All That N More, LLC v. Roman Kusyo

CourtCourt of Appeals of Kentucky
DecidedApril 1, 2021
Docket2019 CA 000928
StatusUnknown

This text of All That N More, LLC v. Roman Kusyo (All That N More, LLC v. Roman Kusyo) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
All That N More, LLC v. Roman Kusyo, (Ky. Ct. App. 2021).

Opinion

RENDERED: APRIL 2, 2021; 10:00 A.M. NOT TO BE PUBLISHED

OPINION RENDERED ON OCTOBER 30, 2020 WITHDRAWN

Commonwealth of Kentucky Court of Appeals

NO. 2019-CA-0928-MR

ALL THAT N MORE, LLC; MARTY NILEST; AND MATT NILEST APPELLANTS

APPEAL FROM JEFFERSON CIRCUIT COURT v. HONORABLE JUDITH MCDONALD-BURKMAN, JUDGE ACTION NO. 17-CI-002319

ROMAN KUSYO AND NATALIE KUSYO APPELLEES

OPINION AFFIRMING IN PART, REVERSING IN PART, AND REMANDING

** ** ** ** **

BEFORE: CLAYTON, CHIEF JUDGE; DIXON AND JONES, JUDGES.

JONES, JUDGE: All That N More, LLC (“All That”), a construction company,

and its owners, Marty and Matt Nilest, appeal orders of the Jefferson Circuit Court which granted default judgment against the company and awarded damages to

Roman and Natalie Kusyo based on a home construction contract. After thorough

review, we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand.

I. BACKGROUND

This case has a somewhat lengthy and complex background and

procedural history. In August 2016, the Kusyos signed a contract drafted by

Appellants to construct a new home on a plot of land owned by the Kusyos in

Louisville, Kentucky. Pursuant to the contract, All That agreed to construct the

home for $228,500.00, payable in a series of installments or “draws” based on

specific milestones achieved during the course of construction. Further, the

contract required any changes or overages to be in writing and approved by both

parties in what are referred to as “change orders.” There were only two authorized

change orders during the construction: an added room for $5,000.00 and a window

for $320.00. This resulted in a new total owed on the contract of $233,820.00.

Unfortunately, All That encountered rock on the third day of

excavating the foundation for the house. A “rock clause” in paragraph 6.5 of the

contract, entitled “Concealed Conditions,” applied to such an event:

The Contractor is not responsible for subsurface or latent physical conditions at the site or in an existing structure that differ from those (a) indicated or referred to in the contract documents or (b) ordinarily encountered and generally recognized as inherent in the work of the character provided for in this contract.

-2- After receiving notice of the conditions, the Owner shall investigate the condition within five (5) working days. If the parties agree that the condition will increase (a) the Contractor’s cost of performance of any part of the work under this contract or (b) the time required for that work, the parties may sign a change order agreement incorporating the necessary revisions, or the Owner may terminate the contract. If the Owner terminates the contract, the Contractor will be entitled to recover from the Owner payment for all work performed, including normal overhead, and a reasonable profit.

Matt Nilest informed the Kusyos’ agent, their daughter Oksana, that All That had

encountered rock. However, Oksana testified that she was informed there would

be no added cost as a result; it would simply change how the house would be built,

i.e., “up” from the rock, rather than digging down through it. Matt Nilest denied

telling Oksana there would be no added cost. Nonetheless, it is undisputed that no

change order was prepared and signed at the time All That discovered rock on the

property. It is likewise undisputed that the construction project continued after

discovery and notice of the rock.

From September 2016 through January 2017, the Kusyos paid All

That a total of $203,500.00, approximately eighty-seven percent of the contracted

price. Oksana’s fiancé noticed the house did not appear to be progressing, and it

did not appear that drawn funds were being spent on intended purchases. Then, in

February 2017, Oksana began to receive text messages and emails from Matt

Nilest requesting more money, even though All That had drawn nearly all the

-3- money allocated to it under the contract. The only remaining draw was the final

ten percent of the contract price, which under the terms of the contract was due on

the completion of construction. Oksana and her fiancé agreed to meet with the

Nilests at the construction site on March 1, 2017, to discuss the project. During the

meeting, the Nilests handed Oksana an invoice, dated that day, demanding a price

addendum to the contract of $81,340.00 and claiming the new balance owed was

$107,840.00, over and above the $203,500.00 which the Kusyos had already paid.

Oksana declined to pay this new invoice. At the conclusion of this meeting,

Appellants walked away from the job.

The Kusyos eventually hired a second contractor, Jeremy Murphy, to

finish the house. Murphy would later testify the house was approximately fifty

percent complete when he first inspected the site, and it contained incorrect or poor

quality construction. As a result, the second contractor estimated it would take

over $76,000.00 to repair the previous, subpar construction completed by

Appellants and another approximately $200,000.00 to complete the remaining

construction. At the time of the damages hearing in December 2019, the home was

not yet complete.

Meanwhile, on May 11, 2017, the Kusyos filed a complaint against

Appellants in Jefferson Circuit Court alleging breach of express contract, breach of

express and implied warranty, negligent or reckless misrepresentation, and

-4- violating KRS1 Chapter 367 et seq., the Kentucky Consumer Protection Act. The

Kusyos alleged Appellants breached the contract by walking off the job site after

receiving $203,500.00, when it appeared less than $80,000.00 had been expended

on the project. The Kusyos also alleged the project was less than fifty percent

complete when Appellants walked away from the contract and that it would require

in excess of $150,000.00 to complete the construction of the home Appellants

contracted to construct for them.

Appellants did not file an answer to the complaint within twenty days.

The summonses for Matt Nilest and Marty Nilest were returned as undeliverable.

However, on May 15, 2017, the summons for All That was successfully served

upon its registered agent. All That had been dissolved as a corporate entity, but

nonetheless remained subject to suit. See KRS 275.300(4)(a) (“Dissolution of a

limited liability company shall not . . . [p]revent commencement of a proceeding

by or against the limited liability company in its name[.]”). On June 21, 2017, the

Kusyos moved the circuit court for default judgment against All That, and the

circuit court granted this motion on June 23, 2017.

Several days later, attorney J. Clark Baird entered his appearance on

behalf of Appellants. He subsequently filed a “motion to alter, amend, or vacate

1 Kentucky Revised Statutes.

-5- default judgment” citing CR2 59.05 or CR 60.02. The stated basis for this motion

was that Appellants had previously “required time to acquire funds to retain

counsel upon receipt of the complaint.” (Record (“R.”) at 33.) The circuit court

granted Baird’s motion to set aside the default judgment to allow Appellants to file

answers to the complaint. “Marty Nilest, of All That N More, LLC” and “Matt

Nilest, of All That N More, LLC” filed answers to the complaint, but All That did

not. (R. at 47, 60.)

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Bowling v. Natural Resources & Environmental Protection Cabinet
891 S.W.2d 406 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky, 1995)
Perry v. Central Bank & Trust Co.
812 S.W.2d 166 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky, 1991)
Batson v. Clark
980 S.W.2d 566 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky, 1998)
Commonwealth v. English
993 S.W.2d 941 (Kentucky Supreme Court, 1999)
Moore v. Asente
110 S.W.3d 336 (Kentucky Supreme Court, 2003)
Craig v. Keene
32 S.W.3d 90 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky, 2000)
Roadway Express, Inc. v. Don Stohlman & Associates, Inc.
436 S.W.2d 63 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky (pre-1976), 1968)
Richardson v. Brunner
327 S.W.2d 572 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky (pre-1976), 1959)
Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp. v. Golightly
976 S.W.2d 409 (Kentucky Supreme Court, 1998)
Howard v. Fountain
749 S.W.2d 690 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky, 1988)
William David Ellington v. Harlan Randall Becraft
534 S.W.3d 785 (Kentucky Supreme Court, 2017)
SEG Employees Credit Union v. Scott
554 S.W.2d 402 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky, 1977)
S.R. Blanton Development, Inc. v. Investors Realty & Management Co.
819 S.W.2d 727 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky, 1991)
O'Rourke v. Lexington Real Estate Co.
365 S.W.3d 584 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky, 2011)
Nesselhauf v. Baltimore
412 S.W.3d 213 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky, 2013)
Kentucky Properties Holding LLC v. Sproul
507 S.W.3d 563 (Kentucky Supreme Court, 2016)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
All That N More, LLC v. Roman Kusyo, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/all-that-n-more-llc-v-roman-kusyo-kyctapp-2021.