Appellee/plaintiff Daniel Morgan brought suit against appellant/defendant Marilyn Williams for damages he incurred when he purchased a stolen vehicle from her and was subsequently arrested therefor. In the complaint, Morgan alleged that in 1999, Williams offered to help him obtain a hurricane or storm damaged vehicle at a discount from an east coast car lot where a relative or friend of Williams worked. Morgan accepted Williams’ offer and agreed to buy a 1999 Chevrolet Suburban for the price of $16,000. On May 6, 1999, Morgan paid Williams the purchase price in cash and took possession of the vehicle. Williams agreed to provide the vehicle title and license plate within 30 days. On May 19, 1999, Morgan was arrested and charged with theft by receiving stolen property. The complaint, which was based on fraud, was filed May 7, 2001, and sought compensatory damages for the price of the car, costs and expenses, attorney fees, pain and suffering resulting from his incarceration, and punitive damages. On May 18, 2001, Williams pro se filed an unverified letter/answer in which she denied knowing or having any involvement with Morgan. On January 7, 2003, based on Williams’ failure to answer Morgans’ request for admission and the affidavit of Kenny Ringer, Morgan’s cousin and Williams’ friend, who averred that Williams had stated to him that she had planed to ignore the pleadings so that the Court would think the wrong person had been served and that she had provided Morgan with the 1999 Chevrolet Suburban, the trial court entered an order granting Morgan partial summary judgment as to the issue of liability. On February 3, 2003, a bench trial was held on the issue of damages, and a judgment was entered in Morgan’s favor in the total amount of $102,191, consisting of $27,100 compensatory damages, $25,000 general damages, $50,000 punitive damages, and $91 court costs.
Williams appeals pro se from this judgment. She enumerates as error a violation of her Fifth Amendment rights in that she was unable to cross-examine Kenny Ringer; that Ringer was not called as a witness at trial and never testified; that she was not given the right to confront Ringer at trial; that there was no evidence to prove Morgan’s case other than Ringer’s testimony; and that a bill of sale was never provided at trial.
