Postelle v. McWhite

DAVIS, Judge. Philip N. Postelle appeals from a judgment of the Circuit Court for Montgomery County entered on July 28, 1996, following a jury verdict for compensatory and punitive damages for wrongful eviction and conversion. On May 24, 1995, appellee Peter McWhite brought an action against appellant and AMCI Corporation. As to Count I of the suit, a claim against AMCI only, the court stayed the claim when AMCI declared bankruptcy.

Appellee’s claim also raises Counts II and III against appellant Postelle for his alleged wrongful eviction and conversion of appellee’s property. At the conclusion of the trial, appellant stipulated liability with respect to both the counts of wrongful eviction and conversion, and the court directed a verdict as to liability in favor of appellee. Appellant also stipulated to compensatory damages in the amount of $1,807.50 for attorney’s fees incurred by appellee in obtaining an injunction. The jury returned a verdict for compensatory and punitive damages totaling $19,972.20, including the stipulated attorney’s fees.

Appellant filed a motion for a new trial, and the court denied the motion on August 19,1996. On August 21,1996, appellant noted a timely appeal, and presents the following issues for our review which we restate below: I. Whether the trial court erred when it denied appellant’s motion to dismiss based on appellee’s failure to establish monetary losses.

II

Whether there was sufficient evidence of actual malice to support an award of punitive damages. ⁷²⁴ FACTS Appellee is a self-employed consultant. Appellant is the president and sole stockholder of Automation Management Consultants Incorporated (AMCI). The parties have known each other for about twenty years. In June 1990, AMCI leased one of its offices to appellee for $250 a month plus the costs of an additional telephone line.

On August 15, 1990, the parties entered into an Agreement For Consulting Services under which appellee was to be paid $82.50 an hour for his work on a contract AMCI secured with the federal government. Difficulties between appellee and AMCI developed when AMCI failed to provide appellee with timely payments for his work. In July 1994, AMCI owed appellee $22,275 for consulting services. Appellee asked appellant when payment could be expected and appellant told appellee that he would be paid when AMCI received payment from the government.

Appel-lee discovered that the government had in fact paid appellant, and when the parties met again, appellee confronted appellant with this information. The meeting, however, did not result in payment by appellant, and therefore, appellee’s lawyer composed a letter to appellant which appellee hand delivered on July 12,1994. The letter put appellant on notice that a lawsuit would be filed if the money that was due and owing was not paid. Subsequent to the delivery of the letter, the parties met.

Appellee described appellant as “agitated.” Appellant told appellee that “the lawsuit was a waste of time, that he knew how to jerk around the chains of lawyers, and that it was going to cause [appellee] more in legal fees than [he] could ever expect to get from the lawsuit, and [appellant] had been through this before.” On July 27, 1994, appellee filed^a suit against AMCI to recover the $22,275 that AMCI owed him. The next day, July 28, 1994, Vincent Moralia served appellant, as resident agent for AMCI, with an original lawsuit for breach of contract. Moralia described the circumstances that led to service as ⁷²⁵ “like in the movies.” Moralia went to AMCI’s offices and located appellant. When appellant saw Moralia walking towards him with papers, he ran around a table, pulling chairs behind him, and ran out the door.

Moralia chased appellant, who headed for the stairwell and ran down three or four flights of stairs, followed by Moralia. Appellant then went back up the stairs to the sixth floor where he was confronted by Moralia, who served him with the summons and complaint. Appellant went into his office with the papers, slammed the door, and three seconds later, appellant opened his office door and threw the papers out of his office. At the time appellant was being served, appellee was in his office.

When appellee heard appellant slam his door, he came into the hallway and encountered appellant. Appellant told appellee to leave the office and that he was no longer welcome. Appellee left the office for approximately an hour, and when he returned, he discovered that a lock had been placed on his office door. On July 28,1994, appellee’s attorney faxed appellant a letter advising appellant that he would be liable for locking appellee out of his office in retaliation for the complaint that he filed against AMCI for money that it owed to appellee.

Appellee’s attorney explained that appellee will suffer serious financial consequences and irreparable harm if he continues to be denied access to his office which contains his business materials and computer. The letter also informed appellant that, due to his conduct, appellee was unable to work on a contract for which he was being paid $640 per day. Finally, the letter stated that if appellant did not allow appellee access to his office, appellee would seek injunctive relief on July 29, 1994. Appellant testified that he never received this letter.

Subsequently, appellant arranged a meeting with appellee, but no agreement was reached and appellant did not allow appellee to return to his office. At the meeting, appellee reiterated to appellant that he was supposed to be working on another contract at a rate of $660 a day, but he was unable to ⁷²⁶ work because the materials he needed were locked in his office. On July 29, 1994, appellee’s attorney sent appellant a letter notifying him that appellee would be seeking ex parte injunc-tive relief from the court on August 1, 1994 for locking appellee out of his office on July 28, 1994. On August 1, 1994, the Circuit Court for Montgomery County issued an ex parte injunction enjoining AMCI and its agents from interfering with appellee’s access to his office.

Appellee gained access to his office on August 2, 1994. On August 4, 1994, appellee moved his equipment to a new office, and alleged that it took him approximately ten working days to set up the new office. Appellee testified that he ceased working on the contract with AMCI before he was locked out of his office, and as of July 28, 1994, he was working with Human Resources Research Incorporated. Appellee claims to have lost twelve to fourteen days of work at a rate of $640-$660 per day as a result of being locked out of his office.

Appellee also testified that he suffered damages because he was unable to do marketing, and he incurred additional expenses when he had to relocate his office. At trial, the parties stipulated to damages in the amount of $1,807.50 for legal fees incurred in obtaining the injunction. Appellee was paid $22,275 for his work, which was the subject of the first suit, after obtaining a default judgment against AMCI and attaching one of the corporate bank accounts to satisfy the judgment. This appeal arises from the second suit filed against AMCI and appellant.

As we noted, the count in the second suit relating to AMCI was stayed when AMCI filed for bankruptcy. As for the counts relating to appellant, the court entered a directed verdict against appellant as to liability for wrongful eviction and conversion pursuant to appellant’s stipulation, and the jury returned a verdict for compensatory and punitive damages in the amount of $19,972.20. ⁷²⁷ DISCUSSION Appellant argues that the trial court erred when it denied his motion to dismiss appellee’s claim because the evidence was insufficient to support a jury’s finding of compensatory damages. In addition, appellant contends that appellee failed to establish actual malice, and therefore, the court should not have submitted the issue of punitive damages to the jury. Viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to appellee, we conclude that the trial court properly submitted the issues of compensatory and punitive damages to the jury.

I Appellant stipulated liability with regard to wrongful eviction and conversion, and the court entered a directed verdict on liability. At the conclusion of plaintiffs case and at the conclusion of trial, appellant moved the court to dismiss the claim with respect to compensatory damages because, he argued, the evidence was insufficient to establish damages. 1 The trial court, viewing the evidence and all reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to appellee, denied both of ⁷²⁸ appellant’s motions, and at the conclusion of the case, submitted the issue of damages to the jury. See Schreiber v. Cherry Hill Const. Co., 105 Md.App. 462, 493 , 660 A.2d 970 , cert. denied, Cherry Hill Constr. v. Schreiber, 340 Md. 500 , 667 A.2d 341 (1995) and Metromedia Co. v. WCBM Maryland Inc., 327 Md. 514, 518 , 610 A.2d 791 (1992); see also Md. Rule 2-519(b) (1997).

The jury returned a verdict for compensatory damages with respect to the count for wrongful eviction, in the amount of $391.65 for moving costs and $3,520 for lost income opportunity. As for the conversion count, the jury returned a verdict for compensatory damages for lost income opportunity in the amount of $3,520 and $1,650.70 for loss of use. We conclude that the evidence was sufficient to support an award of compensatory damages, and the trial court properly submitted the issue to the jury. Appellant contends that appellee has not established compensatory damages other than those stipulated to, and he asserts that appellee suffered no other monetary loss.

Appellant highlights the fact that appellee was paid in full for the one contract he was working on, at a rate of $640-$660 a day, when he was locked out of his office. In addition, the evidence that appellee suffered loss when he was denied the opportunity to do marketing, appellant asserts, is too speculative for the jury because it is not measurable. Finally, appellant argues that the moving expenses appellee incurred should not have been submitted to the jury because these costs would have been incurred no matter when appellee’s tenancy ended. In an action for conversion of personal property, a plaintiff is entitled to “the fair market value of the property at the time of conversion, with legal interest thereon to the date of the verdict.” Keys v. Chrysler Credit Corp., 303 Md. 397, 415 , 494 A.2d 200 (1985).

When, however, the value of the property detained is the same upon its return, as in the case sub judice, damages are measured by the loss of use of the property. Id. at 416 , 494 A.2d 200 . In Keys , the Court of Appeals held that the trial court erred when it granted ⁷²⁹ appellees’ motion for judgment on the count of conversion. The Court explained that [although Appellant offered no evidence of the damage she suffered from the loss of use of these wages, the jury could have found at least the loss of interest thereon, and Appellant would have been entitled to a jury instruction informing the jury of the legal rate of interest prevailing at the time of the wrong.

With that information, the jury properly could have calculated an award of damages. Id. Similarly, damages are recoverable in wrongful eviction cases. In Stevan v. Brown, 54 Md.App. 235, 242-3 , 458 A.2d 466 (1983) (quoting Weighley v. Muller, 51 Pa.Super. 125 (1912)), we declared that if a “tenant was evicted by the landlord or by acts equivalent to an eviction was deprived of his pecuniary interest under the lease, he was entitled to recover as damages the loss suffered by him.... ” In the instant case, we hold that the trial court did not err when it denied appellant’s motion for judgment, and it properly submitted the issue of damages to the jury.

Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to appellee, the facts indicate that appellee was prevented from using his office, business materials, and computer equipment for a period of twelve to fourteen days; at the time appellee was denied access to his office, he was working on a contract at a rate of $640-$660 a day; as a result of being locked out of his office, appellee did not meet the completion date on this contract. Appellee also experienced difficulty in communicating with his clients because his phone line was disconnected by appellant. Relying on this evidence, a jury could properly find that appellee suffered damages as a result of the conversion and wrongful eviction. Appellant argues that, because appellee was eventually able to complete his contract and was paid in full for his services, he has not suffered any pecuniary loss as a result of the twelve to fourteen day lock-out.

In addition, appellant argues that appellee would have eventually had to move and would have been caused to incur moving expenses then. ⁷³⁰ Damages, however, may be awarded for the loss of earnings, unforeseen expenses, mental suffering, and damage to reputation. See Rite Aid Corp. v. Lake Shore Investors, 298 Md. 611, 618 , 471 A.2d 735 (1984). Appellee lost twelve to fourteen working days at a rate of $640-$660 a day. Even though he was eventually able to complete his contract and receive payment, the jury could reasonably conclude that these facts do not negate the evidence that those twelve to fourteen work days were days of lost earnings and damage to his reputation.

In addition, the jury could conclude that appellee’s move was-a sudden and unforeseen expense, and thus, he was entitled to damages. Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to appellee, the trial court properly concluded that there was sufficient evidence from which a jury could reasonably find that plaintiff was entitled to compensatory damages for loss of use of his property, loss of income opportunity, and moving expenses. Furthermore, the jury’s verdict on compensatory damages is a modest sum, far less than the amount of days lost multiplied by