091670P.pdf   09/24/2010  Virgil Shelton  v.  Kennedy Funding
   U.S. Court of Appeals Case No:  09-1670
   U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas - Little Rock   
   [PUBLISHED] [Riley, Author, with Smith and Shepherd, Circuit Judges]
   Civil case - contracts. Enforcement of the promises in the parties'
   Estoppel Certificate did not violate the Arkansas Statute of Frauds as the
   agreement fell outside the surety and real estate prongs of the Statute;
   concerning plaintiff's breach of contract claim, there was sufficient
   evidence of legal consideration, mutual agreement and definiteness and
   the jury's finding that defendant breached the contract is affirmed;
   however, the evidence was not sufficient to support the jury's finding of
   fraud as the misrepresentations plaintiff relied on are insufficient under
   Arkansas law to support the claim; nor did the evidence establish
   constructive fraud on defendant's part; since the fraud verdict must be set
   aside, the jury's award of punitive damages must be vacated; district
   court did not err in denying defendant's motion for new trial as the
   district court's exclusion of certain testimony, if error, was harmless
   error; even if the district court erred in failing to instruct the jury on
   mitigation, the district court did give a supplemental jury instruction on
   the issue when it answered an inquiry from the jury on damages.