Cable & Computer Technology Inc. v. Lockheed Sanders Inc.
Opinion of the Court
MEMORANDUM
The defendants appeal portions of the district court’s order affirming contract and tort damages in relation to the B-1B upgrade contract and affirming the punitive damage award. Cable and Computer Technology (“CCT”) appeals portions of the order reducing the jury’s damage award. We affirm the judgment of the district court.
This case comes to us following trial after our decision in Cable & Computer Technology, Inc. v. Lockheed Sanders, Inc., 214 F.3d 1030 (9th Cir. 2000). No new issue of law is raised by the appeal. The facts and proceedings are familiar to the parties. We summarize.
A jury has determined that Sanders, a subsidiary of Lockheed, entered into a contract with CCT to team in making a
The district court reduced these damages because they included losses on two more contracts CCT contends it would have won if it had been successful on the B-1B bid. CCT appeals this reduction. We affirm the district court’s ruling that these damages were too speculative.
Lockheed appeals the damages approved by the district court, arguing that CCT is no more than a disappointed bidder and should recover no more than the expenses incurred in its reliance on Sanders. Copeland v. Baskin Robbins U.S.A., 96 Cal.App.4th 1251, 117 Cal.Rptr.2d 875 (2002); Wilson v. Los Angeles County Metr. Transp., 23 Cal.4th 305, 96 Cal.Rptr.2d 747, 1 P.3d 63 (2000). CCT, however, is not a disappointed bidder but a disappointed party to a contract and entitled to full compensation for its breach.
The jury also found the defendants hable for interference with CCT’s prospective economic advantage. The defendants argue that Sanders was not “a stranger” to the relationship promising the advantage. Kasparian v. County of Los Angeles, 38 Cal.App.4th 242, 252, 45 Cal.Rptr.2d 90 (1995). The district court, however, determined that the prospective relation was one that CCT would have enjoyed with Boeing. Although Sanders would have been benefitted as well, Sanders was a stranger in the special sense used by the California cases; it was not only the contract with CCT that Sanders breached, but Sanders also interfered with what CCT would have gained from winning. As the district court concluded, there was sufficient evidence of “independent wrongfulness” beyond the breach of contract to satisfy Della Penna v. Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., 11 Cal.4th 376, 393, 45 Cal.Rptr.2d 436, 902 P.2d 740 (1995). As the jury found, Sanders had conspired with Owego to thwart CCT.
The jury also found the defendants liable for fraud. They moved for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. The district court denied the motion, noting that the Woodruff declaration was sufficient to support the finding and adding:
CCT adduced evidence relating to Sanders’ conduct following the articulation of its promise to CCT. For instance, CCT advanced evidence of conduct and statements by Dr. Ehtisham Siddiquit tending to show that he never intended for Sanders to actually team with CCT. CCT also introduced evidence indicating that Sanders’ agents maneuvered within Lockheed to position Sanders so that it might lead a unified Lockheed bid. Such evidence tends to show that Sanders’ promise to CCT was false at the time that it was made. Such circumstantial evidence is an accepted means of showing fraudulent intent. See Tenzer v. Superscope, 39 Cal.3d 18, 30, 216 Cal.Rptr. 130, 702 P.2d 212 (1985).
Significantly, the defendants do not appeal the fraud verdict and the district court’s denial of their motion.
An amicus, more friendly to the defendants than to the court, has chosen on this appeal to enter the fray and argue that substantive federal law should have applied. This contention is a curious one to raise five years after CCT brought its state law claims and after one appeal in this court and a trial. It is far too late to invoke a new theory of this variety.
For the reasons stated, the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and may not be cited to or by the courts of this circuit except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- CABLE & COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY INC., a Corp., Plaintiff—Appellee v. LOCKHEED SANDERS INC., a Lockheed Martin Co., a Corp. d/b/a Sanders Lockheed Martin Corporation, a Corp. Lockheed Martin Federal Systems, a Corp., Defendants—Appellants Cable & Computer Technology Inc., a Corp., Plaintiff—Appellant v. Lockheed Sanders Inc., a Lockheed Martin Co., a Corp. d/b/a Sanders Lockheed Martin Corporation, a Corp. Lockheed Martin Federal Systems, a Corp., Defendants—Appellees
- Status
- Published