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Keywords

lawsuitdamagestrialverdictfiduciarytrustwill

plaintiffdamagestrialverdictfiduciary

Related Cases

Jackson v. Morse, 152 N.H. 48, 871 A.2d 47

Facts

The Jacksons, long-time friends of Morse, entrusted him with their investment account after he promised to cover any shortfall below $62,000 by a specific date. By the deadline, the account value had dropped to approximately $8,000, and Morse did not fulfill his promise, leading to the lawsuit. The Jacksons claimed promissory estoppel, negligent misrepresentation, and breach of fiduciary duties, but only the promissory estoppel claim went to trial, resulting in a jury verdict of $29,064.64 for the Jacksons.

The plaintiffs commenced this action in April 2003, asserting causes of action for promissory estoppel, negligent misrepresentation and breach of fiduciary duties.

Issue

Did the trial court err in instructing the jury on the measure of damages applicable to the Jacksons' promissory estoppel claim?

Rule

In a promissory estoppel claim, the appropriate measure of damages is typically the expectation interest, but the court may choose a different measure if it is more equitable under the circumstances.

In a promissory estoppel claim, relief may sometimes be limited to damages measured by the extent of the plaintiffs' reliance, rather than by the terms of the promise.

Analysis

The court found that the trial court had incorrectly allowed the jury to determine the measure of damages, which led to confusion and a verdict that did not reflect either reliance or expectation damages. The court emphasized that the measure of damages should be a legal determination made by the court, not the jury, and that the expectation damages were the presumptive measure in this case.

The trial court erroneously allowed the jury to make the legal determination of choosing a measure of damages.

Conclusion

The Supreme Court affirmed the jury's verdict in part but vacated the damages award and remanded for a new trial on damages, instructing the trial court to apply the expectation measure of damages unless a different measure was deemed more equitable.

Affirmed in part, vacated in part, and remanded.

Who won?

The Jacksons prevailed in the case as they received a jury verdict in their favor, but the Supreme Court's decision to vacate the damages award means they will need to retry that aspect.

The jury returned a verdict for the Jacksons in the amount of $29,064.64.

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