Opinion ID: 772567
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Sand and Gravel

Text: 172 The Bernas defendants also argue that the plaintiffs did not adduce any evidence from which the jury could find that the Bernas defendants extorted gravel and sand. The Bernas defendants argue that the gravamen of extortion is consent induced by the wrongful use of threats. They argue that, based on DeFalco's own testimony, the jury found that the Bernas defendants did not extort the contract to build the development's roads. The Bernas defendants assert that the same agreement under which they built the roads also permitted Bernas to mine the JOBO site to extract gravel necessary to build the roads at [Top of the World], as well as to sell to third parties, splitting any profits with plaintiffs 50-50. Brief of Defendants-Appellants John Bernas, John Bernas, Inc. and JML Quarries, Inc. at 19. They argue that this compels the conclusion that the removal and sale of sand and gravel was not the product of extortion, but of a wholly voluntary agreement. 173 The defendants further argue that the plaintiffs instructed Bernas to close down the JOBO operation effective December 15, 1989, and when DeFalco returned from Florida in March 1990 and found Bernas working at JOBO, DeFalco immediately ordered Bernas out and erected physical barriers to prevent entry. Accordingly, the defendants argue, any removal of materials after December 15, 1989 was without the plaintiffs' consent and, by definition, [s]uch materials were not obtained by extortion, the essence of which is consent induced by wrongful use of threats or fear. Brief of Defendants-Appellants John Bernas, John Bernas, Inc. and JML Quarries, Inc. at 20. 174 The plaintiffs concede that, pursuant to the negotiations between Bernas and DeFalco, the parties contemplated that Bernas would mine the JOBO gravel pit to obtain material for the roads in plaintiffs' development and sell the excess (and split the profit with plaintiffs). The plaintiffs argue, however, that it was not until after the plaintiffs discovered that Bernas was using the gravel for neither purpose and there was no splitting of profits that they instructed Bernas to cease removing any additional gravel. When Bernas refused to do so, the defendants threatened adverse political action from members of the enterprise if plaintiffs tried to force him to stop, thereby committing extortion. The plaintiffs argue that the evidence before the jury was therefore sufficient to conclude that Bernas used the political power of the enterprise to extort sand and gravel from the plaintiffs. We agree. 175 The essence of Bernas' argument is that he was contractually entitled to mine the sand and gravel and, if the plaintiffs were not satisfied with the work done or the profit sharing, their claim was for breach of contract. Bernas' argument, however, presupposes that the Bernas defendants indeed had a contractual right to the sand and gravel. The jury, however, made no such finding. 176 Although the jury found that the Bernas defendants did not extort a construction contract to build the development's roads, that is not tantamount to a finding that a construction contract existed and that the Bernas defendants therefore had a contractual right to the sand and gravel. The Bernas defendants' effort to infer a contractual right from the jury's negative finding on the first predicate act is unavailing. The jury could reasonably have concluded that there was no extortion of any construction contract because there was no contract. Indeed, Bernas concedes that there was no formal, written contract. See Brief of Defendants-Appellants John Bernas, John Bernas, Inc. and JML Quarries, Inc. at 19 (the removal and sale of sand and gravel was not the product of extortion but of a wholly voluntary agreement in principle, which the parties proceeded to carry out without benefit (unwisely) of ever executing a definitive written contract.). 177 Even assuming there was a contract, however, a reasonable jury could have found that Bernas had breached the agreement at the time DeFalco ordered him to stop removing sand and gravel, and DeFalco was within his contractual rights to order the stoppage. The jury could reasonably have concluded that the only reason DeFalco allowed any further access to the gravel was because of extortionate threats by Bernas. 178 In any event, there was ample evidence from which the jury could reasonably conclude that the Bernas defendants extorted sand and gravel from the JOBO pit. During the course of Bernas' work on the roads, the Town of Delaware removed gravel from the plaintiffs' gravel pit free-of-charge. (T2:162-63). When DeFalco raised the issue of Bernas giving away free sand and gravel, DeFalco suddenly faced problems with plowing and maintenance of the development roads by the Town as well as threats that the Phase I roads either would not be accepted for dedication by the Town or that the dedication process would be delayed. (T2:165-66); compare (E:287) with (E:288). DeFalco also wanted Bernas to give him a detailed breakdown of what materials had been removed, sold or given away from the gravel pit. Whenever DeFalco broached the topic with Bernas, however, Bernas threatened to get the Town either to stop the project or to refuse dedication of the development's roads. In short, the evidence was sufficient for a reasonable jury to conclude that the Bernas defendants extorted from the plaintiffs sand and gravel from the JOBO pit.