Palmer v. Ted Stevens Honda, Inc.

Plaintiff William Palmer brought this action against Ted Stevens Honda, Inc. and others [1] to recover proceeds of $29,500 and punitive damages from the sale of his car on consignment. On October 30, 1982, he delivered his Ferrari on an oral consignment for sale to Donald Alvord, an employee of defendant. The car was not sold by a Stevens dealership, but was reconsigned to Ferrari of Los Gatos (FLG) and sold by FLG in late December 1982 or early January 1983. The proceeds were comingled with FLG's other assets when FLG filed for bankruptcy. On January 26, 1983, plaintiff made a written demand on Alvord and defendant for payment which defendant rejected, claiming the consignment had been with Alvord personally, as defendant did not authorize Alvord to accept it.

Plaintiff simultaneously pursued recovery in FLG's bankruptcy proceedings, and in July 1983 received $13,000 from FLG in partial satisfaction of his claim. After this action was filed in February 1984, plaintiff received $5,141 more from FLG's bankruptcy proceedings in July and August 1984, leaving a balance owing of $11,359.

After four days of trial in July and August 1985, the court instructed…