High v. Berret
High v. Berret
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
This is an action brought to recover damages for deceit in the sale by the defendant to the plaintiff of shares of stock in a mining company. There could be no recovery, without proof that the sale was effected by means of representations made to the buyer, which were known to the seller to be false. The appellant contends that the proof upon this subject was insufficient to justify the court below in submitting it to the jury, and assigns as error the refusal of the learned judge to withdraw it altogether from their consideration. We have
The remaining question is, what is the proper measure of the plaintiff’s damages. His damages should equal the loss which the deceit, which the jury have found was practiced upon him, inflicted. The loss, in the transaction before us, is the difference between the real value of the stock at the time of the sale, and the fictitious value at which the buyer was induced to purchase. The representations may have been so artfully made as to inflame the expectations of the buyer to an unreasonable extent, and excite hopes of enormous gain. His actual loss does not include the extravagant dreams which proved illusory, but the money he has parted with without receiving an equivalent therefor. The learned judge was therefore in error in the view he seems to have entertained upon this subject during the trial; and the result of the testimony improperly admitted, and of the erroneous instruction upon this subject, was a recovery, both for the' actual loss and the anticipated speculation. This, however, the learned judge has since corrected by requiring the plaintiff to remit so much of the verdict as represents the speculation, leaving it to stand for the difference between the value of the property which the stock represents and the price paid for the stock. Under the circumstances of this case we think substantial justice is reached by this action of the court below, and the judgment entered upon the verdict, as thus reduced, is now affirmed.
Reference
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- Deceit — Sale of stock — False representations. There can he no recovery for deceit in the sale of stock without proof that the sale was effected by means of representations made to the buyer, which were known to the seller to be false. Proof — Witnesses—fury. Where there is evidence sufficient to take a case to the jury, and it has been properly submitted, their decision of the question is final. The appearance and manner of a witness is part of his testimony, and the jury having the witnesses before them, are in a position to settle their credibility by tests that are much more satisfactory than can be applied by the court in reviewing the printed testimony. Deceit — Measure of dam,ayes — Speculative profits. The measure of plaintiff’s damages in an action for deceit in the sale of stock, is the loss which the deceit practiced upon him inflicted; that is, the difference between the real value of the stock at the time of the sale and the fictitious value at which he was induced to purchase. Ilis actual loss does not include the extravagant dreams which proved illusory, and which he may have been induced to entertain by reason of the representations which were made to him, but simply the money he has parted with without receiving an equivalent therefor. Error in trial — Excessive verdict — Subsequent reduction by the court. Where the trial judge, through an erroneous view of the law, improperly admitted testimony and erroneously charged the jury, with the result that there was a recovery both for actual loss and anticipated speculation; but the court subsequently corrected this error by requiring the plaintiff to remit so much of the verdict as represented the speculation, leaving it to stand for the difference; substantial justice having been reached, the court on appeal will not interfere with the verdict as reduced.