D & D Parks Construction Co. v. Martin

414 S.W.3d 402, 2012 Ark. App. 343, 2012 WL 1702061, 2012 Ark. App. LEXIS 465
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arkansas
DecidedMay 16, 2012
DocketNo. CA 11-1150
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 414 S.W.3d 402 (D & D Parks Construction Co. v. Martin) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
D & D Parks Construction Co. v. Martin, 414 S.W.3d 402, 2012 Ark. App. 343, 2012 WL 1702061, 2012 Ark. App. LEXIS 465 (Ark. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

ROBERT J. GLADWIN, Judge.

| Appellant D & D Parks Construction Company, Inc. (D & D) contends that the Baxter County Circuit Court erred by finding in favor of appellees Charles and Laura Martin in its judgment filed May 5, 2011, by: (1) denying the motion to dismiss the complaint for failure to attach the contract as an exhibit; (2) finding liability on D & D’s part; and (3) awarding excessive damages to the Martins. We affirm.

The Martins filed a complaint against D & D on August 7, 2008, alleging that the parties had entered into a contract for D & D to construct a custom house for the Martins in Mountain Home, Arkansas. The Martins alleged that D & D completed the house in a less-than-workman-like manner, was negligent in supervising and constructing the house, and caused the house to suffer from serious defects, including cracked Sheetrock and brick, dropped ^ceilings, insufficient framing and bracing, and improperly-designed and -installed rafters. The Martins sought judgment against D & D to cover repairs and relocation during repairs.

On August 18, 2008, D & D filed a general answer denying the Martins’ allegations. On December 7, 2010, minutes before the hearing, D & D filed a motion to dismiss pursuant to Arkansas Rule of Civil Procedure 10(d) (2010), claiming that the Martins failed to attach a copy of the contract to their complaint. The trial court denied the motion after hearing the Martins’ argument that D & D had written the contract and that the contract was not attached to the complaint because it was not readily available, as much time had passed between the house being built and the time the lawsuit was filed. The contract is included in the record as Plaintiffs Exhibit 11.

At the hearing, Ben Strider, a licensed civil engineer, testified that he inspected the house at issue and did not feel that the house was structurally sound. Upon inspection of the house, he found that, above the garage, an attic truss was displaced, which caused the garage ceiling to fail. The Martins had installed a support beneath the ceiling to keep it from falling any more than the six inches it had already fallen. Strider testified further that the roof rafters were on twenty-four-inch centers, spanning an area too wide for the lumber used according to the International Residential Code. Strider said that the same thing applied to the area above the kitchen/living room. He testified that there was nothing holding the two exterior walls together and that there was sagging on the ridge line over the kitchen/living room. He gave the Martins three options for fixing the roof structure. Option one was to replace the entire roof structure. Option two consisted of leaving the roof structure and “shirring it up” | ofrom within the house. Option three would involve stabilizing the roof structure and pushing on the walls, but lowering the ceiling in the kitchen/living room.

Steven Mark Esposito, owner of Quality Concept Homes and Exterior Specialties, Inc., testified that he estimated that the first option would cost $106,585, with a contingency of $10,237.50 for the repair of any brick work. He estimated that option two would cost $108,000. He did not prepare an estimate for option three.

Charles Martin testified that he used a two-by-twelve-inch beam to push the fallen area of the garage ceiling back up and contacted D & D. After he noticed an attic truss had fallen, a roof rafter that had nails pulled out or cracked, cracks in the kitchen/living room, and a half wall that separated from the exterior wall, Martin hired Vern Nelson, an engineer, to inspect the house. Martin anticipated that it would cost $8,793 to move his personal belongings while the house is being repaired and $1300 per month to rent a house during the repairs to his house. Martin also testified that he received a bid of $1022 for carpet removal and reinstallation. Martin said that he did not find option three suitable because it would lower the ceiling.

During cross examination, Martin admitted that he did not have anyone inspect his house for damage following the most recent ice storm. He claimed that he was never contacted by D & D after he complained about the garage ceiling. He admitted to receiving lower bids for the repair work, but claimed that he did not want to use those contractors because the engineer’s recommendations would not be followed by them.

|4Puffy Chevallier, a house framer, testified that he inspected the house and noticed that there were no posts in the basement. He said that the lack of posts would not affect the garage, but would affect the kitchen/living room. He submitted a bid for option three in the amount of $19,600, but testified that he did not think the work was necessary.

David Parks, owner of D & D, testified that the parties had a cost-plus contract to build the house and he finished the house in September or October 2003. He explained that he inspected the garage ceiling in 2008 and told the Martins he would return in the fall when it was cooler. He claimed that he called the Martins three times, but he never reached them. He was served with the lawsuit soon thereafter.

Parks testified that he visited the house three times since the lawsuit was filed. During those visits, he noticed that the steel piers he placed in the basement were gone, except one, and it had been moved. He claimed that moving the piers would cause movement of the walls above the basement, and he opined that the support piers from the basement had been removed or moved causing the problem of the house shifting. He stated that he could correct the problem with the house for $10-$12,000, or less. Parks stated on cross examination, “The rafters are on twenty-four-inch centers even though the contract says construction on sixteen-inch center because I always do twenty-four inch on the rafters.”

Charles Martin testified on rebuttal that he had not removed any beams from the basement. He then stated that he replaced two of the four beams in the basement, but did not move the location of the piers.

|ñThe trial court found that the Martins proved their case and awarded judgment against D & D for $116,662.33 ($108,000 for repairs; $5,690.10 for six weeks storage; $1950 for six weeks rent; and $1,022.23 for carpeting). D & D filed a timely notice of appeal, and this appeal followed.

I. Motion to Dismiss

D & D first contends that the trial court erred in not dismissing the Martins’ complaint for failure to attach the contract as an exhibit pursuant to Arkansas Rule of Civil Procedure 10(d) (2008). Rule 10(d) provides that a copy of any written instrument upon which a claim is based shall be attached as an exhibit to the pleading in which such claim is averred unless good cause is shown for its absence in such pleading. D & D argues that the complaint did not include the contract as an attached exhibit nor did the Martins proffer a good-cause explanation for not attaching the contract.

D & D claims that compliance with Rule 10(d) is mandatory under Ray & Sons Masonry Contractors, Inc. v. U.S. Fidelity & Guaranty Co., 353 Ark. 201, 114 S.W.3d 189 (2003), where no good cause was alleged for noncompliance.

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414 S.W.3d 402, 2012 Ark. App. 343, 2012 WL 1702061, 2012 Ark. App. LEXIS 465, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/d-d-parks-construction-co-v-martin-arkctapp-2012.