In this published opinion, the California Court of Appeal (Second Appellate District, Division Three) reversed a $350,000 punitive damages award because the jury’s factual findings were fundamentally inconsistent.
The plaintiff alleged that the defendant, his former employer, made intentional misrepresentations in order to lure him to to the U.S. to work. In a confusing a contradictory verdict, the jury found that the defendant did not make the alleged misrepresentations, but also found that the defendant acted with malice, oppression, or fraud (the prerequisites for punitive damages under Civil Code section 3294). The Court of Appeal concluded that those findings were fundamentally inconsistent, requiring a new trial.
