(Download) "Sears v. Summit" by Supreme Court of Wyoming " eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Sears v. Summit
- Author : Supreme Court of Wyoming
- Release Date : January 27, 1980
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 58 KB
Description
The questions presented by this appeal concern the respective rights of a landowner and a construction company who were both found to have committed acts of trespass against the other. Summit brought suit against Bill and Jean Sears seeking actual and exemplary damages for the unlawful detention of its heavy road-construction equipment and vehicles. By answer and counterclaim, Bill and Jean Sears demanded actual and exemplary damages for Summits trespass upon their property. Following a jury trial, the district judge entered judgment against defendant Bill Sears in the amount of $2,941.86 actual damages and $4,000.00 punitive damages and against plaintiff Summit in the amount of $985.00 actual damages. Before submitting the case to the jury, the district court judge held, among other things, that there was no evidence that would sustain punitive damages in favor of defendants and, therefore, he did not submit this question to the jury. Because we feel that there was sufficient evidence to sustain an award of punitive damages against Summit, we find that the trial court erred in failing to submit the question to the jury. We also find that the district court judge erred in instructing the - Page 767 jury to consider the wealth of the defendant when assessing punitive damages against him because there was no evidence of the defendants wealth presented at trial.