Opinion ID: 2283443
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: Defendant contends on appeal that the evidence of fraud was insufficient to support a jury verdict for the plaintiff. Specifically, defendant asserts that the plaintiff failed to meet his burden of proof on the fourth element of fraud: [A] defendant is liable for fraud or deceit if he (1) makes a false representation (2) of a material fact (3) with knowledge of its falsity or in reckless disregard of whether it is true or false (4) for the purpose of inducing another to act or refrain from acting in reliance upon it, and (5) the plaintiff justifiably relies upon the representation as true and acts upon it to his damage. (emphasis added) Letellier v. Small, Me., 400 A.2d 371, 376 (1979). There can be no doubt, based on the evidence presented at trial, that elements (1), (2), (3), and (5) were established by clear and convincing evidence as required in a fraud action. Horner v. Flynn, Me., 334 A.2d 194 (1975). Defendant may be liable for fraud even though he may not have profited from the misrepresentation. See Bean v. Herrick, 12 Me. 262 (1835). The Restatement of Torts (Second) indicates that one who believes that another is substantially certain to act in a particular manner as a result of a misrepresentation intends that result, although he does not act for the purpose of causing it and does not desire to do so. Restatement of Torts (Second) § 531, Comment c (1977). Although the jury could have believed that the defendant did not wish to cause the plaintiff harm, the jury could, consistent with this finding, have found that defendant failed to tell plaintiff that no action had been taken so that plaintiff would continue to rely on defendant for legal advice and would not discover defendant's failure to commence suit and prosecute the claim to a successful resolution. A rational jury could have found that defendant knew with certainty that plaintiff, an elderly person of limited formal education, would not consult another attorney if defendant said he was still pursuing the claim. Thus, the jury would have been rational in deciding that defendant acted for the purpose of inducing plaintiff to refrain from taking additional action on his claim. We therefore affirm the judgment entered below for plaintiff so far as it reflects an award of compensatory damages for pecuniary loss.