Z.D. Howard Company v. Cartwright
Oklahoma Supreme Court
537 P.2d 345 (1975)
- Written by Jayme Weber, JD
Facts
The Z.D. Howard Company (Z.D.) (plaintiff) contracted to sell a car to Tommy and Kerry Cartwright (defendants). Z.D. told the Cartwrights that the car was new, but, in fact, the car had suffered serious damage before the Cartwrights bought it. Z.D. knew the car’s history when it sold the car to the Cartwrights. When the Cartwrights stopped making car payments, Z.D. sued the Cartwrights. The Cartwrights responded by suing Z.D. for using fraud to trick the Cartwrights into buying the car. As an alternative to the fraud claim, the Cartwrights sued Z.D. for breach of warranty. The Cartwrights asked the trial court to rescind the purchase contract, make Z.D. give back what the Cartwrights had already paid to Z.D. for the car, and make Z.D. pay for the Cartwrights’ attorney fees. The Cartwrights later added a claim for punitive damages. The trial court threw out the Cartwrights’ request for punitive damages because the case involved a contract. The Cartwrights appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Hodges, J.)
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