William H. Porter, Inc. v. Edwards

616 A.2d 838, 1992 WL 276251, 1992 Del. LEXIS 340
CourtSupreme Court of Delaware
DecidedSeptember 28, 1992
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 616 A.2d 838 (William H. Porter, Inc. v. Edwards) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Delaware primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
William H. Porter, Inc. v. Edwards, 616 A.2d 838, 1992 WL 276251, 1992 Del. LEXIS 340 (Del. 1992).

Opinion

HORSEY, Justice:

Defendant appeals the Superior Court’s denial of defendant’s motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict, Super.Ct.Civ.R. 50(b), asserting two grounds for reversible error. First, defendant contends that Superior Court committed legal error in construing the Delaware Deceptive [839]*839Trade Practices Act, 6 Del.C., ch. 25 (hereafter “DTPA”), as conferring upon a consumer a private cause of action or standing to sue under the DTPA. Second, defendant contends that Superior Court erred as a matter of law in finding plaintiffs evidence to state a claim for relief under the Delaware Consumer Fraud Act, 6 Del.C., ch. 25 (hereafter “DCFA”). For the reasons which follow, we find both of defendant’s claims on appeal to be procedurally barred.

In July 1987, plaintiff-appellee Richard A. Edwards (“Edwards”) entered into a non-maintenance lease agreement for a new motor vehicle with defendant-appellant William H. Porter, Inc. (“Porter”). Within two months, disputes arose between the parties over the operation, maintenance and servicing of the vehicle; and by December 1987, Edwards had stopped payment on the lease. In test-driving the vehicle before entering into the agreement, Edwards had noticed a slight thumping in the rear but was told that it would work itself out after the car had been driven awhile.

Edwards sued Porter in Superior Court, asserting multiple claims: breach of contract, common law fraud, deceptive trade practices and consumer fraud. Porter counterclaimed, charging Edwards with breach of contract.

At the close of Edwards’ case, Porter moved for a directed verdict, contending that no claim for relief lay under either the DTPA or under the DCFA. Alternatively, Porter argued that if such claims did lie, plaintiff Edwards had failed to establish the prima facie elements of either claim. Superior Court denied Porter’s motion in a bench ruling, finding Edwards to have stated statutory claims against Porter for both consumer fraud and deceptive trade practices and that plaintiff Edwards had made out a prima facie case against Porter under both statutes.

At the close of all the evidence, Porter failed to renew his motion for a directed verdict, and the jury returned a verdict on special interrogatories. The jury found that defendant Porter had committed common law fraud as well as consumer fraud, in violation of 6 Del.C. § 2513, and had engaged in deceptive trade practices, in violation of 6 Del.C. § 2532. However, the jury found against both Edwards and Porter on their respective breach of contract claims. The jury then awarded Edwards compensatory damages of $5,700, as well as punitive damages of $2,300.

After plaintiff Edwards filed a motion for treble damages, prejudgment interest, costs and attorney’s fees under the DTPA, defendant Porter filed a motion for judgment n.o.v. under Rule 50(b) on both fraud claims, common law and consumer fraud, and to set aside the damage award under the DTPA. Edwards opposed the motions on procedural grounds and on their merits.

In an unreported letter opinion dated July 26, 1991, Superior Court, addressing Porter’s motion for judgment n.o.v. on its merits, denied the motion and granted plaintiff Edwards’ motion for treble damages, prejudgment interest, costs and attorney’s fees. The court ruled that Edwards had standing to maintain a private cause of action under the DTPA, entitling him to a treble damage award. The court also found that, while Edwards had no actionable claim under the DCFA for Porter’s alleged breach of its lease agreement, Edwards did have a statutory claim for consumer fraud through Porter’s sale of its servicing of its leased vehicles. Finally, the court found the evidence to support the jury’s finding of defendant’s commission of common law fraud. As stated, we do not reach the merits of either claim of reversible error.

Defendant Porter lacks standing to assert a claim of error of law by Superior Court in its construction and application of the DTPA for Porter’s failure to comply with Rule 50(b). By failing to renew its motion for a directed verdict at the close of all the evidence, defendant Porter lacked standing to move for judgment n.o.v., and the motion should have been dismissed as procedurally barred. Rule 50(b) provides, in pertinent part:

(b) Motion for Judgment Notwithstanding the Verdict. Whenever a mo[840]*840tion for a directed verdict made at the close of all the evidence is denied or for any reason is not granted, the Court is deemed to have submitted the action to the jury subject to a later determination of the legal questions raised by the motion. Not later than 10 days after entry of judgment, a party who has moved for a directed verdict, may move to have the verdict and any judgment entered thereon set aside and to have judgment entered in accordance with the party’s motion for a directed verdict....

The law is well settled that a motion for a directed verdict, filed in compliance with Rule 50(b), “is a prerequisite to a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict....” Peters v. Gelb, Del.Supr., 314 A.2d 901, 904 (1974); Episcopo v. Minch, Del.Supr., 203 A.2d 273, 276 (1964); 5A James W. Moore et al., Moore’s Federal Practice ¶ 50.08 (2d ed. 1992); Am.Jur.2d Judgments § 142 (1969). Therefore, defendant Porter’s motion for judgment n.o.v. was not properly before Superior Court, and defendant Porter lacks standing to raise on appeal the correctness of the trial court’s construction and application of the DTPA.

This Court also declines, on grounds of mootness or, at best, harmless error, to address defendant Porter’s remaining claim that Superior Court committed legal error in finding an actionable claim for relief to lie against Porter under the DCFA. We so rule because Porter has not appealed the adverse finding and judgment of common law fraud, the measure of damages of which Porter concedes to be the same as for consumer fraud. See Stephenson v. Capano Dev., Inc., Del.Supr., 462 A.2d 1069, 1074, 1076 (1983); accord Pack & Process, Inc. v. Celotex Corp., Del.Super., 503 A.2d 646, 658 (1985).

* * *

Affirmed.

ON MOTION FOR REARGUMENT

Appellant, defendant-below Porter, has moved for reargument of this Court’s order of September 28, 1992, in which we affirmed the decision of the Superior Court. In this petition Porter contends that a motion for a directed verdict by a defendant made at the close of the plaintiff’s case need not be renewed, as a matter of law, at the close of all the evidence to entitle defendant to move for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict pursuant to Superior Court Civil Rule 50(b). To require a defendant to renew the motion for directed verdict before moving for judgment n.o.v. would, in appellant’s opinion, “constitute[ ] a triumph of form over substance.” Thus, by implication, Porter asserts that it was erroneous for this Court to refuse to consider the merits of its claim under the Delaware Deceptive Trade Practices Act, 6 Del.C., ch. 25, on the ground that Porter’s motion for judgment n.o.v.

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Bluebook (online)
616 A.2d 838, 1992 WL 276251, 1992 Del. LEXIS 340, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/william-h-porter-inc-v-edwards-del-1992.