Opinion ID: 683215
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Directed Verdict on Damages

Text: 38 The damages award for Valley National's share of the extraordinary expenses was $3.8 million for litigation expenses and settlements, including prejudgment interest. Although it allowed testimony at trial on damages, the court took the issue away from the jury and directed a verdict. Valley National argues that the amount should have gone to the jury. We reject the argument, because there was no substantial evidence which, viewing the evidence as a whole, could have supported a different verdict. Orion Pictures Distrib. Corp. v. Syufy Enters., 829 F.2d 946, 948 (9th Cir.1987). 39 Bank of the West's damages witness presented the $10.8 million account total for extraordinary expenses. On cross examination he conceded that his account had some errors. (Ex 224-32, Supp.Ex 186). After reexamining the amount, he subtracted $214,000--roughly 2% of the total. (Compare Supp.Ex 378 with Supp.Ex 420). Valley National suggests that the errors impugned the witness' credibility to such an extent that the jury should have been given the damages issue. But the evidence included no suggestion of dishonesty or systematic error--just minor errors more or less inevitable in so large and complex an accounting. The jury could have no basis, on the evidence before them, for substituting a different number. Nor, on the evidence they had, could they have concluded that the number before them had no substantial basis. There was nothing a rational jury could do, on the evidence this one had, except return a verdict for the number as corrected. 40 Bank of the West spent a million dollars litigating a claim against Technical Equities' underwriter, and then dropped it without receiving a penny. Valley National argues that it should not have to split this as an extraordinary expense, because pursuing the litigation and then dropping it was not reasonable. But there was no evidence of unreasonableness. After vigorously pursuing the claim, Bank of the West's lawyers advised dropping the case. They thought the case was problematic. They feared that the attack on the underwriter would tend to weaken the defense against the Technical Equities investors. The underwriter would not pay anything in settlement. Bank of the West's lawyers thought that at best, the bank would be spending a dollar of attorneys' fees for every dollar of expected recovery. (Ex 382). There was no evidence that any of this analysis was wrong, or that Bank of the West had overspent on attorneys. There is nothing inherently unreasonable about dropping a case because it appears to be a loser. Reason does not command throwing good money after bad. There was no reason to submit this question to the jury. 41