Cresci Construction Services, Inc. v. Martin

64 A.3d 254, 2013 Pa. Super. 66, 2013 WL 1248002, 2013 Pa. Super. LEXIS 154
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedMarch 28, 2013
StatusPublished
Cited by59 cases

This text of 64 A.3d 254 (Cresci Construction Services, Inc. v. Martin) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cresci Construction Services, Inc. v. Martin, 64 A.3d 254, 2013 Pa. Super. 66, 2013 WL 1248002, 2013 Pa. Super. LEXIS 154 (Pa. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

OPINION BY FITZGERALD, J.:

Appellant, James H. Martin, appeals from the June 10, 2011 judgment entered in the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas. He challenges the trial court’s decision to deny him attorney’s fees and prejudgment interest on the jury’s award of monetary damages. We hold that Appellant failed to establish that the jury’s award represented a liquidated or ascertainable amount owed under the contract such that prejudgment interest should be awarded as a matter of right. We further hold that Appellant failed to demonstrate that the trial court abused its discretion by deciding not to award attorney’s fees. Accordingly, we affirm.

Appellant and Appellee, Cresci Construction Services, Inc., entered into a contract on October 16, 2004, for construction services to be performed by Appellee. See Ex. A to Compl. Specifically, the contract provided that Appellee would build a home for Appellant for $184,730. The contract included a liquidated damages clause that applied if Appellant wished to cancel the contract before Appellee actually began work.1 Id. at ¶ 20. The contract did not reference any other liquidated damages that could accrue. Other than the cost of completing the home, the contract did not specify or refer to any monetary values, established market prices, or other fixed standards regarding a determination of mortgage expenses, legal expenses,2 inspection fees, and the costs of maintaining two homes in the event of a breach.3

On April 19, 2006, Appellee filed a complaint against Appellant, claiming that Appellant

impeded the efforts of [Appellee] in completing the contract by (A) continuously changing and attempting to change the terms of the contract; (B) hiring other individuals or firms to do certain aspects [257]*257of the work identified in the contract without the consent of [Appellee] as required by the terms of the contract; (C) allowing other individuals and firms hired by [Appellant] to work on the premises ... and (D) refusing to cooperate and meet with [Appellee] to discuss [Appellant’s] unilateral changes to the contract.

Appellee’s Compl, 4/19/06, at ¶ 5. Appellee claimed Appellant owed $34,378.56 on the balance of the contract. Id. at ¶ 7.

Appellant counterclaimed for breach of contract, breach of duty of good faith and fair dealing, negligent representation, and fraudulent representation. See generally Appellant’s Answer, New Matter, and Am. Countercl., 8/11/06. Appellant claimed Ap-pellee had failed to complete several of the contract’s required obligations. Id. With respect to breach-of-contract damages, Appellant alleged the following:

28. As a direct and proximate result of [Appellee’s] willful failure to complete the home and complete the same in a good and workman like [sic] manner, [Appellant] has been forced to incur expenses, including, but not limited to additional mortgage expenses, legal expenses, inspection fees, and associated costs of maintaining two (2) properties since the home in question is uninhabitable.
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31.As a direct and proximate result of [Appellee’s] willful failure to complete the home and complete the same in a good and workman like [sic] manner, [Appellant] is required to contract with a new contractor to complete the home at a far greater expense than was originally set with [Appellee],
32. [Appellant] has not received the appropriate financial credit for the items purchased by [Appellant] for [Appellee] to install.
33. [Appellant] has not received appropriate financial credit for the work performed by [Appellant] which was not needed to be performed by [Appellee].
WHEREFORE, [Appellant] demands judgment for breach of contract in and [sic] amount in excess of Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) together with costs, attorneys fees, pre and post judgment interest and any additional amounts as this court may deem necessary and/or appropriate.

Id. at 8-9.

A jury trial commenced on April 12, 2010.4 The jury found that Appellee breached the parties’ construction agreement and awarded Appellant $66,000 in breach-of-contract damages. Trial Ct. Op., 11/1/10, at 1; Verdict, 4/16/10, at 1. The verdict sheet did not subcategorize the amount of damages. The verdict sheet also did not contain any jury interrogatories addressing the remaining claims and damages.5

Following the jury award, Appellant filed timely post-trial motions demanding attorneys’ fees and prejudgment interest on the breach of contract damages. Appellant’s Mot. for Attorneys Fees, 4/26/10, at 2; Appellant’s Mot. for Pre-Judgment Interest, 4/26/10, at 2-3. Appellee also filed a timely post-trial motion requesting relief. Appellee’s Mot. for Post-Trial Relief, 4/26/10. After a hearing, the trial [258]*258court denied all post-trial motions in a brief order.

Appellee did not appeal from the adverse verdict. Appellant, however, timely appealed from the order denying his post-trial motions and timely filed a court-ordered Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) statement. This Court, however, quashed the appeal because no judgment was entered.

The trial court entered judgment on June 10, 2011, and Appellant timely appealed. Appellant raises the following issues for our review:

Did the trial court err in not awarding prejudgment interest to [Appellant]?
Did the trial court err in not awarding attorneys [sic] fees to [Appellant]?

Appellant’s Brief at 2 (capitalization omitted).

For his first issue, Appellant argues that pre-judgment interest in a breach of contract matter is a legal right. Id. at 6. He claims that he was “forced to incur additional mortgage expenses, legal expenses, inspection fees, and associated costs with maintaining two properties since the home was uninhabitable.” Id. at 7. Appellant suggests that these additional sums are ascertainable because “there were construction loan documents, existing inspection fees and a clear understanding by ... Appellee ... that the mortgage amounts were due to be paid based upon a draw schedule.”6 Id. He opines that “[m]ost of these sums, specifically, the mortgage costs, including, but not limited to, monthly payments, interest, and fees, and the inspection fees, were clearly and readily available by the very definition of what they are and the state and federal laws which mandate their availability and disclosure.” Id. at 7-8. Appellant theorizes that because the sums he claims are ascer-tamable, § 854(1) of the Restatement (Second) of Contracts applies and § 354(2), which begins with the qualifying phrase “In any other case ...,” does not. Id. at 8. Therefore, Appellant maintains, the trial court is bound by § 354(1) and has no discretion under § 354(2) to decline to award prejudgment interest. Id.

He does not argue that the contract provided for the payment of “additional mortgage expenses, legal expenses, inspection fees, and associated costs with maintaining two properties.” See id. at 7.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
64 A.3d 254, 2013 Pa. Super. 66, 2013 WL 1248002, 2013 Pa. Super. LEXIS 154, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cresci-construction-services-inc-v-martin-pasuperct-2013.