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Whaley v. Perkins7/21/2005
sible error when it denied Perkins' motions for directed verdict and affirmed the jury verdict that found Perkins liable for intentional misrepresentation, when there was no material evidence to support that verdict.
2. Whether the trial court committed reversible error when it denied Perkins' motion for judgment N.O.V. on the issue of negligence per se for alleged violations of statutes and ordinances prohibiting transfers of tracts of property less than four acres without subdivision approval, when there was no material evidence to support that verdict.
3. Whether the trial court commit reversible error by permitting Plaintiffs to assert claims for emotional distress that should have been barred by the one-year statute of limitations set forth in T.C.A. ยง 28-3-104(a)(1).
4. Whether the trial court committed reversible error when its instructions to the jury on the issues of emotional distress and measure of damages were incorrect and confusing.
5. Whether the trial court committed reversible error when it permitted the jury to allow passion associated with the plaintiffs' claims of emotional distress to affect its verdict.
6. Whether the trial court committed reversible error when it affirmed a jury verdict that was excessive, inconsistent, and irreconcilable.
IV. STANDARD OF REVIEW
Where, as here, a trial judge has approved a jury's verdict, our standard of review is whether there is any material evidence to support the jury's verdict. Tenn. R.App. P. 13(d). Absent a reversible error of law, we will set aside a judgment on a jury verdict only where the record contains no material evidence to support the verdict. Foster v. Blue, 749 S.W.2d 736- 741 (Tenn.1988).
V. ANALYSIS
1. Did the trial court commit reversible error when it denied Perkins' motions for directed verdict and affirmed the jury verdict that found Perkins liable for intentional misrepresentation, when there was no material evidence to support that verdict?
Appellants contend that there was no material evidence supporting the jury's verdict that Ms. Perkins committed intentional misrepresentation, and that, therefore, the trial court erred in failing to grant the motion for directed verdict on this issue. Appellants assert that the Whaleys have not alleged that Ms. Perkins made any representations to them, either orally or in writing, during the negotiation for, and purchase of, the property in question. The Whaleys assert that "there is material evidence that Perkins and Beshires all acted in concert in committing the intentional misrepresentation at issue here." This concerted action, the Whaleys contend, is evidenced by the fact that Ms. Perkins gave Ms. Beshires permission to sign various permit applications in Ms. Perkins' name. At trial Ms. Perkins did not deny that she permitted Ms. Beshires to sign her name, but she denied that this indicated any concerted attempt to make a misrepresentation to the Whaleys. Rather, Ms. Perkins and the Beshires testified that since Ms. Perkins had not yet transferred the initial two acres to the Beshires at the time that they were seeking the driveway, septic, and building permits, it was necessary for them to sign her name since she was still the owner of the property.
In Tennessee, an action for fraudulent misrepresentation contains four elements:
(1) an intentional misrepresentation of material fact, (2) knowledge of the representation's falsity, and (3) an injury caused by reasonable reliance on the representation. The fourth element requires that the misrepresentation involve a past or existing fact or, in the case of promissory fraud, that it
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