Dawson v. Shea

14 Mass. L. Rptr. 184
CourtMassachusetts Superior Court
DecidedNovember 26, 2001
DocketNo. 9401025
StatusPublished

This text of 14 Mass. L. Rptr. 184 (Dawson v. Shea) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Massachusetts Superior Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dawson v. Shea, 14 Mass. L. Rptr. 184 (Mass. Ct. App. 2001).

Opinion

Velis, J.

The plaintiffs commenced this action alleging that the defendants breached provisions of sales agreements and violated G.L.c. 93A. Specifically, the plaintiffs allege that the defendants failed to comply with contract provisions with respect to hiring an appraiser so that they could purchase the business in question. For the following reasons, this court orders that judgment enter in favor of the plaintiffs with respect to the breach of contract claims, and that judgment enter in favor of the defendants with respect to the G.L.c. 93A claims.

FINDINGS OF FACT

In 1969, Donald Dawson’s father established Dinny’s Tavern, located at 251 Lincoln Street, Worcester. Over the following years, Dinny’s Tavern, as well as its liquor license, fixtures, and other necessary assets, were controlled and owned by Dinny’s Restaurant, Inc. All ownership rights to Dinny’s Tavern and Dinny’s Restaurant, Inc. were subsequently transferred to Donald Dawson’s mother, Marilyn Dawson.

On August 9, 1982, Marilyn Dawson sold, by way of a sales agreement, all of her right, title and interest in Dinny’s Tavern and Dinny’s Restaurant, Inc. to the defendant Paul Shea. At this time, Paul Shea organized PCB, Inc. to acquire and operate Dinny’s Tavern and the other assets of Dinny’s Restaurant, Inc. On December 30, 1983, the parties entered into a supplemental sales agreement.

In both the original sales agreement and the supplemental agreement, Marylin Dawson, her daughter Jane Dawson, and Donald Dawson reserved the right to repurchase Dinny’s Tavern and related assets for a fair and reasonable price after the expiration of ten years. The original sales agreement stated that in the event that a party exercised its repurchase option, the defendants agreed to take back a mortgage "not to exceed 80% of the agreed sales price.” The supplemental agreement provided that in the event that a party exercised its re-purchase option, once a sales price is agreed on, the prime rate at the time was to be pre-computed and added to the sales price, and that the Plaintiffs would receive a 20% discount on the total figure.

The supplemental agreement also provided that in the absence of an agreement as to the fair and reasonable price, each party would have an appraisal performed by:

[a] qualified realtor or person familiar with the liquor business and a mean will be established between the appraisals which will be the basis for the sales price ... In the event the parties cannot agree as to a figure, the appraisers shall pick a third-party independent appraiser whose opinion will be binding on all parties.

In August of 1992, the plaintiffs notified the defendants that they wished to exercise their re-purchase option. Subsequently, the parties had a discussion regarding appraisers and could not come to an agreement. The defendants then hired as an appraiser Stephen Ferguson, a real estate agent and an attorney. Ferguson valued the business at $207,000.00.

The plaintiffs hired as an appraiser Don Maloney, an accountant. Maloney testified at trial that he has appraised several businesses over the years including a few that have held liquor licences as assets. He would appraise the value of the liquor licence for the purpose of these business’ tax returns. He never represented clients in any liquor licensing board proceedings, but had performed at least one appraisal of a bar/restaurant. In this present situation, Maloney valued the business by viewing its federal income tax returns for 1990, and applying the methods for valuing businesses under Internal Revenue Ruling 59-60. Maloney considered all of the assets of the business in reaching his evaluation. Maloney’s valuation of the business, based largely on the income method, was $64,000.00.

Neither the plaintiff nor the defendant accepted the other’s appraiser’s valuation, and the appraisers did [185]*185not select a third-party appraiser. The parties did, however, agree that a third-party appraiser would be selected in the fall of 1992. Donald Dawson made several requests to Shea to select or approve a third-party appraiser. These requests took place during meetings over the next few years and by a letter dated November 11, 1993.3

The parties never reached an agreement with respect to an independent appraiser, and the plaintiffs never purchased the business. The plaintiffs filed claims against the defendants alleging breach of contract and violations of G.L.c. 93A.

At trial, the parties offered evidence regarding the tavern’s assets, including its liquor license. Under the terms of its liquor licence, Dinny’s Tavern is exempt from compliance with certain handicap provisions through a “grandfather clause.” This “grandfather clause” ceases to apply if the liquor licence is lost or encumbered.

The defendants argue that Donald Dawson has a prior felony drug conviction, an impediment to obtaining a liquor licence, and that Jane Dawson lives out of state, an absolute bar to obtaining such a licence. The defendants claim that the plaintiffs’ problems in obtaining a liquor licence greatly reduce the value of the tavern, and that such problems were not adequately considered by Maloney, the plaintiffs’ appraiser.

The defendants further argue that Maloney was not qualified to appraise the value of the tavern and its assets, and therefore, a condition of the sale agreements was not satisfied. The defendants claim that they have no obligation to agree to a third-party appraiser or otherwise sell the tavern to the defendants under the terms of the agreements.

Finally, with respect to the plaintiffs’ G.L.c. 93A claims, the defendants argue that they never engaged in any unfair business practices or acted in bad faith. Additionally, the defendants claim that the plaintiffs never sent to them a proper 93A demand letter.

RULINGS OF LAW Breach of Contract

The defendants argue that it had no obligation to appoint, or to agree to the appointment of, a third-party appraiser. The defendants claim that the plaintiffs failed to comply with certain provisions of the sales agreements, or at least a condition precedent required by the agreements, thereby excusing them from satisfying other terms. Specifically, the defendants argue that the plaintiffs did not satisfy their burden of selecting a qualified appraiser. Under Massachusetts law, a party is not required to perform its contractual promises if there is an uncured material failure to perform by the other party. See Davis v. Dawson, Inc., 15 F.Sup.2d 64, 119(D.Mass. 1998); Peabody. N.E., Inc. v. Marshfield, 426 Mass. 436, 441 (1998); Hawthorne’s Inc. v. Warrenton Realty, Inc., 414 Mass. 200, 211 (1993).

Here, this court finds that Maloney was, in fact, qualified to appraise the restaurant and its assets. Maloney had the appropriate academic credentials as well as the necessary and relevant experience. Moreover, in appraising the restaurant, Maloney took into account all of the assets and properly applied a recognized appraisal technique in arriving at his final figure.

The fact that Maloney’s appraisal is substantially less than Ferguson’s does not affect this court’s decision. The contract was designed for this type of situation where the party’s appraisers do not agree. It could be the case that Maloney’s appraisal is incorrect and too low, but it could also be the case that Ferguson’s appraisal is incorrect and too high.4

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Bluebook (online)
14 Mass. L. Rptr. 184, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dawson-v-shea-masssuperct-2001.