Bullfrog Marina, Inc. v. Lentz

501 P.2d 266, 28 Utah 2d 261, 1972 Utah LEXIS 848
CourtUtah Supreme Court
DecidedSeptember 20, 1972
Docket12503
StatusPublished
Cited by40 cases

This text of 501 P.2d 266 (Bullfrog Marina, Inc. v. Lentz) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Utah Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bullfrog Marina, Inc. v. Lentz, 501 P.2d 266, 28 Utah 2d 261, 1972 Utah LEXIS 848 (Utah 1972).

Opinions

[264]*264CALLISTER, Chief Justice:

Plaintiff initiated this action, alleging that it was a lessee of three houseboats under a written agreement for a term of two years and that defendant, lessor, by removing said boats from plaintiff’s dock had converted plaintiff’s possessory interest therein. In a second cause of action, plaintiff alleged that it had entered into an employment contract with defendant which defendant had breached, resulting in damage to plaintiff. Plaintiff further filed an affidavit for attachment of the houseboats and a housetrailer on the ground that defendant was a nonresident of this State, Rule 64C(a), U.R.C.P.

The trial court released the attachment on the basis that defendant was a resident of this State within the meaning of the rules of attachment. The trial court further held that the employment contract and lease between the parties were terminated and were of no further force or effect and that neither party had any right, title or interest thereunder. The trial court awarded judgment against defendant for a certain sum of money collected and retained by defendant to settle the account between the parties. Plaintiff was awarded $1000 for the value of certain items of personal property consisting of furnishings and equipment located on the boats at the time defendant removed them. The trial court determined that neither party was entitled to attorney’s fees; the other provisions of the judgment are not challenged on appeal and will not be related herein. Plaintiff appeals, and defendant cross-appeals.

Plaintiff, a corporation, was a conces-' sionaire of the National Park Service and had the exclusive right to operate tourist facilities at Bullfrog Basin on Lake Powell in San Juan County, Utah. Under plaintiff’s contract with the government, if plaintiff entered into a subconcession contract with anyone, the government, in addition to its regular franchise fees, was entitled to 50 per cent of the compensation received by plaintiff. Furthermore, any contract or agreement which plaintiff proposed to enter with respect to the exercise by others of any privilege granted under the concession contract was required to be submitted to the government for approval.

In 1969 plaintiff determined that as part of its service it would like to rent houseboats to the public at Bullfrog. Defendant was desirous of operating a houseboat business on Lake Powell. The parties entered negotiations to initiate the houseboat operations. They deemed a successful operation would entail the use of six houseboats; and each party was to procure three, and defendant was to manage the operation, including the advertising, reservations and bookkeeping. They commenced operation in May of 1969 under an oral agreement, which they desired reduced to writing. Since the parties desired to avoid the finan[265]*265cial consequences which would occur if the National Park Service deemed defendant a subconcessionaire, the parties subsequently executed two written contracts, which were back-dated to May 1969. One was an employment contract, wherein plaintiff employed defendant to operate a houseboat rental service with his remuneration to be a share of the net profits; this agreement was for a term of two years but could be terminated for cause by either party by a two-week written notice. Among the causes enumerated, which granted the employee the right to terminate, was unreasonable restrictions in the performance of work, with it being understood that the employee was in general to manage the division. The employment contract was signed by the parties on July 31, 1969, but was dated to May 19, 1969. The second written agreement was designated a lease, wherein defendant leased plaintiff three houseboats for a term of two years. The lease recited that plaintiff represented that it had no experience in the rental of houseboats and desired to lease them on a use basis; the lessor was to receive 40 per cent of the rental. This agreement included a provision for attorney’s fees resulting from a breach. The parties dated this agreement May 31, 1969, but it was actually signed either August 19, 1969, according to plaintiff, or October 10, 1969, according to defendant.

Defendant completed his duties at Bullfrog for the 1969 boating season on October IS, and departed to travel through the western United States and Mexico. On approximately November 23, 1969, defendant returned to Bullfrog and removed his three boats to Hall’s Crossing across Lake Powell. Subsequently he submitted a letter, dated November 28, 1969, to plaintiff terminating both the employment agreement and the lease. Defendant asserted that he had cause to terminate by reason of plaintiff’s diverting control of the advertising and reservations from him. Furthermore, plaintiff had failed to submit the contracts to the government, although the National Park Service had sent a letter July 15, 1969, making inquiry and stating that its clearance was necessary to ensure-, that plaintiff was not entering into a sub-concession contract. Defendant’s position^ was that plaintiff was eliminating him from participating in the 1970 boating season, i. e., plaintiff commenced using defendant’s trade name “Aqua Cruz” and receiving the reservations directly. By plaintiff’s procrastination in submitting the agreements to the government, defendant was left without knowing whether he would be able to conduct the operations in 1970.

On appeal, plaintiff asserts that the trial court erred in its determination that based upon all the facts and circumstances in evidence the lease and employment contract should be considered together as one contract and each part was interdependent [266]*266■ upon the other. Plaintiff urges that the ■ lease was a separate and distinct agreement and that thereunder it was entitled to ■possession of the houseboats for two years and that defendant was liable in damages for the conversion of plaintiff’s possessory interest.

To substantiate its argument plaintiff cites the principle that when parties have reduced to writing what appears to be a complete and certain agreement, it will be conclusively presumed, in the absence of fraud, that the writing contains the whole of the agreement between the parties; and that parol evidence of contemporaneous conversations, representations or statements will not be received for the purpose of varying or adding to the terms of the written agreement.1

The .foregoing principle is correct when applied to an integrated contract. The issue of this action is whether the lease represented a final and complete expression of the agreement of the parties or was merely a written memorandum by which part of the contract may be proved.

Section 228, Restatement, Contracts, states:

An agreement is integrated where the parties thereto adopt a writing or writings as the final and complete expression of the agreement. An integration is the writing or writings so adopted.

Comment a. of Section 228 explains that integrated contracts must be distinguished from written memoranda by which contracts may be proved. An essential element of an integration is that the parties shall have manifested assent not merely to the provisions of their agreement but to the writing or writings in question as a final statement of their intentions as to the matters contained therein. Whether a document was or was not adopted as an integration may be proved by any relevant evidence.

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Bluebook (online)
501 P.2d 266, 28 Utah 2d 261, 1972 Utah LEXIS 848, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bullfrog-marina-inc-v-lentz-utah-1972.