Opinion ID: 1126626
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The complaint also alleged facts sufficient to support an award of punitive damages.

Text: Defendant contends that nowhere in the complaint do the plaintiffs allege that the representations were willful, malicious or recklessly made, nor do they allege that they are entitled to punitive damages; that the allegations of this complaint are almost identical to the allegations held to be insufficient in Cays v. McDaniel, 204 Or. 449, 283 P.2d 658 (1955), and that the prayer of the complaint for punitive damages is to no avail because the prayer is no part of the cause of suit or action, as held in Williams v. Stockman's Life Insurance, 250 Or. 160, 441 P.2d 608 (1968). Defendant is correct in contending that a prayer for punitive damages is not sufficient of itself to support an award of punitive damages. Defendant is not correct, however, in contending that to support an award of punitive damages a complaint for damages for fraud must allege that a representation by a defendant was willful, malicious or recklessly made. In recent cases this court has re-examined the concept of punitive damages and the nature of the conduct required to support an award of punitive damages. See Osborn v. Gene Teague Chevrolet, 254 Or. 486, 489-490, 459 P.2d 988 (1969); Dorn v. Wilmarth, 254 Or. 236, 239, 458 P.2d 942 (1969); Douglas v. Humble Oil, 251 Or. 310, 314, 445 P.2d 590 (1968); Sumrell v. Household Finance, 250 Or. 381, 383, 443 P.2d 179 (1968), and Noe v. Kaiser Foundation Hosp., 248 Or. 420, 425, 435 P.2d 306 (1967). These cases hold that the legal justification for punitive damages is determent and that such damages will only be allowed when the violation of societal interests is sufficiently great and the conduct involved is of a kind that sanctions would tend to prevent. Thus, in Noe, we said (at p. 425, 435 P.2d at p. 308):    Regardless of the nomenclature by which a violation of these obligations is described (grossly negligent, willful, wanton, malicious, etc. ), it is apparent that this court has decided that it is proper to use the sanction of punitive damages where there has been a particularly aggravated disregard by a member of the medical profession of his professional duties (preservation of life and health). There would appear to be no rational justification for any separate rule or language applicable to the medical profession. It is proper, however, in determining whether there has been a sufficiently aggravated violation of societal interests to justify the sanctions of punitive damages as a preventative measure, that any duty owed by the offending party be taken into consideration. This is so whether the offending person be a physician, lawyer, electrician, or any other person who may owe a duty by virtue of his relationship to the offended party. (Emphasis added) The earlier case of Cays v. McDaniel, supra (relied upon by defendant), held, in effect (204 Or. at p. 457, 283 P.2d 658) that the conduct of an automobile dealer in turning back the speedometer on a used car and selling it as a new car presented only a case of simple fraud and did not justify an award of punitive damages because there were no such extratordinary or exceptional circumstances of aggravation so as to indicate malice or willfulness. The court held, however (at p. 458, 283 P.2d at p. 662), quoting from another case, that:    `the rules of pleading do not require that the allegations relating to exemplary damages should be set out separately from the other averments of the complaint', as is required with relation to special damages. Exemplary damages are so intimately connected with general damages that if the general allegations of the complaint are sufficient to show the wrong complained of was inflicted with malice or oppression or other like circumstances, the complaint will be deemed sufficient to authorize the infliction of punitive or exemplary damages. (Emphasis added) In Lewis v. WorldWide Imports, Inc., 238 Or. 580, at p. 582, 395 P.2d 922 (1964), this court held that the conduct of an automobile dealer in turning back the speedometer of a car for the purpose of deceiving a purchaser is sufficiently aggravated so as to be sufficient to support the imposition of punitive damages and overruled Cays v. McDaniel to that extent. Also, in Osborn v. Teague Chevrolet, supra, we held, under similar facts that punitive damages would appear to be particularly well suited to prevent defendant and others from the kind of conduct here complained of. In this case, the alleged conduct of the automobile dealer was, in effect, a trick by which he first agreed to allow $900 as a trade-in allowance and then had the purchaser sign the contract in blank, intending at all times to fill in the smaller sum of $599 as a trade-in allowance, in the hope that the purchaser would either not notice the discrepancy or would not make an issue of it. In our view, such conduct is equally reprehensible, as compared with the conduct involved in Lewis and Osborn, and is thus proper as a basis of an award of possible punitive damages to discourage both this defendant and other automobile dealers in engaging in similar conduct. Having reached that conclusion, it follows that the allegations of this complaint were sufficient to support an award of punitive damages, as a matter of pleading. Indeed, as previously noted, we said in Cays v. McDaniel, supra (204 Or. at 458, 283 P.2d 658), that allegations relating to punitive damages need not be set out separately from other allegations of the complaint. Neither is it necessary to allege, as a matter of nonmenclature, that the conduct complained of was done maliciously, wantonly or intentionally, provided that a complaint alleges facts sufficiently aggravated in their nature as to come within the test of Noe v. Kaiser Foundation Hosp., supra . In our opinion, the conduct of defendant, as alleged in plaintiffs' complaint, satisfies that test. The complaint also, by its prayer, put defendant on notice that plaintiffs demanded an award of punitive damages. No motion to strike or to make more definite and certain was filed by defendant. Under these circumstances we hold that plaintiffs' complaint was sufficient to sustain an award of punitive damages. For these reasons we affirm the judgment of the trial court. Affirmed.