Opinion ID: 2083601
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts

Text: On August 24, 1994, an Ameritech advertising sales representative met with Gary Trimble to execute a written Advertising Order for Trimble's business advertisement in the 1994-95 PAGESPLUS Directory. Ameritech failed to publish Trimble's advertisement. Consequently, Trimble filed a complaint seeking damages for loss of business resulting from the wrongful omission of the advertisement. The advertising contract signed by Trimble unequivocally provided that any damages resulting from Ameritech's failure to publish the advertisement would be limited to the amount paid for the advertising or the contract price, whichever is the lesser. The contract contained the following exculpatory clause: Publisher's liability: ... if publisher should be found liable for loss or damage due to a failure on the part of the publisher or its directory, in any respect, regardless of whether customer's claim is based on contract, tort, strict liability or otherwise, the liability shall be limited to an amount equal to the contract price for the disputed advertisements, or that sum of money actually paid by the customer toward the disputed advertisements, whichever sum shall be less, as liquidated damages and not as a penalty, and this liability shall be exclusive. In no event shall publisher be liable for any loss of customer's business, revenues, profits, the cost to the customer of other advertisements or any other special, incidental, consequential or punitive damages of any nature, or for any claim against the customer by a third party ... At the time the lawsuit was filed, Trimble had not been charged nor had he paid any money for the advertisement which was allegedly wrongfully omitted. The trial court granted summary judgment for Ameritech. The Court of Appeals reversed the trial court's decision to grant summary judgment and this appeal ensued. The circumstances of this case are not unique. The Court of Appeals has addressed the failure of Ameritech to publish its customers' Yellow Page advertisements on at least two other occasions. In Pigman v. Ameritech Publ'g, Inc., 641 N.E.2d 1026, 1035 (Ind.Ct.App.1994), when an attorney brought an action against the yellow pages telephone directory publisher for failing to publish an advertisement, the Court of Appeals held that the exculpatory clause contained in [Ameritech's] Yellow Pages advertising contract is unconscionable and void as against public policy as a matter of law. One month later, in Pinnacle Computer Servs., Inc. v. Ameritech Publ'g, Inc., 642 N.E.2d 1011, 1019 (Ind.Ct.App.1994), when a business owner brought suit against Ameritech's Yellow Pages for reasons similar to that in Pigman, [1] the Court of Appeals (acknowledging the decision reached in Pigman ) decided to follow the majority of other jurisdictions and held that the exculpatory clause in Ameritech's Yellow Pages order is valid and enforceable. [2]