Carl Follo, Follo Hospitality, Inc. and Capra Real Estate, LLC v. Paul Florindo, Susan Morency, Cranberry Farm, LLC…

Summary

The Supreme Court of Vermont affirmed jury verdicts finding Paul Florindo and Susan Morency liable for common-law fraud in the sale of a bed-and-breakfast, holding that clear-and-convincing evidence — including Florindo's evasive testimony and gross discrepancies between reported and actual revenues, and Morency's signing of tax returns she never reviewed — supported findings that each made false representations about revenues and occupancy knowingly or recklessly. It affirmed the preclusion of defendants' expert witnesses for violating the discovery schedule and declined to reach unpreserved challenges to the jury instructions, the single-parcel valuation, the closing argument, and the Consumer Fraud Act verdicts, because civil plain-error review is limited to fundamental-rights or liberty-interest claims. On cross-appeal, it reversed the trial court's removal of punitive damages from the jury, holding that actual common-law fraud inherently possesses the malice required for punitive damages, and affirmed the remittitur reducing the $645,000 award to $295,000. The case was remanded for a jury determination of punitive damages, if any.