Morimanno v. Middleton12/15/1999
AFFIRMED AND REMANDED
CRAWFORD, P.J., W.S.: (Concurs)
HIGHERS, J.: (Concurs)
Defendants Central State Bank and Don Campagna appeal the trial court's judgment awarding Plaintiff/Appellee Frank Morimanno $14,500 in damages on his claim for negligent misrepresentation. We affirm the trial court's judgment based upon our conclusion that the evidence does not preponderate against the trial court's decision in favor of Morimanno.
In September 1996, Morimanno agreed to sell his 1992 GMC pickup truck to Tommy Middleton for a price of $16,500. Middleton did not have the funds to buy the truck, so he turned to his banker, Don Campagna, for help in financing the truck's purchase. At the time, Campagna was a loan officer and assistant manager of the Jackson, Tennessee, branch of Central State Bank.
In order to induce both Campagna and Morimanno to consummate the sale of the truck, Middleton represented to them that he soon expected to receive a settlement from a lawsuit in which he was involved. As proof of the forthcoming settlement, Middleton presented two letters that were dated October 6, 1995, and September 9, 1996, respectively, and that purported to be from Middleton's attorney, Michael L. Weinman of Henderson, Tennessee. The first letter was addressed to counsel for Middleton's former employer, Johnson Controls, Inc., and offered to settle Middleton's claim for the amount of $30,000, plus reinstatement. The second letter was addressed to "WHOM IT MAY CONCERN" and contained the following text:
IN REGARDS TO THE LAW SUIT CONCERNING TOMMY MIDDLETON V. JOHNSON CONTROLS, THE SETTLEMENT WAS SIGNED SEPT. 9, 1996. ALL MONIES AND ENTITLEMENTS AWARDED MR. MIDDLETON WILL BE SENT TO THIS LAW OFFICE NO LATER THAN 45 DAYS FROM THE SIGNATURE DATE.
The letters differed in appearance in that the first letter was printed on the letterhead of Weinman's law firm, Tatum and Tatum, and bore the signature "Mike," while the second letter was printed on plain paper on which someone had typed the name and address of the law firm and signed Weinman's initials.
On September 17, 1996, Morimanno, Middleton, and Campagna met in Campagna's office at Central State Bank to complete the sale of the truck. During this meeting, Campagna allegedly represented to Morimanno "that Mr. Middleton had a settlement coming due" and that " bout November 18th he would have all his monies." According to Morimanno, Campagna specifically stated that "he had verified with Mr. Middleton's attorney that there was a settlement and it was coming November 18th." Based upon this representation by Campagna, Morimanno agreed to complete the sale of the truck on September 17 but to delay receiving $14,500 of the $16,500 purchase price until November 18.
Morimanno previously had financed his purchase of the truck by obtaining a loan from First Tennessee Bank. During the September 17, 1996, meeting, Campagna gave Morimanno a check for about $2000 so that Morimanno could pay off the balance of the First Tennessee loan. In accordance with Campagna's instructions, Morimanno delivered the check to First Tennessee and obtained the title to the truck. Upon returning to Campagna's office, Morimanno endorsed the truck title and gave it to Campagna. Morimanno then returned home with the expectation that he would receive the remaining $14,500 of the purchase price on November 18, 1996, or shortly thereafter.
Contrary to his representation to Morimanno, Campagna had not verified with Middleton's attorney that Middleton would receive a settlement on November 18. At some point in time, Campagna reached Middleton's attorney, Michael Weinman, by telephone and
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