Opinion ID: 219469
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: Appellants argue that district court erred in denying judgment as a matter of law on Appellees’ fraud claims. However, like the district court, we too are “firmly convinced” that the fraud verdicts were supported by substantial evidence. See Taeger v. Catholic Family & Cmty. Servs., 995 P.2d 721, 730 (Ariz. Ct. App. 1999). 5 The evidence adduced at trial revealed that Nelcela misled the POST parties in claiming to own the software it was selling and in making representations to Mary Gerdts that there was no cloud on that ownership. Carl Kubitz testified that, during his meetings with Dollarhide and Campagna in 1999, he did not give Nelcela permission to use Lexcel’s source code and Campagna promised to stop using it. Gerdts testified directly about her reliance on Nelcela’s assertions about the viability of its software. She further testified to being assured the conversion would work and that the system was sound. She recounted how an $800,000 overdraft harmed her business and that Nelcela refused to give her programmers the software to attempt to correct the problems it created. That Nelcela did not own or have the right to sell the software it was selling to POST was known by Appellants when they made representations to prospective buyers. Moreover, Gerdts testified that she would not have entered into an agreement if she had known that Nelcela did not own the software it was selling. There was significant circumstantial evidence as well, including evidence that Dollarhide destroyed the computer hard drives after the initiation of litigation.