Court Opinion

ID: 9571078
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 20:28:56.588636+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:27:32.877869
License: Public Domain

Justice Stephenson,
with whom Chief Justice Carrico and Justice Thomas join, dissenting.
I respectfully dissent.
I concur with the majority’s conclusion in Part I of its opinion. I agree, therefore, that the trial court erred in supporting its order to set aside the verdict on the fraud claim with its prior ruling that the Murrays acted illegally.
I do not agree, however, with the majority’s conclusion that the jury’s damage award is unsupported by the evidence. Without objection, the trial court instructed the jury that if it found its verdict in favor of the Murrays, they were entitled to recover as damages “all of the loss they sustained including gains prevented which [were] a direct and natural result of the fraud.” (Emphasis added.) This instruction, therefore, became the law of the case.
*734The Murrays testified that, but for their reliance upon Hadid’s representations, they would have purchased the property. By its verdict, the jury found this to be so. Indeed, as the trial court correctly noted, “[t]he jury has answered ... for the [Murrays] insofar as their claim that they would have purchased the property. And that would stand.” Moreover, it is undisputed that Hadid was paid $984,000 to “flip” the contract six months after he had accepted it, and that Hadid’s assignee later sold a portion of the property for $6,700,000.
By its verdict, the jury reasonably inferred that, had the Murrays purchased the property, they likewise could have profited. Thus, these were “gains prevented” that proximately resulted from Hadid’s fraud. The Murrays’ losses, therefore, were real and certain — not speculative. Accordingly, I would hold that the evidence supports the jury’s award of compensatory damages.
I also would hold that the evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the Murrays, supports the jury’s award of punitive damages. Indeed, there is ample evidence, both direct and circumstantial, that Hadid acted with actual malice toward the Murrays or acted under circumstances amounting to a willful and wanton disregard of the Murrays’ rights. See Jordan v. Sauve and Koons, 219 Va. 448, 247 S.E.2d 739 (1978).
Therefore, I would reinstate the jury verdict, allowing both compensatory and punitive damages.