Civil Practice – Damages – Insufficient Award – Amended Judgment – New Trial

Caliber Builders, LLC v. Waste Water Systems of North Carolina, Inc. (Lawyers Weekly No. 12-16-0081, 6 pp.) (Cressie H. Thigpen Jr., J.) Appealed from Wake County Superior Court. (Donald W. Stephens, J.) N.C. App. Unpub. Click here for the full-text opinion.

Holding: The plaintiff-contractor presented evidence that it paid the defendant-supplier $42,750.25 but that the supplier never even ordered the supplies; nevertheless, the jury awarded the contractor only $19,289.45 in damages. Where the trial court found the jury’s verdict to be against the greater weight of the evidence, the court should have granted a new trial on the issue of damages rather than amending the judgment to increase the amount of damages. Poor v. Hill, 138 N.C. App. 19, 530 S.E.2d 838 (2000).

Reversed and remanded.