Court Opinion

ID: 9682846
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 13:18:30.841199+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:17:42.593516
License: Public Domain

Tom Glaze, Justice, concurring. The dissent by Special Justice Robert L. Jones is well-reasoned and appears to agree with the majority’s assessment as to the law on when punitive damages can be imposed for conversion. Justice Jones seems to part with the court based on the idea that the appellee, Richard Keck, had failed to meet his burden of proof to show the appellant intentionally pursued a course of conduct for the purpose of causing Keck damage. In support of his position, Justice Jones relates his review of the evidence as follows: The conduct in question was the retention of possession of appellee’s automobile by the appellant. The undisputed evidence is that the appellant retained possession of the appellee’s automobile for the purpose of collecting rental which it claimed to be due from appellee for a substitute automobile. There was no evidence presented that the appellant knew that it had no right to retain possession of appellee’s automobile for that purpose. There was no evidence of any motive for the appellant to want to cause damage to the appellee. Its only motive was to collect the rental charge it believed to be due, and it may have believed it had a legal right to retain possession of appellee’s automobile until it was paid. If the evidence mentioned by Justice Jones had been undisputed, I would join in his dissent. However, as I read the record, Keck testified that he told an employee of the appellant that he “wanted it understood that he was not paying for the [‘loaner’] car” and that the employee said, “You won’t have to because it is covered under your Yugo warranty.” Keck said that he never agreed to lease a car from appellant but did sign a blank lease form for the sole purpose of declining insurance on the “loaner” car since he already had insurance that would cover it. It appears clear to me that a major conflict existed in the testimonies given by the opposing parties. Of course, if the jury believed Keck’s story, it could have concluded that he had never agreed to rent a car from the appellant. Further, the jury could have reasonably inferred or found that after Keck signed a blank lease form to waive liability insurance on the “loaner,” an employee for the appellant improperly completed the lease agreement thereby obligating Keck for rental payments he never agreed to pay. In my view, Keck’s testimony, by itself, presents a submissible fact question on the issue of punitive damages. It is not this court’s duty, on review, to weigh issues of credibility or disregard admissible evidence. Instead, this court’s obligation is to determine whether the jury verdict is supported by substantial evidence. In light of the evidence noted above, I agree with the majority in affirming the jury’s verdict for punitive damages in this cause.