Caledonia v. William Trainor

The defendant appeals from a decision of the Superior Court (Souter, J.) approving the recommendation of a Master (Griffith, J., Ret.) that a verdict be entered against the defendant for fraud in connection with the sale of certain construction equipment. He raises a series of issues regarding the admissibility of a deposition and the lack of proper authentication of documents, as well as the issue of whether there was sufficient evidence to support the master's finding of fraud. We affirm. In February 1977, the plaintiff, Caledonia, Inc., a Vermont corporation engaged in road construction, decided to sell some of its equipment because of a slump in the road-building business. Richard Graham, the treasurer of the plaintiff corporation, was introduced to William Wood, an equipment dealer from Beverly, Massachusetts. In March 1977, Wood agreed to purchase two used bulldozers and a traxcavator, which is a bulldozer with a bucket instead of a blade, for $110,000. At the same time, Wood learned that the plaintiff also had some used rock-crushing equipment for sale. Wood made a deposit of $5,000 by check toward the purchase of the two bulldozers and the traxcavator. Wood asked the defendant, William Trainor, a business associate, to provide the balance of $105,000 to purchase the three pieces of construction equipment. Wood also told the defendant at this time that the rock-crushing equipment was for sale, and the defendant indicated he could probably find a buyer.