Opinion ID: 454369
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Limiting the Questions Presented the Jury

Text: 9 Trend West claimed that consequential and incidental damages arose from Vaughan-Bassett's breach of contract (or express warranty) and breach of warranty (or implied warranty of merchantability)--that is, Vaughan-Bassett's sale to Trend West of allegedly defective furniture. 2 The district court instructed the jury on the breach of contract and breach of warranty issues. The court limited the scope of the jury's review, informing the jury that it should consider only those damages by Trend West on the purchase of those 263 Vaughan-Bassett pieces still in the possession of Trend West. It also removed the issue of consequential damages by telling the jury that it should arrive at a damage figure by calculating the difference at the time and place of acceptance between the value of the 263 pieces of furniture accepted and the value such furniture would have had if it had been as warranted.
10 In reviewing the portions of the record submitted by the Trend West, we find no evidence of consequential damages (lost business or goodwill). Trend West did present evidence of defective merchandise. Although two Trend West clients testified that they had experienced problems with the Vaughan-Bassett merchandise sold to them by Trend West, they did not comment on whether the problems had affected their relationship with Trend West. 11 Trend West sought to introduce exhibits purporting to give figures for the decline in sales of Vaughan-Bassett/Trend West suites over the period of time when the percentage of defective Vaughan-Bassett products substantially increased. But Vaughan-Bassett's counsel cross-examining Trend West's president about the exhibits to show their lack of admissibility, demonstrated that the exhibits were based on hearsay. The court, in excluding the exhibits, also pointed out that the figures were irrelevant because there was no basis for connecting the putative decline in sales to defective Vaughan-Bassett furniture. 3 The court also found problems with the lack of foundation for the calculations and with the relevance of the time period for which they were computed. Given the lack of evidence of consequential damages, the jury could not reasonably have awarded them.
12 The court also acted correctly in limiting consideration of damages only to those items Trend West still possessed. Trend West points to nothing in the record indicating that it had sold the other Vaughan-Bassett case goods for less than full value. There was thus no basis for finding that Trend West had suffered any loss because of defects in the Vaughan-Bassett goods it had sold.