Howmar Materials, Inc. v. Peterson

Plaintiffs sold land and a business to defendant. When defendant stopped making payments after the land flooded, plaintiffs filed a judicial foreclosure action. Defendant responded by counterclaiming for, among other things, fraudulent misrepresentation and fraudulent concealment. Defendant also sought to add a claim for punitive damages, but the trial court refused to allow him to do so. The court ruled in plaintiffs’ favor on their foreclosure action. The jury returned a verdict in defendant’s favor on his two fraud counterclaims, awarding a separate amount of damages on each counterclaim.…