Bombardier Aerospace Corp. v. Spep Aircraft Holdings, LLC
Bombardier Aerospace Corp. v. Spep Aircraft Holdings, LLC
Opinion of the Court
Appellees SPEP Aircraft Holdings, LLC (SPEP), PE 300 Leasing, LLC (PE 300), Saracen Pure Energy Partners, LP (Saracen), Crane Capital Group, Inc. (Crane Capital), James R. Crane (Crane), Floridian Golf Resort, LLC (Floridian Golf Resort), Champion Energy Marketing LLC (Champion Energy), and Crane Worldwide Logistics, LLC (Crane Worldwide) sued appellant Bombardier Aerospace Corporation (Bombardier) for, among other things, breach of contract and fraud by nondisclosure.
*286The jury returned a verdict in appellees' favor on both claims and awarded $2,694,160 in actual damages and $5,388,320 in exemplary damages. On appeal, Bombardier argues the trial court erred by rendering judgment on appellees' fraud claim because it did not owe a duty as a matter of law, the evidence is legally insufficient to support the fraud finding, and there is no evidence it committed fraud against all eight appellees. Bombardier further challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support the award of actual damages and argues the exemplary damages award must be vacated, or alternatively, reduced. We affirm the trial court's judgment.
Background
The facts giving rise to this lawsuit are extensive and were presented during a multi-week jury trial. The record includes approximately two thousand pages of exhibits, which included contracts and aircraft maintenance logs. We initially recite some of the facts underlying the parties' dispute and provide further details below in the analysis of each issue raised on appeal.
Jim Crane and Neil Kelley were both successful businessmen with experience purchasing aircrafts. The men determined purchasing a plane together would be a wise business decision. Kelley had an excellent relationship with Flexjet and Bombardier
After some negotiations, SPEP Aircraft Holdings LLC (Kelley's company) and PE 300 Leasing, LLC (Crane's company) entered into the Purchase Agreement with Bombardier on December 23, 2010, for a new Challenger 300 (the Aircraft). The purchase price for the Aircraft totaled $19,850,000. Appellees also paid approximately $70,000 a month for Flexjet to manage the Aircraft. The management included providing maintenance, keeping logbooks, and employing pilots.
As part of the Purchase Agreement, Bombardier became the limited power of attorney for acceptance and registration of the Aircraft on behalf of appellees. This gave Bombardier the power to inspect the plane, which included reviewing aircraft documents/logbooks and making sure the Aircraft was airworthy. It also provided Bombardier with the authority to accept the Aircraft. Although Crane could have hired another company or someone else to inspect the Aircraft, he trusted Bombardier and Flexjet. Because of his trust, he never asked to inspect the logbooks prior to purchase. Further, because he thought he was buying a new aircraft, "you wouldn't think it would require an inspection."
Wayne Banker, the quality assurance programs administrator with Flexjet, inspected the Aircraft's logbooks prior to acceptance and delivery of the Aircraft. Despite the logbooks showing the left engine had been repaired for interstage turbine temperature split (ITT) and used on another aircraft before being placed on appellees' Aircraft, Banker did not disclose this information to either Crane or Kelley.
After Banker finished his inspection, Ryan Shifflet and Tom Cantabene, pilots with Flexjet, flew the Aircraft from Hartford, *287Connecticut to Houston and delivered it to Crane and Kelley. During the initial flight, Shifflet noticed the left engine had a higher ITT than the right engine on start-up and cruise. Shifflet mentioned the ITT split to the Flexjet maintenance department, and they said they knew about it and had it under control. Shifflet later learned more about the engine's history, which included previous jet fuel contamination and damage during its initial shipping in 2008. The damage required the left engine to be torn down and refurbished.
Shifflet was surprised by the information because a new aircraft should have a new engine. He admitted he would not have been concerned if the engine was part of the Flexjet fleet because he knew Flexjet often took parts and swapped them between planes. But because the Aircraft was not part of the fleet but individually owned by Crane and Kelley, he was concerned and called Jill Vierling, his supervisor.
Vierling worked for Bombardier as a corporate aircraft logistics manager, meaning she managed certain aircrafts, one of which was appellees' Aircraft. She reported Shifflet's concerns to her supervisors, including Mr. Kneble, the vice president of sales. According to Vierling, no one seemed particularly surprised by the information, and she felt someone was hiding something. Knebel first indicated he would perform due diligence and try to add a disclosure to the Purchase Agreement. However, he later told her Crane and Kelley did not need to know about the engine's history and it was not her concern. Vierling and Shifflet were warned not to talk to Crane or Kelley.
On February 1, 2012, appellees cancelled Flexjet's management services because they were not satisfied with its performance. Fred Farid, the director of maintenance for Crane Worldwide, took over the Aircraft's maintenance, reviewed the logbooks, and discovered the mechanical damage history of the left engine. This history included: (1) the left engine suffering significant damage during shipment in 2008 that required its return to Honeywell for repairs; (2) the engine then being installed on an aircraft referred to as 241; (3) an ITT split in January 2009 requiring the engine's removal; (4) after repair, the engine being reinstalled on 241 for a period of time but removed again in April 2009 for oil contamination; (5) the engine being installed on aircraft 294 in January 2010; and (6) finally, in June 2010, the left engine, which a Honeywell employee described as a "two-time loser," was installed on Crane and Kelley's Aircraft.
Appellees sued Bombardier for breach of contract, breach of express warranty, and fraud based on Bombardier's failure to disclose the engine's history. Appellees nonsuited their breach of warranty claim, but the remaining claims went to trial. A jury found in favor of appellees on both the breach of contract and fraud by nondisclosure claims. It awarded $2,694,160 in actual damages and $5,388,320 in exemplary damages. The trial court denied Bombardier's motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict and to disregard jury findings and rendered judgment on the verdict. This appeal followed.
Sufficiency of the Evidence to Support Fraud-By-Nondisclosure
In its second issue, Bombardier challenges the jury's fraud-by-nondisclosure finding because (1) as a matter of law, *288Bombardier did not owe a duty to disclose; (2) the evidence is legally insufficient to support the jury's finding that appellees did not have an equal opportunity to discover the truth; and (3) there is no evidence Bombardier committed fraud against all "Plaintiffs" as defined in the jury charge. We address each argument in turn.
A. Bombardier's Duty to Disclose
Fraud by nondisclosure is a subcategory of fraud. Wise v. SR Dallas, LLC ,
As a general rule, a failure to disclose information does not constitute fraud unless there is a duty to disclose the information. Bradford v. Vento ,
"Based upon the conversations off the record," the trial court found as a matter of law that a fiduciary relationship existed between appellees and Bombardier based upon the limited power of attorney (LPOA) provision in the Purchase Agreement. In addition to the LPOA, appellees present additional reasons supporting Bombardier's duty to disclose, including Bombardier's duty to disclose the whole truth and prevent conveying a false impression. Bombardier argues we are bound by the trial court's reasoning, and appellees failed to present its "false impression" argument to the trial court. We disagree with Bombardier. An appellate court reviews the trial court's legal conclusions de novo, independently evaluating them for correctness in drawing from the facts, and upholds them under any correct theory of law. Solares v. Solares ,
We begin by addressing the trial court's stated ground for concluding a duty to disclose existed-that the LPOA created the duty. The Purchase Agreement required appellees to sign and return the "Limited Powers of Attorney," in addition to other documents, prior to the closing *289date. The LPOA authorized Bombardier to act as the "true and lawful Attorney-in-Fact ... solely for the following purposes of inspecting and accepting delivery, on behalf of Principal, of [Aircraft], as described on the Aircraft Acceptance Form...." The Aircraft Acceptance Form acknowledged that "The Aircraft has been delivered to Customer duly assembled and in good working order and condition."
Bombardier does not contend that it had no fiduciary duty to appellees under the LPOA but rather claims its LPOA did not impose a broad fiduciary duty to disclose to appellees a detailed history of the engine or any other component of the Aircraft. We agree the LPOA did not impose a limitless duty, but Bombardier's duty was defined by the scope of the LPOA, which specifically referenced the Aircraft Acceptance Form. See Nat'l Plan Adm'rs, Inc. v. Nat'l Health Ins. Co. ,
Model: One Bombardier Inc. BD 100-1A10
Manufacturer's Serial Number: 20297
FAA Registration Number: N612JN
Engine Type: Two Honeywell AS907-1-1A engines
Left Engine: P-118611
Right Engine: P-118619
Bombardier claims there was no evidence the Aircraft was not "duly assembled," citing to the Fourth edition of Black's Law Dictionary. See Duly & Assemble , BLACK'S LAW DICTIONARY (4th ed. 1964) (defining "duly" as "in due or proper form or manner" and "assemble" as "collect or gather together the parts and place them in their proper relation to each other to constitute a machine"). Bombardier omitted the second part of the "duly" definition which included, among other things, "regularly; properly; suitable."
Here, the record indicates Bombardier had knowledge of the Aircraft's troubled history prior to December 23, 2010 and therefore knew the Aircraft had not been assembled in a regular or proper manner. Wayne Banker testified he understood his responsibility to inspect the engine logbooks on behalf of appellees. He inspected the logbooks a week prior to the parties signing the Purchase Agreement and informed William Mussared, the director of technical operations for Flexjet, about the *290engine's prior repairs and removals from prior aircrafts. Mussared testified that although exchanging engines from one airplane to another had occurred in the past, "the fact that the motors were on other airplanes prior to this one [was] not normal." A senior contract negotiator with Flexjet testified she had never been involved in negotiating a contract for sale of a new airplane where the engines were used or repaired. Edward Chitren, the Flexjet manager of maintenance, testified jet fuel running through an engine resulting in contamination was "a very abnormal thing to happen."
Bombardier believed the history of the Aircraft was troublesome enough that when it negotiated to purchase the Aircraft for its own fleet in June 2010, it insisted on an extended Maintenance Service Plan (MSP) program in exchange for accepting the Aircraft. Thus, evidence supported the trial court's conclusion that, as a matter of law, the LPOA and Aircraft Acceptance Form created a duty requiring Bombardier to inspect and fully disclose whether the Aircraft was "duly assembled"-meaning was it proper, right, and/or regular to install a used or repaired engine on a "new" aircraft. The testimony revealed it was not.
Moreover, apart from a fiduciary duty to disclose because Bombardier acted as appellees' attorney-in-fact, Bombardier made representations that conveyed a false impression by making a partial disclosure and, therefore, it had a duty to disclose the whole truth. Patrusky ,
Crane and Kelly testified Bombardier knew they were interested in a new aircraft. The senior contract negotiator for Bombardier admitted she understood appellees wanted to buy a new aircraft. Flexjet indicated to appellees that the Aircraft would have a November 2010 manufacture date, which was consistent with appellees' understanding of negotiating for a new aircraft. A November 8, 2010 email from Stephanie Chung, a Flexjet regional vice president, stated, in relevant part, "Flexjet will sell you the December 2010 Challenger ...," and she looked "forward to working together as we transition you into your new 2010 Challenger 300!" [Emphasis added.]
Accordingly, Bombardier represented it was selling appellees a new aircraft but only partially disclosed the truth. In reality, the left engine had been on two other aircrafts and designated as "repaired" before Bombardier installed it on appellees' Aircraft. The engine's history was not unknown because Bombardier told Mussared the engine had potential jet fuel contamination, rotor blade damage, and an ITT split when they discussed putting the engine on a Flexjet aircraft.
Shifflet testified he informed Flexjet about the ITT split after the Aircraft's initial flight, and they said they already knew about it. When he told Jill Vierling, his supervisor, she told Knebel, the vice president of sales. Knebel was furious to learn this information because he believed that per the Purchase Agreement, the engine's history should have been disclosed. Later, Vierling and Shifflet were told the engine's history "isn't your concern" and not to talk to Crane or Kelley. This further indicated Bombardier knew about the engine's troubled history but wanted to keep it a secret from appellees. This evidence is sufficient to support the trial court's determination that Bombardier, by providing partial disclosures that created a false impression, had a duty to disclose the engine's full history.
*291In reaching this conclusion, we are unpersuaded by Bombardier's repeated argument that the undisputed evidence showed the Aircraft was "great" and not a safety concern. The Aircraft's safety was not an issue at trial and despite Bombardier's repeated emphasis to the jury that nothing was wrong with the Aircraft, appellees' complainant against Bombardier was its failure to be completely honest about the Aircraft and selling them a "new" aircraft with repaired engines. Moreover, Bombardier's argument that it complied with the "Representations and Warranties" in the Purchase Agreement did not negate its obligations to deliver a "duly assembled" aircraft under the Aircraft Acceptance Form or to disclose the whole truth based on a partial disclosure.
Finally, to the extent Bombardier tries to rely on the "as is" provision in the Purchase Agreement and the economic loss rule, both arguments fail. A buyer is not bound by an agreement to purchase something "as is" when he is induced to enter the agreement because of a fraudulent representation or concealment of information by the seller. Prudential Ins. Co. of Am. v. Jefferson Assocs., Ltd. ,
Because we conclude Bombardier had a duty to disclose as a matter of law for two distinct reasons, we need not consider Bombardier's remaining arguments challenging its duty. See TEX. R. APP. P. 47.1.
B. Sufficiency of the Evidence Supporting Appellees' Opportunity to Discovery Engine History
To establish fraud as defined in the charge, appellees had to prove, among other things, that they did not have an equal opportunity to discover the truth concerning an undisclosed fact. See Bradford ,
Bombardier argues the evidence is legally insufficient to support the jury's fraud finding because the evidence conclusively establishes that before, during, and after the sale of the Aircraft, appellees had an equal opportunity to discover the engine's history because they had access to the logbooks. It supports its argument by relying on terms in the Management Agreement, which provided that "Each customer may, upon reasonable notice and at its own expense, inspect and copy the aircraft's records, logs, and other materials during Flexjet's normal business hours so long as it does not interfere with Flexjet's daily operations." Bombardier also relies on Crane's admission that he knew he had a right to inspect the logbooks prior to purchase, and he could have hired someone other than Flexjet to inspect the logbooks. Bombardier then concludes "the very evidence by which Plaintiffs uncovered Bombardier's alleged fraud was always available to them."
*292When an appellant challenges the legal sufficiency of the evidence on a matter for which it did not have the burden of proof, he must demonstrate on appeal that there is no evidence to support the adverse findings. McCullough v. Scarbrough, Medlin & Assoc., Inc. ,
As part of the Purchase Agreement, Bombardier became the limited power of attorney for acceptance and registration of the Aircraft. This gave Bombardier the power to inspect the Aircraft and authority to accept it. It also authorized Bombardier to review the logbooks and inform appellees of any irregularities, which it failed to do. Although Crane agreed he could have hired another company or someone else he trusted to conduct the inspection and inform him of any irregularities, he believed he was buying a new airplane so, "you wouldn't think it would require an inspection." He further emphasized that because he thought the Aircraft was new, he would have expected the logbooks to contain very little information.
Kelley believed that based on the Management Agreement, he did not have the right to inspect the books because that right belonged to Flexjet through the LPOA. He knew of no other way, except from Flexjet, that he could have learned about the engine's history. The first time Crane and Kelley had physical possession of the logbooks and the opportunity to see them was February 2012, when they took over management of the Aircraft from Flexjet.
More importantly, when appellees received the logbooks in 2012, the records were incomplete. Although the logbooks confirmed some of the engine's past mechanical issues, they omitted some significant information.
For example, Farid explained the logbook entries documented the date and type of maintenance service. However, if someone wanted to see a detailed record of a repair, he would have to contact the company that performed the maintenance (in this case Consolidated Turbine Support) and request the paperwork for a specific work order. Farid testified he should not have to ask for this information. Once he "received this page, it should have a book with it, with all the parts, with all the serial numbers, with all the - - everything. I don't have to ask for it. It's a requirement by the FAA to be provided." He described the record keeping for the Aircraft as "poor," "vague," and "a little sloppy."
Thomas Mitchell, Bombardier's aircraft service expert, admitted he had to look at Honeywell documents outside the logbooks *293to determine the "real" repair of the engine for the ITT split. Mitchell further testified the logbooks failed to document any jet fuel contamination.
Mussared assumed in his review of the logbooks that no oil contamination occurred because, although an entry noted the engine was disassembled and all oil wet cavities were inspected, the logbook did not note any contamination or replacement of any parts. However, other Honeywell documents indicated oil contamination occurred. Moreover, despite claiming that "Flexjet believes in full transparency," Chitren admitted seeing emails, which were outside the logbooks, in which Bombardier expressed concern about the long-term effects of possible contamination on the engine.
The logbooks also lacked complete information about the engine's preservation.
Despite the overwhelming evidence that the engine's logbooks did not include a complete record of the engine's past mechanical problems, Bombardier emphasizes it did not have to establish that every particular detail was included in the logbooks. However, Bombardier's argument overlooks the fact the jury heard more than a scintilla of evidence to support a finding that appellees did not have an equal opportunity to discover certain omitted details about the engine. Thus, we cannot agree with Bombardier that appellees always had available to them the evidence (in this case the logbooks) by which they later uncovered the fraud. The "very evidence" was incomplete, and only after appellees filed suit and received discovery from Bombardier and Honeywell did they discover the engine's history. Therefore, under a legal sufficiency review, the evidence at trial enabled reasonable and fair-minded people to reach the verdict under review. City of Keller ,
In reaching this conclusion, we are unpersuaded by Bombardier's reliance on Bradford v. Vento ,
C. Sufficiency of the Evidence to Support Jury's Fraud Finding in Favor of all Appellees
Bombardier argues there is no evidence it committed fraud against all appellees, "Plaintiffs" below, for several reasons, among those that three appellees-Saracen, Crane Capital, and Floridian Golf Resort-were never mentioned during the trial, and Champion Energy and Crane Worldwide were only briefly mentioned. The jury charge defined "Plaintiffs" as "SPEP Aircraft Holdings, LLC, PE 300 Leasing, LLC, Saracen Pure Energy Partners LP, Crane Capital Group, Inc., James R. Crane, Floridian Golf Resort, LLC, Champion Energy Marketing, LLC and Crane Worldwide Logistics, LLC." The jury found that Bombardier committed fraud against "Plaintiffs."
Bombardier concedes in its reply brief it is not complaining about charge error. Rather, its complaint lies with appellees' threshold burden to establish fraud liability as to all plaintiffs based on the sufficiency of the evidence under the charge as submitted, which Bombardier asserts appellees failed to do. See Joseph Hosp. ,
It is well-established that no recovery is allowed unless liability has been established. Mitchell v. Bank of Am., N.A. ,
After the close of evidence and a motion for directed verdict, the following exchange occurred:
*295[Plaintiffs' Counsel]: The plaintiffs have stipulated, in the event that there is a judgment, that said judgment may be, on behalf of all the plaintiffs, may be payable 50 percent of whatever that final number is to SPEP Aircraft Holdings, LLC and 50 percent to PE 300 Leasing, LLC, or as such other agreement that the parties may come up with.
[Defense Counsel]: And that is fine with us, Your Honor.
The Court: Okay. And that's because we are only going to have a one-line answer on the damages questions?
[Defense Counsel]: That is correct.
[Plaintiffs' Counsel]: Right.
Post-trial, appellees did not include this stipulation as part of their motion for judgment and proposed order. Rather, Bombardier raised the stipulation in its objection to plaintiffs' proposed form of final judgment and argued, "at a minimum, any judgment for Plaintiffs would need to include the parties' stipulation that any judgment may be satisfied by paying 50% to SPEP Aircraft Holdings and 50% to PE 300 Leasing." Appellees then filed an amended motion for judgment including the stipulated language. The Final judgment incorporated the language.
As detailed above, because sufficient evidence supports the jury's fraud finding in favor of SPEP and PE 300, the two entities all parties stipulated would recover damages and the judgment awarded such damages, we agree with appellees that the liability finding is supported as to the two plaintiffs who received the damages award in the judgment. Because the judgment does not entitle the other plaintiffs to any damages, the facts here do not run afoul of the well-established rule that "a prerequisite to recovery of damages is the establishment of liability." Mitchell ,
Sufficiency of the Evidence to Support Actual Damages
The jury awarded appellees $2,694,160 in actual damages based on Devin Fogg's expert testimony that (1) the Aircraft sustained a diminution in value of $1,985,000, and (2) it would cost appellees $709,160 to replace the two-year warranty they allegedly lost in the transaction. In its first issue, Bombardier argues the evidence is legally insufficient to support $2,694,160 in actual damages because Fogg's expert testimony regarding diminution in value was conclusory. Bombardier further argues that, at a minimum, actual damages should be reduced by $709,160 because the evidence is legally and factually insufficient to establish that appellees lost two years' of warranty on the engine.
When an appellant challenges the legal sufficiency of the evidence on a matter for which it did not have the burden of proof, he must demonstrate on appeal that there is no evidence to support the adverse findings. McCullough ,
A. Appellees' Expert Valuation Testimony
Bombardier argues Fogg's conclusory testimony is legally insufficient to support the award of actual damages. Specifically, Bombardier contends that although Fogg claimed to use a "market comparison" approach in determining the December 2010 value of the Aircraft, his ten percent discount was a speculative opinion unsupported by any justification or explanation as to how he reached his conclusion. Appellees respond that a high-end aircraft is not subject to an exact valuation; therefore Fogg's testimony, under these circumstances, was sufficient to support the actual damages award. Appellees further argue Bombardier's valuation expert, Kenneth Dufour, agreed with Fogg's methodology.
The Texas Supreme Court has noted that "although expert opinion testimony often provides valuable evidence in a case, 'it is the basis of the witness's opinion, and not the witness's qualifications or his bare opinions alone, that can settle an issue as a matter of law; a claim will not stand or fall on the mere ipse dixit of a credentialed witness.' " Coastal Transp. Co. v. Crown Cent. Petroleum Corp. ,
Fogg is a certified aircraft appraiser, certified buyer's agent and aviation consultant, and licensed pilot. He testified that aircraft appraisers comply with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practices (USPAP). In addition to USPAP, he explained the National Aircraft Appraisers Association promulgates further standards governing aircraft appraisals. He specifically noted, "We have our own methodology in appraisals" and appraising an aircraft is not an exact science or the same as appraising a house.
Fogg described the steps he uses to appraise an aircraft. He first inspects an aircraft's records for continuity and then physically inspects an aircraft for any damage. He then reviews the logbooks and past inspections. Fogg explained the logbook is a historical document that should contain the complete history of any maintenance or modification occurring on an aircraft since it was "born." He emphasized the importance of accurately tracking engine cycles
Fogg testified the Aircraft's logbooks were not "the most pristine." Originally, there was no indication the Aircraft's engines had previous physical damage, but as *297he continued through the Aircraft's history in the logbooks, he saw things that raised questions. These "flags" included removal of the left engine multiple times, and the engine sitting in storage for a period of time. This storage was referred to as "engine preservation" and considered "one of the worst things" for an engine because of possible moisture intrusion and the tendency of oil to pool and cause internal corrosion. He also noticed the total cycles between the left and right engines were unequal. Fogg explained that if hours were not accurate in the logbooks, the subsequent maintenance may not be properly tied to the proper milestones on the engines' lifetime.
The logbooks contained "authorized release certificates" documenting work on the engine by Consolidated Turbine Support Inc., a Honeywell certified repair station. The work was classified as a "repair," indicating the engine was not new. Records showed the left engine burned more fuel, and "something serious" happened causing an ITT shift. Fogg explained the oil leak, which could cause further corrosion, "would severely affect the value." Fogg explained that the history of the left engine was concerning because the health and care of an engine is "very important to the overall airplane" and a very expensive component that represents a "very large percentage of the value."
In addition to physically inspecting the Aircraft and reviewing maintenance and logbooks, Fogg also examined the marketplace at the time of the Aircraft's purchase-"trying to place it in determining and creating an opinion of value based on how does that particular airplane fit with other aircraft in the market at that time." He looked at marketing data, general economic conditions, which were not good in 2010, and aircraft pricing guides. He also relied upon his fifteen years of experience as an appraiser and over fifty years in the aircraft industry.
He explained the importance of an engine's history to the value of an aircraft and then explained this particular engine's past problems and concluded it severely impacted the value of the Aircraft. Based on these considerations, he opined there was a ten percent diminution in value of the Aircraft based on the engine's history and the loss of a two-year warranty (which is further discussed below). His ten percent discount represented, "What I think the fair issue, to monetize it, would be if [appellees] were to have known all the instances and all the engine shortcomings that were involved, particularly with the left engine. And in my opinion, the status of the aircraft - - or the left engine not being preserved for almost a year, going forward, that's what that's representative of." He discounted the fact that the Aircraft continued to fly well, had no safety concerns, and had experienced no maintenance issues since the time of purchase because such factors were irrelevant to the value of the Aircraft at the time it was sold.
Thus, given the purchase price of $19,850,000 and the ten percent diminution in value, which equaled $1,985,000, Fogg concluded the value of the Aircraft at the time of the sale should have been $17,155,840-a number he considered "very conservative" based on the engine's history.
Despite this testimony, Bombardier emphasizes Fogg failed to provide any of the underlying data, records, or calculations (referred to as comparables) to support his ten percent conclusion, which Bombardier claims he was required to do when he relied on the market comparison approach to form his opinion. Thus, Bombardier argues Fogg's opinion is conclusory and cannot support damages.
*298Bombardier's reliance on comparables is misplaced for several reasons. First, Bombardier cites this Court to real estate cases, which have a long history of requiring comparables, but has failed to provide any case law, and we have found none, in which comparables were required to prove diminution in value for a high-end aircraft. Further, we question the likelihood of finding relevant comparables because of the uniqueness of high-end aircrafts. Here, the scenario is further complicated by then locating a "new" aircraft with a used engine suffering from similar maintenance issues.
Further, had the experts agreed the market comparison approach with the use of comparables was the only way to determine diminution in value, our conclusion might be different. However, Fogg explained aircraft appraisals also involve physically inspecting the airplane, reviewing maintenance and journey logs, determining general economic conditions, and relying on years of experience in the aircraft industry. Moreover, he testified "[w]e have our own methodology in appraisals" and did not believe a failure to follow the USPAP standards invalidated his opinion. See, e.g., Whitehouse Hotel Ltd., P'ship v. Comm'r of Internal Revenue. ,
Kenneth Dufour, Bombardier's expert, testified that although the market comparison approach was an appropriate methodology to use for aircraft, he acknowledged the USPAP was a "big umbrella" and did not contain separate guidelines for aircraft appraisals like it provided for realty or personal property. In fact, Dufour agreed (1) USPAP standards have no application to an evaluation of the diminution in value of an aircraft; (2) inspection of the aircraft and its associated records play an important part in the appraisal process; and (3) diminution essentially depends upon personal judgment. Moreover, he agreed there is no methodology for determining diminution in value. Thus, Bombardier's expert did not criticize the approach Fogg used in reaching his ten percent diminution in value; rather, Dufour simply disagreed with the percentage of diminution. Further, although Dufour testified that maintenance issues, such as an ITT split or oil contamination, would not affect the appraisal value, the jury was free to weigh this testimony against Fogg's testimony and other evidence
Therefore, under these facts, we conclude Fogg supported his opinion based on *299his years of experience and personal judgment in the industry and his detailed review of the left engine's mechanical history and logbook entries. Accordingly, he supported his conclusion with more than his credentials and a subjective opinion. See Justiss ,
B. The Engine Warranty
To support its argument that actual damages should be reduced by $709,160, Bombardier claims (1) the evidence is legally and factually insufficient to show appellees lost two years of engine warranty; (2) to the extent appellees may have lost part of the warranty, their claim lies with Honeywell; and (3) Fogg's opinion regarding the value of the warranty was conclusory and incompetent.
We begin by considering the sufficiency of the evidence to support the jury's award for a two-year loss of warranty. Here, Honeywell provided an engine warranty for "60 Months following interior completion and aircraft is put into commercial use or 3000 engine operating hours whichever occurs first."
Allen Rish, Honeywell's subpoenaed corporate representative and senior administrator for aftermarket programs, testified an engine's "entry into service date" is the date Bombardier delivers the Aircraft to the owners. Wayne Banker, a quality assurance programs administrator with Flexjet, testified an engine warranty begins from the date the Aircraft receives its certificate of airworthiness. This is true even if the engine is removed from another aircraft and put on a new plane. According to Banker, the warranty starts over from a new aircraft's certificate of airworthiness. William Mussared, the Flexjet director of technical operations, testified Honeywell's warranty on the Aircraft started when he accepted the airplane into the Flexjet fleet, which was December 2010.
Fred Farid, the director of maintenance for Crane Worldwide, took over maintenance of the Aircraft in 2012 after appellees left Flexjet. He testified after looking at Honeywell's warranty book for the engine, he believed the engine received its airworthiness certification in 2008; therefore, the warranty expired five years later in 2013. However, he admitted he never talked to anyone at Honeywell about the warranty, and if Honeywell took the position that the five-year warranty began in 2010, he had no reason to dispute it.
Yet, someone at Honeywell did dispute when the Aircraft's warranty started. Appellees introduced an email from Karen Sanders, a Honeywell representative dated December 16, 2013, that stated, "Per our discussion, engines 118611 and 619 are out of 5 year New Engine WTY as of September 2013. Engine Delivery dates were 9/17/2008." This email was sent to Jessica Merlo, a legal assistant for Crane's in-house lawyer.
After Sanders' sent the email, Rish had a conversation with her about the entry-into-service date because of "some conflicting information." Ultimately, Rish reached the conclusion the engine was still under *300warranty. He based his conclusion on two things: the date Honeywell shipped the engine and the date it went into service. He did not consider any of the engine's maintenance history or review the logbooks.
In May 2014, Sanders emailed Honeywell members seeking further information about whether Honeywell extended the engine warranty. She again stated she had advised Merlo the engines were out of "calendar WTY." She further inquired:
I did see an oil contamination issue on one and turb repair on the other.
These were on Flexjet contract and removed 2/12
I checked Geoff Harris report and he shows Nov. 2010 EIS [entry into service] date (below info).
Do you have any info on these engines or know who would at this point. Even if EIS was 2010 - we wouldn't honor WTY 2 yrs later without agreement due to obvious reasons.
Rish disagreed with Sanders' statement that Honeywell would not honor the warranty because of "obvious reasons." He claimed that regardless of whether an engine had repairs prior to delivery to Crane and Kelley, it would still be under the new engine warranty because "[n]ew engine warranty takes precedence."
Crane testified that other than Rish's statements, Honeywell provided no further evidence after Sanders' email explaining Honeywell was mistaken and the warranty was in fact still good. Crane did not consider Rish's testimony to be the "end-all, be-all" on the warranty, but rather viewed it as Honeywell changing its position after Honeywell realized "they were in a pickle." Based on Sanders' email, he believed the warranty had expired but Honeywell later decided to extend the warranty for two more years. Although Crane testified it was his understanding they now had a five-year warranty, he never saw any supporting documentation.
Kelley testified that although he trusted Honeywell's manufacturing of engines, he did not defer to its knowledge in calculating the dates of its warranty. Like Crane, he thought the warranty had been extended to December 2015, but he worried Honeywell could change its mind again and not uphold the warranty. His concern was supported by Sanders' May 2014 email in which she said, "Even if EIS was 2010 - we wouldn't honor WTY 2 yrs later without agreement due to obvious reasons," and Banker's testimony that if warranties were violated, Honeywell might not cover the engines if a problem occurred. Banker said an engine that was not properly preserved could void a warranty and the jury heard testimony that the logbooks did not contain information confirming that the engine was properly preserved. Further, the warranty expressly stated it would not apply "if the Engine has been subjected to ... [i]ngestion of foreign material," and Rish admitted oil contamination by jet fuel was "ingestion of a foreign material" under the warranty. Any conflicting evidence as to whether oil contamination occurred was within the sole province of the jury to decide. Grant , 406 S.W.3d at 363.
As the sole judge of witness credibility, the jury was free to believe one witness, disbelieve others, and resolve any inconsistencies in such testimony. Grant v. Cruz ,
In reaching this conclusion, we reject Bombardier's assertion that the evidence is insufficient because Sanders' email was inadmissible parol evidence. The parol evidence rule precludes consideration of extrinsic evidence to contradict, vary, or add to the terms of an unambiguous written agreement, absent fraud, accident, or mistake. Garner v. Fidelity Bank, N.A. ,
We disagree with Bombardier that the email impermissibly sought to vary or contradict the unambiguous terms of the warranty in violation of the parol evidence rule. Although the warranty provides the length of the engine warranty in unambiguous terms, it did not include any specific date upon which the warranty took effect. Thus, Sanders' statements regarding when the warranty started was not evidence that varied or contradicted a warranty term. As such, the parol evidence rule did not bar their admission.
In addition to challenging the sufficiency of the evidence to support the award for warranty damages, Bombardier further challenges the amount of the award. Bombardier argues Fogg's testimony is conclusory and incompetent because he did not present any evidence comparing the sales price of planes with a five-year engine warranty to the sales price of planes with a three-year engine warranty.
Bombardier is correct; however, Fogg explained the difficulty in valuing lost years on a warranty. He then testified there are supplemental warranty programs "like an extended warranty you can buy on your car, that are aftermarket." JSSI was such a provider. Fogg went to JSSI to calculate the per-hour basis of a lost warranty. By way of example, he explained that "So, if you fly 100 hours, and it is $300 an hour, you send them a check at the end of the month, and you continue your warranty type coverage." Fogg calculated "what had been the average hours used from the time the owner of the aircraft now had used the aircraft" because that was "a good guide." He then used those hours multiplied by an average engine rate from JSSI and calculated a number for two years, which was "roughly $709,000." He testified this was a "plain common sense fair way to do it." Fogg provided the basis for his opinion, which on its face supports his conclusion; therefore, his testimony is sufficient to support $709,160 in actual damages. Cf. Rogers , 518 S.W.3d at 405 ("Even when some basis is offered for an opinion, if that basis does not, on its face, support the opinion, the opinion is still conclusory.") (quoting City of San Antonio v. Pollock ,
Finally, we consider Bombardier's argument that to the extent appellees may have lost part of the warranty, their claim lies with Honeywell. Bombardier asserts it does not control Honeywell, and it never represented or warranted that the Aircraft came with a five-year warranty. Rather, *302Bombardier agreed and warranted in the Purchase Agreement that it would "assign all aircraft warranties issued by the manufacturer, to the extent assignable, to Customers." Bombardier relies on Kelley's testimony in which he agreed that "to the best of my knowledge" all aircraft warranties issued by Honeywell had been assigned to him and Crane.
Appellees respond Bombardier was the party that wrongfully received payment as part of the Aircraft purchase price for a five-year warranty in exchange for a warranty that had, at most, two years of remaining coverage, and Bombardier-not Honeywell-is the party that led appellees to believe they were receiving a new aircraft with a full warranty. We agree with appellees.
As detailed above, the jury heard evidence from which it could conclude that the warranty expired in 2013. The jury further heard evidence that Bombardier was fully aware of engine problems that Honeywell would not cover under the warranty, specifically "ingestion of foreign material," which Rish admitted would include oil contaminated by jet fuel. Documentation indicated Bombardier was responsible for running the jet fuel through the engine causing oil contamination.
Rish acknowledged communications between Honeywell and Bombardier in 2009 regarding the engine's performance. Dennis Langefels, a Honeywell employee, sent an email on February 10, 2009, to several people at Bombardier discussing the ITT split assessment of the engine. Langefels determined "an ITT shift beyond a level that can be justified to remain on-wing as is. The engine will function as designed, however, the available deterioration allowance to the customer is significantly reduced. The Program offices will need to determine the strategy for restoration of available deterioration."
The jury heard evidence that because of these past problems, Bombardier believed "commercial concessions" would be required before it would agree to install the engine on a Flexjet aircraft. Two months before appellees purchased the Aircraft, Bombardier agreed to accept the Honeywell engine into its fleet so long as Honeywell provided it "with 1000 hours of MSP [Maintenance Service Plan] program per engine with no calendar time limit and at no cost to BBJS [Bombardier Business Jet Solutions]." The agreement specified that the MSP program was only valid for the period Bombardier owned the plane and "shall not be assignable or transferable to any other aircraft or engines of BBJS." The jury could infer Bombardier negotiated such a deal for the engine because it was well aware of and concerned about the engine's history. In fact, an email from a Honeywell employee described the engine as a "two-time loser-once for ITT margin erosion and then again because someone ( [Bombardier] ) serviced the oil system with fuel." Yet, Bombardier never told appellees it entered into an agreement in which it received compensation for incorporating the engine into its fleet.
Further, Honeywell advised Bombardier the engine was repaired, and "We have always been of the opinion that a post [Certificate of Airworthiness] removal would be returned to a post [Certificate of Airworthiness] aircraft upon return to Bombardier." Despite Honeywell's opinion, Bombardier chose to install the repaired engine on a pre-certificate of airworthiness aircraft and then negotiate with appellees for what they believed was a completely new aircraft. Given these facts, we cannot conclude there is no evidence from which a reasonable juror could conclude Bombardier was responsible for appellees' loss of warranty damages.
*303Having considered all of Bombardier's sufficiency challenges, we conclude the evidence at trial would enable reasonable and fair-minded people to reach the verdict under review. City of Keller ,
Exemplary Damages
In its final issue, Bombardier challenges the jury's award of $5,388,320 in exemplary damages for three separate reasons: (1) the evidence fails to support the jury's fraud finding; therefore, no independent tort supports the award; (2) appellees' claim is barred as a matter of law by limitation-of-liabilities clauses; and (3) the award is excessive and unconstitutional.
Having previously concluded the evidence is sufficient to support the jury's fraud finding and actual damages award, Bombardier's first argument is without merit.
Before addressing whether exemplary damages were barred as a matter of law, we must first consider Bombardier's argument that appellees needed to affirmatively plead that the limitation of liability clauses were void, unenforceable, or unconscionable per rule 94. See TEX. R. CIV. P. 94. Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 94 requires a defending party in the underlying suit to affirmatively plead defenses. TEX. R. CIV. P. 94. Appellees were not the defending party. But more importantly, in post-judgment motions and at the JNOV hearing, both sides argued the applicability of the clauses as a matter of law; therefore, we shall likewise consider the argument.
Bombardier relies on the following relevant clause from the Purchase Agreement:
FLEXJET WILL NOT BE LIABLE TO EITHER CUSTOMER FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF ANY LACK OR LOSS OF USE OF ANY AIRCRAFT, EQUIPMENT, SPARE PARTS, MAINTENANCE, REPAIR, OR SERVICES RENDERED OR DELIVERED UNDER THIS PURCHASE AGREEMENT.
The Management Agreement, which was incorporated into the Purchase Agreement, provides the following limitation-of-liability clause:
NEITHER PARTY HERETO MAY BE HELD LIABLE TO THE OTHER PARTY FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES AND/OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES FOR ANY REASON, INCLUDING DELAY OR FAILURE TO FURNISH THE AIRCRAFT OR BY THE PERFORMANCE OR NON-PERFORMANCE OF ANY MANAGEMENT SERVICES COVERED BY THIS MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT.
Texas has long recognized "a strong public policy favoring freedom of contract." See Philadelphia Indem. Ins. Co. v. White ,
*304Neither party cites authority that directly holds a party is bound by a contractual clause prohibiting recovery of exemplary damages when the party is fraudulently induced into entering the contract. Bombardier cites to cases that generally hold limitations of liability clauses are enforceable; however, none of the cases involve fraud by nondisclosure.
Appellees rely on Prudential Insurance Co. v. Jefferson Associates, Ltd. ,
It is undisputed neither party is relying on the "as is" clause; however, we find the reasoning of Prudential instructive to the issue before us. In Prudential , the plaintiff sued for misrepresentations concerning the condition of a building and for failing to disclose the building contained asbestos.
Although the supreme court ultimately concluded the plaintiff was bound by the "as is" clause and reversed and rendered judgment, the court cautioned, "By our holding today we do not suggest that an 'as is' agreement can have this determinative effect in every circumstance."
*305Similar to an "as is" clause, a limitation-of-liability clause for exemplary damages is an attempt by a party to avoid responsibility for possible wrong-doing. Following the supreme court's reasoning in Prudential and upholding the well-established principle that "fraud vitiates whatever touches it," we conclude a buyer cannot be bound by an agreement waiving exemplary damages if the seller commits fraud by nondisclosure. To conclude otherwise would allow a seller to deliberately fail to disclose material facts to entice a buyer to enter a contract and then shield himself from damages to which the buyer is entitled. See, e.g., Tony Gullo Motors I, L.P. v. Chapa ,
In reaching this conclusion, we are unpersuaded by Bombardier's argument that appellees "cannot both have [their] contract and defeat it too"-meaning they cannot argue Bombardier had obligations under the contract, yet simultaneously argue the limitations of liability clause in the contract is unenforceable to limit their exemplary damages.
Bombardier relies on In re Lisa Laser USA, Inc. ,
Finally, Bombardier asserts appellees waived any right to assert fraud as a basis to avoid the agreement, and "a contract procured by fraud is voidable, not void." See PSB, Inc. v. LIT Indus. Tex. Ltd. P'ship ,
Having concluded the limitations-of-liability clause does not bar appellees' recovery of exemplary damages as a matter of law, we now consider whether the exemplary damages award is excessive and unconstitutional. Bombardier argues the award violates due process, furthers no legitimate purpose, and constitutes an arbitrary deprivation of property. See Bunton v. Bentley ,
While state law governs the amount properly awarded as exemplary damages, that amount is also subject to an ultimate federal constitutional check for exorbitancy. See Chapa ,
The United States Supreme Court has established three "guideposts" for determining whether an exemplary damages award is unconstitutionally excessive:
*307(1) the degree of reprehensibility of the defendant's misconduct; (2) the disparity between actual and exemplary damages; and (3) a comparison of the exemplary damages awarded and other civil or criminal penalties that could be imposed for similar misconduct. Gore ,
The first guidepost, the degree of reprehensibility of the defendant's misconduct, is described by the Supreme Court as "[p]erhaps the most important indicium of the reasonableness of a punitive damage award." Gore ,
Here, the harm was economic and did not target financially vulnerable individuals. Rather, Crane and Kelley were sophisticated businessmen familiar with purchasing both used and new airplanes. Although the record does not indicate Bombardier repeatedly installed used engines on new aircrafts purchased by individuals, Mussared and Shifflet testified exchanging engines and other parts from one airplane to another within the Flexjet fleet had occurred in the past. However, we do not believe this constitutes evidence of recidivism. See Horizon Health Corp. v. Acadia Healthcare Co. ,
Bombardier emphasizes its conduct does not show indifference or reckless disregard for the safety of others because it is undisputed the Aircraft does not present any safety issues and this case has "nothing to do with the safety of this plane." While we agree the Aircraft's safety is not in dispute, the jury could reasonably have determined Bombardier's actions should nonetheless be punished and deterred in the future because such behavior could have serious safety repercussions. See Cooper Indus., Inc. v. Leatherman Tool Group, Inc. ,
*308As to the second guidepost, we must consider the disparity between actual and exemplary damages. This comparison commonly involves analysis of the ratio between exemplary and actual damages. Chapa ,
Here, the ratio of exemplary damages to compensatory damages equals 2-to-1. We acknowledge Supreme Court authority theorizing a lessor ratio may reach due process limits when a jury awards a substantial compensatory award; however, given Bombardier's conduct, we do not believe a 2-to-1 ratio "jars one's constitutional sensibilities." State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Campbell ,
As to the third guidepost, we compare the exemplary damages awarded to civil or criminal penalties for similar misconduct. Chapa ,
We are further unpersuaded by Bombardier's argument that the attorney general could collect no more than $20,000 as a civil penalty under the DTPA against a person who represented that goods were "new" if they were "reconditioned" or "used." TEX. BUS. & COMM. CODE ANN. § 17.46(b)(6) (West Supp. 2016);
When as here, no comparable penalties exist, numerous federal courts have looked to whether the punitive damages awarded comport with statutory caps on damages, as damage caps "represent[ ] a legislative judgment similar to the imposition of a civil fine." Safeshred, Inc. v. Martinez ,
We reject Bombardier's constitutional challenge to the amount of exemplary damages awarded. Bombardier's final issue is overruled.
Conclusion
The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
Bombardier manufactured planes. At the time of the events at issue, Flexjet was a division of Bombardier that managed and maintained private planes for individual and fractional-jet owners. At trial, Flexjet and Bombardier were treated as one entity, and the jury charge defined "Flexjet/Bombardier" or "Defendant" to mean "Flexjet/Bombardier Aerospace Corporation."
The "birthdate" of the engine is August 12, 2008. August 2008 emails from Honeywell, the engine's manufacturer, noted "significant damage" to the engine components and discussed the possibility of sending a mechanic to replace the damaged components.
These emails represented a small sample of documented communications between Honeywell and Bombardier that occurred prior to the engine's installation on appellees' Aircraft.
Preservation refers to the procedures that must be followed to store an aircraft and de-preservation refers to the procedures to take it out of storage.
For example, an April 18, 2009 entry indicated the engine was removed from aircraft 241, and an April 2010 entry indicated the engine was de-preserved and installed on aircraft 294. However, nothing between these two entries documents whether proper preservation occurred.
"The Court further orders that in accordance with the agreed stipulation of the parties (see 4/8/15 Tr. At 241), the judgment may be satisfied as to all Plaintiffs by paying 50% of the judgment to SPEP Aircraft Holdings, LLC and 50% to PE 300 leasing, LLC."
Fogg explained engine cycles as "cranking the engine and turning it off."
We acknowledge that Kenneth Dufour, Bombardier's expert, provided the price range of comparables he reviewed in reaching his conclusion that the Aircraft's value in December 2010 was $19,800,000; however, he admitted his valuation did not consider any diminution of value. Rather, he assumed there were no issues with the logbooks, no damage history, and no significant maintenance history. Dufour's valuation opinion is not relevant. See Rogers v. Zanetti ,
For example, the jury heard evidence that (1) the engine was a "two-time loser," (2) the Aircraft's value was dependent on past engine damage, and (3) it was not uncommon for damage history to be the cause of negotiating diminution in value. In fact, Thomas Mitchell, another Bombardier expert, conceded he might attempt negotiating a lower price on behalf of a client in a similar situation.
It is undisputed the engine had significantly fewer than 3000 miles on it so this portion is inapplicable to the analysis.
The Aircraft was originally slated to join the Flexjet fleet, but appellees purchased it instead.
For example, in Windsor Communications, Inc. v. Republic National Bank of New York , No. 05-93-01030-CV,
In Mickens v. Longhorn DFW Moving, Inc. ,
Based on our holding, we need not decide whether contractual waivers of exemplary damages violate public policy. See, e.g., Gulf Ins. Co. v. Burns Motors, Inc. ,
The Purchase Agreement and Management Agreement both contained a "SEVERABILITY" clause, which provided "Each provision of this [ ] Agreement must be interpreted in a way that is valid under applicable law. If any provision is held invalid, the rest of this[ ] Agreement will remain in full effect."
In its opening brief, Bombardier relied on public policy in favor of preserving contract and its contention that limitations of liability clauses are valid and enforceable.
This particular subsection refers to violations within chapters 401, 411, 413, 415, 417, 419, 421, 423, 441, 447, 449, and 451.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.