Beasley v. Ed's Mobile Homes, Inc.

824 So. 2d 383, 1 La.App. 3 Cir. 1549, 2002 La. App. LEXIS 1151, 2002 WL 851255
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 17, 2002
Docket01-1549
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 824 So. 2d 383 (Beasley v. Ed's Mobile Homes, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Beasley v. Ed's Mobile Homes, Inc., 824 So. 2d 383, 1 La.App. 3 Cir. 1549, 2002 La. App. LEXIS 1151, 2002 WL 851255 (La. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

824 So.2d 383 (2002)

Randall BEASLEY, Sr.
v.
ED'S MOBILE HOMES, INC., et al.

No. 01-1549.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

April 17, 2002.
Writ Denied September 20, 2002.

Angelo J. Piazza, III, Marksville, LA, for Plaintiff/Appellee, Randall Beasley, Sr.

Robert G. Nida, June Wells-Foster, Gold, Weems, Bruser, Sues & Rundell, Alexandria, LA, for Defendant/Appellant, Cavalier Manufacturing, Inc., d/b/a Riverchase Homes.

Aaron Siebeneicher, Alexandria, LA, for Defendant/Appellant, Ed's Mobile Homes, Inc.

Court composed of NED E. DOUCET, JR., ULYSSES GENE THIBODEAUX, and MICHAEL G. SULLIVAN, Judges.

THIBODEAUX, Judge.

In this redhibition action, defendant, Cavalier Manufacturing, Inc., d/b/a Riverchase *384 Homes, appeals a judgment in favor of the purchaser, Randall Beasley, Sr. For the following reasons, we affirm.

I.

FACTS

On May 22, 1998, Beasley purchased a double-wide mobile home from Ed's Mobile Home, Inc. (Ed's). The home was manufactured by Riverchase. The total price of the mobile home, including interest, was $170,971.20. Beasley planned to live in the home as well as operate a business. Beasley testified that there were several defects on the home at the time of purchase. With respect to those defects, Beasley testified that he was told by salesman, Bobbie Sullivan, that the exterior of the home was a temporary wall, and that inside the home there were "several broken panels, holes in the panel ... the bathroom door leaned." Beasley further testified that he was told that the problems with the mobile home were minor and could be easily remedied within three days and prior to delivery.

The mobile home was delivered to Beasley on June 9, 1998. The defects in the mobile home were not repaired. Beasley testified that he did not move into the home because the "carpet hadn't even been stretched on the floor." He also testified that the bathroom door was laying on the floor, there were broken boards, a broken window, and some of the wall paneling had holes and glue on them. Beasley continued to testify that "the fireplace was broken—cracked from one end to the other all the way across the wall." Beasley testified that the cabinet doors and drawers were not aligned. He further testified that debris lay everywhere and molding had not been installed. Beasley also testified that he reported the mobile home's problems to Ed Thompson at Ed's on the date the mobile home was installed, and wrote a letter dated June 28, 1998, to Ed's listing the defects with the mobile home.

Ricky Thurman, a repairman sent by Ed's to examine the mobile home at the site, was given a list of the mobile home's problems; however, the repairs to the mobile home were never made. Thurman did not attempt to repair any portion of the mobile home because he was not told the extent of the problems with the mobile home, and arrived with inadequate materials to fix the many problems. Beasley testified that the problems with the mobile home were so numerous that he could not live there. In connection with Beasley's testimony, fifty-three pictures of the mobile home and its defects as well as a listing of the defects was admitted into evidence.

By November 18, 1998, repairs to the mobile home had not been done. Riverchase authorized Dale Hester to submit an estimate of the cost to repair the mobile home. Hester estimated that it would cost $5,140 to repair the home. Beasley testified that Riverchase did not approve the repairs because the cost was over $5,000. Beasley further testified that he offered to pay the difference of $140 if it would mean the mobile home would be repaired. Riverchase refused to approve the repair work. Beasley also testified that had he known of all of the mobile home's defects and that the defendants would not repair any of the defects, he would not have bought the mobile home. Beasley testified that he gave the defendants six months to complete the repairs, and that even after the six months if the defendants said they would make the repairs so that he could move in, he would have allowed them to do so.

During the time that Beasley could not live in the mobile home purchased from *385 Ed's, he lived with his neighbor and paid $300 a month for rent for thirty-six months for a total of $10,800. Beasley did not pay the monthly notes of approximately $474 due for the purchase of the mobile home, and it was ultimately removed from his property by the creditor. Prior to the seizure, Beasley testified that he requested Ed's to take the mobile home back; but Ed's told him that they could not take it back. Beasley was able to pay his rent from the income he earned from his business as a "crane" arcade game owner and a newspaper carrier. The only payment he made toward the purchase of the mobile home was $4,200 on the day he closed the deal on the sale of the home.

Beasley testified that because the mobile home was uninhabitable, he was inconvenienced in running his business. On the days that repairmen came to look at the home and attempted to make repairs he had to be present, causing him to miss doing his paper route about a dozen times and making it necessary for him to pay someone else to run the route. He further testified that he suffered sleepless nights. Beasley testified as follows with respect to how the whole situation made him feel:

To use the word devastation, sick nauseated. I can't—it—let me try it this way. I wanted to go out and buy something new. I didn't want something used. Like maybe a used car you buy somebody's headache. I wanted something new. Something that I could be proud of. Something that I could live in. You need to go out and do that. You go out and do it and you pass by that house every day for six months and you look at it, the house you can't live in. You put up with the frustration and the aggravation that I put up with with these people trying to get them to fix this thing. You look at it every day and then you come back in here and you want to ask me that question? You'll know before you do it, go by the drugstore and get you some sleeping pills. You're going to need it, three or four times a week. Get you something for your stomach, too, because you might throw up a time or two. You put up with it.

Beasley further testified that he had to hire an attorney and pay a $2,000 retainer fee.

On cross examination, Beasley testified that his income in 1997 was $59,910. This was the income amount he provided in connection with obtaining a loan to purchase the mobile home. Beasley testified that although he could have paid the monthly mortgage note on the mobile home, he refused to pay for something in which he could not live. Beasley further testified that he felt it was unsafe to live in the mobile home because he could not "start a fire in the fireplace, possible hidden damage in the walls, electrical problems, shifting of the back of the house, insufficient tie downs [and] improper blocking." Beasley explained that improper blocking meant that it was possible, in heavy winds, for the mobile home to be blown over. Beasley further testified that although he never moved into the mobile home, he did have the sewerage, electricity and water connected and stored some of his belongings there. In addition to feeling that the mobile home was unsafe, Beasley testified that he did not move into the home because he did not want to be blamed for causing any of the defects. While the home was unoccupied, it was burglarized at least one time and some of Beasley's property was stolen.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
824 So. 2d 383, 1 La.App. 3 Cir. 1549, 2002 La. App. LEXIS 1151, 2002 WL 851255, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/beasley-v-eds-mobile-homes-inc-lactapp-2002.