Opinion ID: 563774
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: mongillo's remaining reasons of appeal

Text: 99 We turn last to Mongillo's remaining assignments of error. None have much substance. 100
101 Mongillo moved for judgment n.o.v. or in the alternative for a new trial. Both motions were denied. He argues now, as he did below, that various conditions precedent to the loan agreement between FRG and Union Trust had not been satisfied. These conditions required the borrower inter alia to pony up $300,000 and tender a $1,000,000 letter of credit at the closing. Neither the cash nor the letter of credit was produced. On this basis, Mongillo contends that he should not be held liable for the anticipated benefits of a deal that would in any event have collapsed. 102 The standard under which we review the denial of judgment n.o.v. is the same as for a directed verdict. See Wagenmann, 829 F.2d at 200. In fine, the evidence and all reasonable inferences extractable therefrom must be examined in the light most favorable to the nonmovant and [a] judgment notwithstanding the verdict should be granted only when the evidence, viewed from this perspective, is such that reasonable persons could reach but one conclusion. Id. Mongillo cannot clear this hurdle. There was repeated testimony that literal compliance with the conditions of the bank's commitment letter had been waived. In light of this evidence, and because the standard of review prohibits us from considering the credibility of witnesses or assaying the weight of the evidence, we, like the trial court, must bow to the jury's resolution of the disputed fact. 14 103 The terrain is scarcely more hospitable to Mongillo with respect to the denial of his new trial motion: 104 It is well settled that the district court should order a new trial only when convinced that the clear weight of the evidence so requires or that a miscarriage of justice would otherwise result. The standard which governs our review is equally plain. We will reverse the denial of such a motion only for abuse of discretion. 105 Real v. Hogan, 828 F.2d 58, 61 (1st Cir.1987) (citations omitted). 106 The trial court did not abuse its discretion in this instance. As already mentioned, plausible evidence was offered on the issue of the bank's waiver of the transactional conditions. In light of this evidence, it cannot be said that a verdict against Mongillo necessarily reflected evidentiary disregard or constituted a miscarriage of justice. See Freeman, 865 F.2d at 1333-34 (The mere fact that a contrary verdict may have been equally--or even more easily--supportable furnishes no cognizable ground for granting a new trial. If the weight of the evidence is not grotesquely lopsided, it is irrelevant that the judge, were he sitting jury-waived, would likely have found the other way.). 107
108 Mongillo next asserts that the magistrate erred in instructing the jury on the issue of damages. He does not take issue with the damage instructions actually given, but assigns error to the refusal to instruct the jury that, in assessing damages, it should consider FRG's lack of experience in running a time-share resort. Under well settled precedent, however, the charge must be viewed as a whole, bearing in mind that the presider is not obligated to tailor the instructions to suit a party's preference or fit the idiosyncratic facts of the particular case. See Hubbard v. Faros Fisheries, Inc., 626 F.2d 196, 201 (1st Cir.1980). As long the judge's instruction properly apprises the jury of the applicable law, failure to give the exact instruction requested does not prejudice the objecting party. McKinnon v. Skil Corp., 638 F.2d 270, 274 (1st Cir.1981). So here. The instructions given in this case stated the law correctly and required no further elaboration. 109
110 In a related vein, Mongillo tells us that the evidence did not support the jury's assessment of damages. More specifically, he asseverates that the concept of equity is meaningless in the time-share business unless one takes into account the skill of management. Absent evidence that FRG had the ability to run an operation like Veranda Beach, the damages awarded lacked a stable foundation. 111 As a matter of economic reality, the value of skillful management cannot be gainsaid. But, skill is only one of many such salient factors--diligence, experience, enthusiasm, timing, luck, to name a few. To the extent that one attribute is thought to deserve greater weight, the plea for it should be made to the factfinders rather than to an appellate tribunal. Such a rule is especially appropriate in regard to damage awards. After all, translating legal damage into money damages is, virtually by definition, an imprecise affair. There are often many different ways of looking at the question and many different methods, all legally satisfactory, for measuring damages. See Northern Heel Corp. v. Compo Indus., Inc., 851 F.2d 456, 473-74 (1st Cir.1988); In re San Juan Hotel Corp., 847 F.2d 931, 937-38 (1st Cir.1988); Sullivan v. O'Connor, 363 Mass. 579, 296 N.E.2d 183, 186-89 & nn. 3-6 (1973); John Hetherington & Sons, Ltd. v. William Firth Co., 210 Mass. 8, 95 N.E. 961, 964 (1911). This case illustrates the point. 112 There was evidence proffered below, mainly through one of plaintiff's experts, that FRG would have gained an equity position worth $2,300,000 had its planned acquisition of Veranda Beach been consummated. During a vigorous cross-examination of this witness, Mongillo's counsel highlighted the same weaknesses that he now trumpets on appeal. Once the threshold of sufficiency has been crossed, the credibility of a claimant and its witnesses presents a question for the jury, not for the trial court--and most of all, not for the court of appeals. See, e.g., Clark v. Taylor, 710 F.2d 4, 14 (1st Cir.1983). It is not our role, from the sterile environs of an algid record, to substitute our views for those of the jury. 113 To say more would be an exercise in redundancy. Juries are free to run the whole gamut of euphonious notes--to harmonize the verdict at the highest or lowest points for which there is a sound evidentiary predicate, or anywhere in between--so long as the end result does not violate the conscience of the court or strike such a dissonant chord that justice would be denied were the judgment permitted to stand. Milone v. Moceri Family, Inc., 847 F.2d 35, 37 (1st Cir.1988). That wide-ranging mandate was not exceeded here. 114
115 Mongillo's attack on the damages assessed against him has yet another dimension. In a written decision issued after the jury verdict, the court entered judgment for $4,000,000 against Mongillo pursuant to Mass.Gen.L. ch. 93A. 15 The court found as fact that Mongillo engaged in unfair and deceptive practices; that the Veranda Beach purchase would have been consummated but for his wrongful conduct; that FRG acted reasonably in pursuing the Western Surety bond after the aborted closing (rather than abandoning that quest and exploring new avenues); and that, by the time Western Surety informed FRG that it would not honor the bond, the seller had decided to cancel the purchase agreement. The court found the consequent damage to FRG to be $2,000,000, which it doubled because, in its view, Mongillo had acted willfully and knowingly. 116 By way of background, we acknowledge that Chapter 93A is a statute of broad impact whose basic policy is to ensure an equitable relationship between consumers and persons engaged in business. Heller v. Silverbranch Constr. Corp., 376 Mass. 621, 382 N.E.2d 1065, 1069 (1978). In general, it proscribes unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce. Mass.Gen.L. ch. 93A, Sec. 2. See generally Datacomm Interface, Inc. v. Computerworld, Inc., 396 Mass. 760, 489 N.E.2d 185, 196 (1986); Heller, 382 N.E.2d at 1069. It is by now axiomatic that claims of unfair or deceptive acts associated with common law fraud or breach of contract may be brought under the aegis of Chapter 93A. See, e.g., Datacomm, 489 N.E.2d at 197 (fraud); Burnham v. Mark IV Homes, Inc., 387 Mass. 575, 441 N.E.2d 1027, 1031 (1982) (contract). Chapter 93A claims are triable to the court, not to a jury. Norwood v. Adams-Russell Co., 401 Mass. 677, 519 N.E.2d 253, 254 n. 3 (1988). If the court finds that the conduct constituted a willful or knowing violation, it must award up to two, but not more than three, times the amount of actual damages. Mass.Gen.L. ch. 93A, Sec. 11; see also Datacomm, 489 N.E.2d at 197. 117 In these appeals, Mongillo's principal contention involving Chapter 93A is that the magistrate erred in assessing damages because the loss caused by the fraud should have been restricted to the cost of a replacement bond (there was some testimony intimating that a bond was available elsewhere, but at a higher premium), not the loss of the vanished equity. Accepting this contention would require us to disregard the magistrate's explicit finding that FRG properly mitigated its damages after the failed closing--a finding bottomed on abundant evidence. A party charged with mitigating damages is not obliged to play the seer, choosing the course of action that would, in hindsight, have turned out best. See Burnham, 441 N.E.2d at 1034 (plaintiff must exercise reasonable precautions, but not more, to mitigate damages caused by defendant's breach). Here, FRG acted reasonably in its efforts to salvage the deal. No more was exigible. Accordingly, we decline to disturb the Chapter 93A damage assessment.