Boyington v. Bryan

174 So. 3d 347, 2014 WL 4055346
CourtCourt of Civil Appeals of Alabama
DecidedAugust 15, 2014
Docket2130396
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 174 So. 3d 347 (Boyington v. Bryan) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Boyington v. Bryan, 174 So. 3d 347, 2014 WL 4055346 (Ala. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

THOMAS, Judge.

In spring 2007, Dr. Roger Boyington (“Boyington”) desired to remodel an existing building to house his medical practice (“the remodel project”). A limited-liability company in which he and his wife, Suzanne Boyington, were the only members, River Bend Estates, L.L.C. (“RBE”), owned the building. In May 2007, RBE entered into an agreement with Team Management & Development, LLC (“TMD”), for TMD to be responsible for handling the remodel project. In turn, TMD, as a representative of RBE, employed Andrew & Dawson (“A & D”) as the general contractor for the remodel project.

A & D contracted with Donald Bryan, doing business as R & R Electrical and Plumbing, to perform plumbing and electrical work on the remodel project. Bryan was the second plumber on the remodel project; the first plumber had worked only one or two days before he terminated his contract with A & D. A & D requested that Bryan provide a quote for the plumbing work to be performed, which he did. Later, A & D asked whether Bryan co.uld also give a quote for the electrical portion of the work; Bryan’s quote for the electrical work was $39,500. Bryan and A & D entered into a oral contract for Bryan to perform the electrical and plumbing work on the remodel project.

Ultimately, the remodel project took longer and cost more money than Boying-ton had first expected. He became dissatisfied with A & D and had other contractors with whom he personally contracted [350]*350perform certain portions of the work on the remodel project. Although Boyington began seeing patients in the office in February 2008 and received a certificate of occupancy for the building on April 25, 2008, the remodel project was not completed until, at the earliest, May 2008. Boy-ington had complaints about the completed work, including complaints about the increased cost, the type of paint used, the type of flooring that had been installed, and his inability to use his CT scanner because of an electrical problem. As a result, TMD did not pay the final pay requests received from A & D or from Bryan.

Bryan sued Boyington, RBE, and Andrew & Dawson, Inc. (“ADI”), in the Cov-ington Circuit Court on May 29, 2008. His multiple-count complaint asserted, among other things, breach-of-contract, fraud, and conversion claims against all the defendants. Bryan’s original complaint also stated a claim under the Prompt Pay Act, codified at Ala.Code 1975, § 8-29-1 et seq.,1 alleging that the defendants had failed to promptly pay him as required and seeking penalty interest and an attorney fee, as provided for in § 8-29-6. Bryan amended his complaint several times, asserting, among other things, a claim to enforce a materialman’s lien; adding Gerald Salter (“Gerald”), the proprietor of A & D and a shareholder of ADI, Brent Salter (“Brent”), an employee of A & D and a shareholder of ADI, and Tom Mills, an employee of ADI, as parties; and stating claims against those added defendants. Bryan voluntarily dismissed his claims against Gerald, Brent, and Mills on the first day of trial. .

ADI filed an answer to the original complaint. ADI also asserted cross-claims against Boyington and RBE, including a fraud claim, a breach-of-contract claim, and a claim seeking enforcement of a ma-terialman’s lien. Boyington and RBE answered the original complaint and the cross-claims filed by ADI. Boyington and RBE later asserted a counterclaim against Bryan and cross-claims against ADI. Boy-ington and RBE also filed a third-party complaint against TMD and Jack Kirk, the president and CEO of TMD. Boyington and RBE settled then- claims against TMD and Kirk and voluntarily dismissed them from the action on March 8, 2011. Another unpaid subcontractor, Bonitz Flooring Group, Inc. (“Bonitz”), moved to intervene in the action, seeking payment from ADI; ADI consented to a judgment in favor of Bonitz.

In March 2012, Boyington and RBE moved for leave to amend their cross-claims to add as parties to those claims Gerald and Brent and to assert a defamation claim against Gerald and Brent. The trial court never ruled on that motion. In December 2012, after the first day of trial had been completed, Gerald and Brent sought leave of court to file a cross-claim against RBE seeking recovery either as individuals, as Gerald doing business as A & D, or as “Andrew <& Dawson, Proprietorship.” The trial court denied that motion on the second day of the trial. However, as will be discussed further, infra, the testimony at trial revealed that the design-build contract was executed on behalf of RBE and A & D, not ADI, and, despite its earlier interlocutory denial of Gerald and Brent’s motion seeking leave to assert a cross-claim, the trial court, it appears, substituted A & D as the real party in interest after the close of the evidence, pursuant to Rule 17(a), Ala. R. Civ. P., and Rule 15(b), Ala. R. Civ. P. (stating that an amendment to conform the pleadings to [351]*351the evidence “shall not be refused ... solely because it ... works a complete change in parties”).

The action was tried over three days in November and December 2012 and in June 2013. The trial comí; entered a judgment on September 26, 2013, in favor of Bryan and against Boyington, RBE, and A & D in the amount of $43,205.57 on Bryan’s breach-of-contract claim. The trial court also entered a judgment in favor of A & D and against RBE for the total amount of $63,075, which amount was composed of the $43,205.57 owed to Bryan,2 $11,201.98 owed to Bonitz, and $8,667.45 for other amounts due and owing to A & D. The trial court denied all other relief requested by the parties.3

Boyington and RBE filed a joint post-judgment motion on October 24, 2013. On October 30, 2013, Bryan filed a response to Boyington and RBE’s motion, in which he also requested postjudgment relief. On October 31, 2013, Boyington and RBE moved to strike that portion of Bryan’s October 30, 2013, response insofar as it sought to amend the judgment or requested other postjudgment relief. After a hearing, the trial court denied Boyington and RBE’s joint postjudgment motion, and it denied Bryan’s response, insofar as it had sought postjudgment relief, as having been untimely filed. Boyington and RBE appealed to the Alabama Supreme Court, and Bryan perfected a cross-appeal. Our supreme court transferred the appeals to this court, pursuant to Ala.Code 1975, § 12-2-7(6).

Our standard of review in cases where the trial court considers oral testimony is well settled.

“When evidence is taken ore tenus and the trial judge makes no express findings of fact, [an appellate court] will assume that the trial judge made those findings necessary to support the judgment. Transamerica Commercial Fin. Corp. v. AmSouth Bank, N.A., 608 So.2d 375, 378 (Ala.1992) (citing Fitzner Pontiac-Buick-Cadillac, Inc. v. Perkins & Assocs. Inc., 578 So.2d 1061 (Ala.1991)). We will not disturb the findings of the trial court unless those findings are “clearly erroneous, without supporting evidence, manifestly unjust, or against the great weight of the evidence.” Gaston v. Ames, 514 So.2d 877, 878 (Ala.1987) (citing Cougar Mining Co. v. Mineral Land & Mining Consultants, Inc., 392 So.2d 1177 (Ala.1981))....

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Bluebook (online)
174 So. 3d 347, 2014 WL 4055346, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/boyington-v-bryan-alacivapp-2014.