Rodriguez v. Vallis CA5
Plaintiff Rafael Rodriguez supplied grapes to defendant Empire Grape Company. After a dispute arose over the terms of their agreement, Rodriguez sued Empire and its owner, defendant Peterangelo Vallis, for breach of contract and fraud. A jury returned a defense verdict on breach of contract but awarded compensatory damages of $204,463.30 against Empire for fraud, and found that Empire and Vallis both acted with fraud, oppression or malice. After a bench trial, the court awarded $50,000 in punitive damages against Empire and Vallis.
Empire and Vallis now argue that the compensatory and punitive awards were unsupported by sufficient evidence, and the punitive award was based on errors of law. We disagree and affirm the judgment.
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