Coppola Constr. Co. v. Hoffman Enters. Ltd. P'ship
Annotate this CasePlaintiff, a construction company, agreed by contract to perform site work for Hoffman Enterprises on several parcels of property. Plaintiff later filed this action against Hoffman Enterprises and Jeffrey Hoffman for negligent misrepresentation, among other claims. The trial court granted Hoffman's motion to strike the negligent misrepresentation claim. The appellate court reversed. Hoffman appealed, asserting that Plaintiff could not, as a matter of law, satisfy the detrimental reliance element of its claim because Hoffman's apparent authority to bind Hoffman Enterprises contractually meant that Plaintiff could not have relied to its detriment on Hoffman's statements. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the fact that allegations pleaded in a complaint might also state a contractual claim against a corporate entity under the apparent authority doctrine does not preclude a separate claim of negligent misrepresentation against a principal of that corporate entity as a matter of law; and (2) Plaintiff pleaded a legally sufficient claim of negligent misrepresentation.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.