Vance Pearson, Inc. v. Alexander

Defendant, Robert D. Alexander, appeals a judgment of the circuit court of Vermilion County entered after a bench trial awarding plaintiff, Vance Pearson, Inc., compensatory damages in the sum of $6,665.56 for breach of contract and punitive damages in an additional sum of $10,000 for fraud and deceit in the inducement for plaintiff's making the contract. We reverse the judgment for compensatory damages and remand the case to the trial court for a new trial only as to the question of the amount of the compensatory damages. We affirm the judgment for punitive damages. The suit arose from a contract reduced to a written memorandum signed by the parties on August 2, 1977. By its terms defendant agreed to install a set of truck scales on a farm owned by plaintiff and located north of Ridgefarm in Vermilion County. The document stated that the work would be completed by September 15, 1977, but it was not completed until many months later. The original complaint was filed October 11, 1978. The case was tried at bench upon an amended complaint charging the breach of the contract in count I and the fraud and deceit in count II.