Fontana Products Inc. v. Spartech Plastics Corp.

MEMORANDUM *

Appellee, Fontana Products, Inc., hired Appellant, Spartech Corporation, to make plastic sheets to be used as part of Fontana’s “Safety-Rail” system, which is designed for the inside of horse racing tracks to prevent injuries to horses and jockeys. Fontana specified the sheets were to be made out of Santoprene, but eventually discovered the sheets were being made out of a different, cheaper plastic known as CM-1182. Fontana alleged that Spartech defrauded it by misrepresenting it was receiving Santoprene sheets — and making it pay for Santoprene — when, in reality, Spartech had secretly switched to CM-1182 to increase its profits.

Fontana sued Spartech for breach of contract and fraud. The district court denied Spartech’s motions for judgment as a matter of law and for a new trial following a jury verdict in Fontana’s favor on both causes of action. Spartech now appeals those denials, as well as the district court’s award of attorney’s fees to Fontana’s counsel. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We review a denial of a motion for judgment as a matter of law de novo. Saman v. Robbins, 173 F.3d 1150, 1155 (9th Cir.1999). We review a district court’s ruling…