Green Wood Industrial Co. v. Forceman International Development Group, Inc.

INTRODUCTION

A jury returned special verdicts finding defendant and appellant Forceman International Development Group, Inc. (Forceman), liable for fraud and negligence for its role in a conspiracy to induce plaintiff and respondent Green Wood Industrial Company (Green Wood) to pay for shipments of scrap metal that never existed. The jury awarded Green Wood compensatory damages of $1,508,416.20 and punitive damages of $5,000. In the unpublished portion of this opinion, we affirm the judgment as to the fraud and negligence claims in favor of Green Wood and reverse the award of punitive damages. In the published portion of the opinion, we hold, inter alia, Green Wood can recover from Forceman all damages arising out of the conspiracy to commit fraud, notwithstanding the timing of Forceman’s overt acts in support of the conspiracy; the source of monies paid by Green Wood for the goods is not relevant to Green Wood’s right to recover the payments as damages; as the transaction concerned the sale of goods, even though the goods were not delivered, damages are governed by the California Uniform Commercial Code, and therefore Green Wood may recover its lost profits as damages…