Opinion ID: 1937052
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Causation & Ascertainable Loss

Text: BASF also would be entitled to JNOV if the farmers failed to establish that BASF's actions caused an ascertainable loss. See Cox, 647 A.2d at 464. To establish a violation under the NJCFA, a causal relationship must exist between the ascertainable loss and the unlawful practice. Roberts v. Cowgill, 316 N.J.Super. 33, 719 A.2d 668, 672 (1998). The NJCFA provides that an offense arises whether or not any person has in fact been misled, deceived or damaged thereby. N.J. Stat. Ann. 56:8-2. Consumer fraud in New Jersey, in contrast with common law fraud, does not require a showing of reliance, merely a causal relationship. [14] Cox, 647 A.2d at 464. BASF argues that the farmers failed to prove BASF's actions caused an ascertainable loss because they failed to show that either they or other class members were ever aware of BASF's statements about Poast and Poast Plus and because the farmers' theory of causation, which BASF terms the lost opportunity to boycott Poast, is unsupportable as a matter of law. In Peterson I, the court of appeals held that a causal link between BASF's conduct and an ascertainable loss could be established based either on (1) the farmers' lost opportunity to choose whether to buy Poast or the lower-priced Poast Plus, [15] or (2) the lost opportunity to refuse to buy Poast if they had known that Poast Plus was EPA registered for the same uses as Poast. 618 N.W.2d at 824-25. In Peterson II, the court of appeals held that sufficient evidence had been presented at trial for a jury to find an ascertainable loss based on the farmers' lost opportunity to refuse to purchase Poast due to BASF's conduct or actions. 657 N.W.2d at 868. The farmers' theory of causation is based on unconscionable commercial activities resulting in the farmers purchasing Poast, which had a weighted average price differential of approximately $4 per acre more than Poast Plus. In Varacallo v. Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., the appellate division of the New Jersey Superior Court held that plaintiffs who purchased whole life insurance policies from an insurer met the requirements for class certification where plaintiffs alleged a knowing omission of material information under the NJCFA. 332 N.J.Super. 31, 752 A.2d 807, 817-19 (2000). The court stated that if the plaintiffs succeeded in showing that the insurance company withheld material information in literature with the intent that consumers would rely on it in purchasing an insurance policy, the purchase of the policy by a person who was shown the literature would be sufficient to establish prima facie proof of causation because the NJCFA requires only a causal relationship, not reliance. Id. at 817. Here, named plaintiffs, as representatives of the class of similarly situated farmers, testified that they had seen the allegedly misleading advertisements. The jury could infer from the advertisements and other evidence that but for BASF's unconscionable conduct, farmers in general would have discovered that Poast Plus was EPA registered for use on the same crops as Poast. Under the NJCFA, class members' awareness of advertisements may provide a sufficient causal nexus. See Varacallo, 752 A.2d at 817. The farmers also presented evidence that BASF's sales documents showed that around 1996, when BASF's actions were exposed to the public, sales for Poast in North Dakota, Minnesota, and elsewhere dropped off. Similarly, the farmers provided evidence that the price of Poast decreased around 1996-97. The farmers argued that BASF's actions from 1992 to 1996 made them unaware that Poast Plus was EPA approved for use on the same crops as Poast, and had this been known, pressure would have been placed on BASF to lower the price of Poast to the more competitive market price of Poast Plus. For example, the farmers could have refused to purchase Poast, or states could have issued special local needs registrations pursuant to FIFRA section 24(c) to allow for the use of Poast Plus on minor crops. The jury could infer from the evidence that BASF's actions had a causal relationship with the farmers purchasing Poast, which resulted in them suffering a loss. Furthermore, the farmers' loss was ascertainable. Our review of the evidence presented leads us to conclude that the underlying economic facts of the case were not seriously in dispute. Both sides presented expert testimony on damages. The farmers claimed actual damages of $26,182,501 and the jury awarded the farmers $15,000,000 in actual damages. [16] BASF argued damages by introducing demonstrative trial exhibits and presenting an expert witness who estimated potential liability per acre. BASF's final damage figures varied from the figures presented by the farmers, [17] but once the jury determined BASF's liability, the evidence of an ascertainable loss by measurable money damages was clear. See Cox, 647 A.2d at 464 (holding an ascertainable loss existed where unlawful practice committed by failing to have periodic inspections in a home repair contract caused unsafe wiring and unattractive cabinets, which loss could be measured by repairing those conditions). The actual damage award was a factual determination by the jury. We conclude there was competent evidence in the record reasonably tending to sustain the verdict when the evidence is viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. A judgment in favor of BASF as a matter of law would not be appropriate and the verdict was not manifestly against the weight of the entire evidence of liability, causation, and ascertainable loss. We affirm the court of appeals and hold that BASF is not entitled to JNOV. Affirmed. PAGE, J., took no part in the consideration or decision of this case.