Kearney v. J.P. King Auction Co., Inc.

This appeal from adverse rulings in the district court concerns the sale of eighty acres of undeveloped waterfront land in Lubec, Maine. Owned by plaintiff-appellant Merrill Kearney, the land was sold at auction on his behalf by defendant-appellee J.P. King Auction Company (“King Auction”) on May 14, 1997.

The auction did not go well. Only two bidders were present and one withdrew when the price per acre rose to $100. The remaining bidder offered $8,000, a hugely undervalued price by both parties’ estimates. (Kearney, himself, had only several months earlier purchased the land for $90,000.) Forced by the Maine Superior Court to convey the land for $8,000 to the bidder at the auction, Kearney sued King Auction alleging breach of contract, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, negligent misrepresentation, fraudulent misrepresentation, punitive damages, negligent infliction of emotional distress, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and unfair trade practices. *fn2 The district court entered summary judgment in favor of King Auction on all counts but breach of fiduciary duty, negligent infliction of emotional distress and unfair trade practices. Plaintiff now appeals from that ruling, but only with respect to his claims of fraudulent and negligent misrepresentation and punitive damages. The breach of fiduciary duty claim was tried to the jury, which found for King Auction. *fn3 Plaintiff appeals from that result, alleging error in the trial court’s exclusion of certain evidence.