Opinion ID: 1617003
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Should Trial Court Have Submitted the Issue of Compensatory Damages to the Jury, and if so, was the Award Excessive as a Result of Passion and Prejudice?

Text: A. Honeywell asserts there was no competent evidence the computer interference caused plaintiff any actual damages, therefore, its motion for directed verdict on this ground should have been sustained. We treat this issue briefly for the guidance it may furnish on the retrial of this case. We take a broad view in determining the sufficiency of evidence of damages. If the evidence shows damages have been sustained, we uphold recovery so long as the record discloses a reasonable basis from which the amount can be inferred or approximated. Westway Trading Corp. v. River Terminal Corp., 314 N.W.2d 398, 403 (Iowa 1982); see Larsen v. United Federal Savings and Loan Association, 300 N.W.2d 281, 288 (Iowa 1981); Shinrone, Inc. v. Tasco, Inc., 283 N.W.2d 280, 286 (Iowa 1979). The problem of proof the Appliance Center faced in these circumstances is discussed in Restatement (Second) of Torts § 912 comment d at 483 (1979), which states in part: Although the burden is on the injured person to prove with a fair degree of certainty that the business or transaction was or would have been profitable, it is not fatal to the recovery of substantial damages that he is unable to prove with definiteness the amount of the profits he would have made or the amount of harm that the defendant has caused. It is only essential that he present such evidence as might reasonably be expected to be available under the circumstances. Appliance Center placed its 1976 through 1981 tax returns in evidence. Large decreases in income in 1980 and 1981 were posted, as contrasted to a growth in the prior years. There was testimony that color televisions constituted 60 percent of the gross sales, and that sales of these items dropped drastically in 1980 and 1981. This evidence was not as precise as one might wish, nor was the effect, if any, of a little bit of a downturn in business generally in the community. Nonetheless, we hold it minimally was sufficient to take the issue to the jury, and that trial court did not err in refusing to direct a verdict on this ground. B. ITT argues trial court should have sustained its motion for new trial on the ground the jury's verdict for compensatory damages was excessive. ITT asserts that, inasmuch as the Appliance Center's evidence was inadequate to justify such an award, it must have resulted from passion and prejudice against the defendants. We already have indicated the evidence of damage, although lacking in precision, was sufficient to justify the award returned by the jury. We find no error in trial court's failure to grant a new trial.