T.C.B. Const. Co., Inc. v. W. C. Fore Trucking, Inc.
| Docket Number: | 2010-CT-00177-SCT Linked Case(s): 2010-CT-00177-SCT ; 2010-CA-00177-COA ; 2010-CA-00177-COA ; 2010-CT-00177-SCT |
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| Supreme Court: | Opinion Link Opinion Date: 02-28-2013 Opinion Author: Kitchens, J. Holding: Court of Appeals affirmed in part, reversed in part; Circuit court reversed in part, rendered in part, and remanded. |
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| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 11-15-2011 Opinion Author: Maxwell, J. Holding: Affirmed in part, reversed and rendered in part, and remanded |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Contract - Punitive damages - Reckless disregard Judge(s) Concurring: Waller, C.J., Randolph, P.J., Lamar, Chandler, Pierce, King and Coleman, JJ. Non Participating Judge(s): Dickinson, P.J. Procedural History: Jury Trial Nature of the Case: CIVIL - CONTRACT Writ of Certiorari: Yes Appealed from Court of Appeals |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 11-03-2009 Appealed from: Harrison County Circuit Court Judge: Roger T. Clark Disposition: DENIED MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND ALLOWED THE JURY TO DECIDE IF THE CONTRACT HAD BEEN MODIFIED AND DETERMINE DAMAGES Case Number: A2401-2007-25 |
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| Consolidated: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part this judgment on 2/28/2013. The Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals in part and remanded after finding that the plaintiff presented clear and convincing evidence that the defendant exhibited bad faith in breaching the subject contract. The original Court of Appeals opinion can be found at http://courts.ms.gov/Images/Opinions/CO73414.pdf | ||
| Note: | The Court of Appeals opinion can be found at http://courts.ms.gov/Images/Opinions/CO73414.pdf . | |
| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | Brief(s) Available: | ||
| Appellant: | T.C.B. Construction Company, Inc. |
WILLIAM F. GOODMAN, JR.
LAWRENCE CARY GUNN, JR. |
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| Appellee: | W. C. Fore Trucking, Inc. | MICHAEL E. COX JAMES KENNETH WETZEL MICHAEL B. WALLACE REBECCA L. HAWKINS |
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Synopsis provided by:  If you are interested in subscribing to the weekly synopses of all Mississippi Supreme Court and Court of Appeals hand downs please contact Tammy Upton in the MLI Press office. |
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| Topic: | Contract - Punitive damages - Reckless disregard |
| Summary of the Facts: | Harrison County hired W.C. Fore Trucking, Inc. to remove debris from the county’s rights of way after Hurricane Katrina hit the coast. Fore contracted with T.C.B. Construction Company, Inc. for the removal of debris from a portion of Zone 2. TCB sent Fore daily reports as required by the contract and also sent weekly invoices. R.W. Beck & Associates, an independent auditing firm, calculated the cubic yardage and verified the locations listed on TCB’s work tickets. The county would then approve payment. Under their contract, Fore was to pay TCB $8.90 for every cubic yard of debris removed, out of the $10.64 Fore received from the county. After a dispute arose about some of the work performed by TCB for which Fore refused to pay, TCB sued Fore for breach of contract, claiming Fore owed TCB an additional $6,634,436.69. Fore counterclaimed on the basis that Fore had overpaid TCB for work not included in the contract in the amount of $520,731. The jury found that the contract had been modified to include the additional work but also found that Fore was entitled to recoup “overpayments.” The result was a $3,577,583.34 net award for TCB. The court awarded TCB prejudgment interest from the date it filed the complaint but would not allow the issue of punitive damages to go to the jury. TCB appealed, and Fore cross-appealed. The Court of Appeals rendered judgment in favor of TCB in the full amount of $6,634,436.69, with prejudgment interest from the date of the breach, and affirmed the trial court’s ruling with regard to punitive damages. Though both parties filed a petition for writ of certiorari, the Supreme Court granted only TCB’s petition to review the punitive damages issue. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | For punitive damages to be awarded in a breach of contract case, the plaintiff must prove that the breach was the result of an intentional wrong or that a defendant acted maliciously or with reckless disregard. The judge should submit the issue of punitive damages to the jury if the judge determines that a reasonable, hypothetical juror could have identified either malice or gross disregard to the rights of others. In this case, the trial court based its decision on punitive damages on the jury’s verdict, which had awarded damages to both parties and awarded TCB only half of its requested damages. However, the Court of Appeals correctly reversed the jury verdict and rendered judgment in favor of TCB. Since TCB presented sufficient evidence that a reasonable, hypothetical juror could find Fore’s conduct in breaching the contract was either malicious or done with a reckless disregard of TCB’s rights, the trial court erred by not submitting the issue of punitive damages to the jury. |
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