Courtesy Ford Sales, Inc. v. Hendrix

The plaintiff, Charilyn Hendrix, brought an action for fraud in connection with the sale of an automobile against the defendants, Courtesy Ford, an automobile dealership in Montgomery, Alabama, and its employee, Larry Woodard. She sought compensatory and punitive damages in the sum of $500,000. After finding that the defendants had perpetrated a fraud on the plaintiff, the jury assessed only nominal damages in the amount of $1.00 and made no award of punitive damages. Dissatisfied with the amount of the verdict, the plaintiff filed a motion for new trial on the grounds that the damages were…