours later, he found that the transmission, which did not have to be taken apart to replace the seals, had been removed from his car and was disassembled. An employee told him the fluid was burnt out and had metal particles in it. He also broke one of the transmission parts in Thompson's presence. Thompson was told that the transmission would have to be rebuilt or replaced and that installing a rebuilt transmission at a cost of $377 would be the quickest. In order to get his car back, Thompson had Mr. Transmission install a replacement rebuilt transmission and paid for it under protest as he had not authorized his transmission to be disassembled.
The replaced transmission began to leak, and Thompson brought an action for unauthorized disassembly and destruction of his operating transmission resulting in his forced purchase of another transmission. He also sought punitive damages. Was Mr. Transmission liable to Thompson for the acts it took with respect to his transmission that had been entrusted to it?