Rathe Salvage, Inc. v. R. Brown & Sons, Inc., and Brown

¶ 1. Following a jury trial, defendants R. Brown & Sons, Inc., a scrap metal hauling company, and its principal, Robert Brown (both referred to as hauler), were found liable for breach of contract, common law fraud, trespass, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and consumer fraud. Each of these claims stemmed from hauler’s commercial dealings with plaintiff Rathe Salvage, Inc., a scrap metal salvage yard where hauler would crush cars and transport the scrap for sale to steel mills. Hauler was later granted judgment as a matter of law by the trial court overturning…