Car rental firm pays in damages case
January 28, 2010
A car rental franchisee in Alaska has received a massive payout of $16 million
awarded by a court in Anchorage. The payout comes after a jury went in favour
of Robert C Halcro after Aviss previous parent company, Cendant Corporation,
violated an agreement on three of Alaska Rent A Car franchises. Cendant had
acquired one of his competitors,
Budget Rent A Car and continued to operate as a competitor.
Prior to the trial by jury the judge in the case ruled in favour of Mr Halcro
on six out of seven counts. The judge said that Cendant Rent A Car Group had
breached their contract to Mr Halcro, but the damages that would be awarded
would be exactly what they had lost in business due to the breach. The jury in
this case went for Halcros expert witness, which his lawyer said was vital in
receiving the correct amount of money in damages.
Lawyers representing Cendant and Avis tried to play down the cost of the payout
saying that the information on lost earnings were speculative and could not be
proved. The jury did not see the same way and awarded the sum of $16 million to
Halcro and Alaska Rent A Car.
Lawyers asked the judge for a retrial, but he said that there were no grounds
for such an action. He did however agree with Cendant that there was no proof
of the money awarded to Halcro, by the jury, was the correct amount, but
insinuated it was Avis that made the error in the first place and their costly
mistake.
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