Davis v. Woodlake Partners, LLC

748 S.E.2d 762, 230 N.C. App. 88, 2013 WL 5621865, 2013 N.C. App. LEXIS 1087
CourtCourt of Appeals of North Carolina
DecidedOctober 15, 2013
DocketNo. COA13-236
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 748 S.E.2d 762 (Davis v. Woodlake Partners, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Davis v. Woodlake Partners, LLC, 748 S.E.2d 762, 230 N.C. App. 88, 2013 WL 5621865, 2013 N.C. App. LEXIS 1087 (N.C. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinions

ERVIN, Judge.

Defendant Woodlake Partners, LLC, appeals from an order entered by the trial court granting summary judgment in favor of Plaintiffs Paul B. Davis and Agnes Gioconda with respect to the issue of whether Defendant had breached its contract with Plaintiffs and from a judgment [89]*89entered by the trial court sitting without a jury ordering Defendant to pay $191,000 in compensatory damages, plus the costs, to Plaintiffs. On appeal, Defendant argues that the trial court erred by granting summary judgment in favor of Plaintiffs with respect to the issue of liability on the grounds that Plaintiffs’ claim was barred by the applicable statute of limitations and because Plaintiffs failed to satisfy a condition precedent set out in the contract between the parties. After careful consideration of Defendant’s challenges to the trial court’s order and judgment in light of the record and the applicable law, we conclude that the challenged order and judgment should be affirmed.

I. Factual Background

A. Substantive Facts

Plaintiffs, who resided in St. Louis, Missouri, purchased a tract of real property located in Moore County from Defendant upon which they planned to build their “Dream Retirement” home. In the first of the three documents executed by the parties in connection with this transaction, which was titled “Vacant Lot Offer to Purchase and Contract,” Plaintiffs agreed to buy, and the Defendant agreed to sell, Section 5, Lot 510, in the Woodlake subdivision for a total purchase price of $200,000. According to the Purchase Contract, Defendant was to deliver a general warranty deed to Plaintiffs at the time of closing. In addition, the Purchase Contract stated that:

14. OTHER PROVISIONS AND CONDITIONS: (ITEMIZE ALL ADDENDA TO THIS CONTRACT AND ATTACH HERETO). Additional Provisions Addendum and Agreement from Developer with attached addendum amending that letter are attached. Earnest money will be sent within five days of acceptance of offer when the signed hard copies are returned.

At the immediate right of each of the signatures contained in the Purchase Contract, the word “[SEAL]” appears in brackets.

The second document executed by the parties was an agreement in which Defendant obligated itself to provide certain facilities to the property being purchased by Plaintiffs. More specifically, the Infrastructure Agreement provided that, “[i]n consideration of the [Plaintiffs’] ... obligations set forth below, [Defendant] .. . herewith provide [s] [Plaintiffs] with a commitment to provide infrastructure of roads, water and sewer” “by December 31, 2006.” In return for this commitment, the Infrastructure Agreement imposed four obligations on Plaintiffs, one of [90]*90which required Plaintiffs, “[a]t closing, [to pay] Twenty Five Hundred and No/Dollars ($2,500.00) for [their] share of the estimated line installation cost,” with “[t]hese funds [to] be held in escrow by [Defendant] solely for the purposes of defraying the cost of installation of the sewer lines.” The word “seal” does not appear next to the signatures affixed to the Infrastructure Agreement.

The third document, which is entitled “Addendum to Offer to Purchase and Contract Dated September 27, 2004 with Paul B. Davis and Wife, Agnes Gioconda as Buyers and Woodlake Partners, LLC as Sellers for the Property Known as Lot 510 Sec 5 Woodlake,” altered some of the obligations imposed upon Plaintiffs by the Infrastructure Agreement. Once again, the word “seal” does not appear at any point on the Addendum.

The three documents in which the parties’ obligations to each other were embodied were not executed simultaneously. Instead, Defendant signed the Infrastructure Agreement on 23 September 2004; Plaintiffs signed the Purchase Contract, the Infrastructure Agreement, and the Addendum on 28 September 2004; and Defendant signed both the Purchase Contract and the Addendum on 4 October 2004. The purchase “closed” on or about 25 October 2004.

Although Plaintiffs were, as required in the relevant contractual provision, ready to build a residence on the property in 2011, they determined at that time that the roads leading to their property had not been paved and the sewer facilities had not been installed. On the other hand, Plaintiffs were told that the water lines required by the Infrastructure Agreement had been provided. According to Defendant, an unpaved road provided access to Plaintiffs’ property. In addition, Defendant asserted that several residences had been built in the relevant section of the Woodlake development despite the absence of a paved road. Similarly, despite the fact that plans had been made to install sewer lines to Plaintiffs’ property, Defendant asserted that the installation of those facilities had been delayed due to limited interest on the part of other property owners and the collapse of the real estate market. Although Defendant indicated that other purchasers in the Woodlake development had installed used septic systems, the condition of the soil on Plaintiffs’ lot precluded the use of such a system. Finally, even though Plaintiffs acknowledged that the $2,500 payment required in the Infrastructure Agreement had never been made, Defendant did not mention the payment of this fee at closing and had not sought to have this fee paid at any time thereafter. Moreover, many of the property owners who had made the required $2,500 payment had received a refund from Defendant.

[91]*91B. Procedural History

On 28 September 2011,1 Plaintiffs filed a verified complaint asserting that Defendant had breached the contract between the parties by failing to provide the required infrastructure and seeking either an order of specific performance or an award of damages. On 2 December 2011, Defendant filed an answer in which it responded to the material allegations of Plaintiffs’ complaint and asserted that Plaintiffs’ claims were barred by the applicable statute of limitations and by Plaintiffs’ failure to make the $2,500 payment required by the Infrastructure Agreement.

On 6 June 2012, Plaintiffs filed a motion seeking the entry of summary judgment in their favor. On 24 July 2012, the trial court entered an order denying a motion for summary judgment filed by Defendant,2 denying Plaintiffs’ summary judgment motion with respect to their specific performance claim, allowing Plaintiffs’ summary judgment motion with respect to their damages claim, and ordering that an evidentiary hearing be convened for the purpose of determining the amount of damages which should be awarded to Plaintiffs for Defendant’s breach of contract. After holding the evidentiary hearing contemplated by the 24 July 2012 order, the trial court entered a judgment awarding Plaintiffs $191,000 in compensatory damages, plus the costs, on 12 September 2012. Defendant noted an appeal to this Court from the 24 July 2012 order and the 12 September 2012 judgment.3

II. Substantive Legal Analysis

In its brief, Defendant argues that the trial court erred by granting summary judgment in favor of Plaintiffs on the grounds that Plaintiffs’ underlying breach of contract claim was barred by the applicable statute of limitations and on the grounds that Plaintiffs’ failure to make the $2,500 deposit constituted a failure to comply with a condition precedent to the effectiveness of any obligation which Defendant might otherwise have had to construct the facilities in question.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
748 S.E.2d 762, 230 N.C. App. 88, 2013 WL 5621865, 2013 N.C. App. LEXIS 1087, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/davis-v-woodlake-partners-llc-ncctapp-2013.