Flex Homes, Inc. v. Ritz-Craft Corp of Michigan, Inc.

491 F. App'x 628
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedAugust 7, 2012
Docket10-4399
StatusUnpublished
Cited by35 cases

This text of 491 F. App'x 628 (Flex Homes, Inc. v. Ritz-Craft Corp of Michigan, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Flex Homes, Inc. v. Ritz-Craft Corp of Michigan, Inc., 491 F. App'x 628 (6th Cir. 2012).

Opinion

OPINION

JOHN C. O’MEARA, District Judge.

On February 23, 2007, Flex Homes, Inc. (“Flex”) and Ingrid and Kenneth Green (“the Greens,” and collectively “Plaintiffs”) filed suit in the Court of Common Pleas for Geauga County, Ohio alleging that *630 Ritz-Craft Corp of Michigan and Ritz-Craft Corp of Pennsylvania (“Defendants” or “Ritz-Craft”) improperly manufactured, designed, and repaired various components of a prefabricated home. Specifically, the complaint alleged claims for: (1) breach of contract, (2) breach of implied warranty of workmanship, (B) breach of implied warranties of merchantability and fitness, (4) negligence, (5) products liability, and (6) violations of the Ohio Consumer Sales Protection Act. Ritz-Craft removed the case. The district court granted, in part, Defendants’ motion to dismiss and motion for summary judgment. The matter then proceeded to trial. The jury returned a verdict for the Greens on their claims for breach of implied warranty of workmanship and products liability. For these claims, the jury found the Greens were entitled to $12,675.00. Plaintiffs appeal the adverse rulings on their breach of contract claims, the refusal to admit certain testimony, the refusal to strike certain testimony, the jury award, and the jury instructions. The Greens also appeal the adverse ruling on their Ohio Consumer Sales Protection Act claim. For the reasons that follow, we AFFIRM the district court.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Flex is owned by Inga Dollinger. It builds and sells both prefabricated and traditionally constructed homes. Ingrid Green, Inga’s daughter, is the vice president of Flex. Flex decided to build a model prefabricated home (“the Model Home”) in an attempt to attract more customers. Ritz-Craft designs and manufactures the component parts of the prefabricated homes they sell. 2 It ships these component parts to a lot, where a “set-crew” 3 assembles them into a house. After purchasing a lot for the Model Home, Flex had four meetings with Ritz-Craft. During these meetings, Flex contracted with Ritz-Craft to manufacture the Model Home under the terms of the Builder Agreement (“the Agreement”). The Greens agreed to pay for the order in an effort to get better mortgage rates. However, at the time of purchase, it is undisputed that the Model Home was not intended to be the Greens’ personal residence. Furthermore, at the closing of the contract, the Greens were not parties to the Agreement.

The Agreement provides that “RITZ-CRAFT’S WARRANTY TO THE BUILDER IS AS REFLECTED IN THE LIMITED WARRANTY ATTACHMENT TO THIS AGREEMENT.” The Agreement lists a Limited Warranty under the heading “Attachments and Binding Articles.” Attached to the Agreement was a document, titled “Builder Policy and Procedure Manual,” which describes a one-year warranty. This document provides that

Ritz-Craft warrants the structural components and operational systems in each home to the original retail purchaser, when purchased new and given reasonable and necessary maintenance, to be free from substantial defects in materials or workmanship.

This warranty extends to the first retail purchaser and its transferee(s).

After contracting with Ritz-Craft, Ingrid procured the necessary documents and prepared for the home to be set. The set was scheduled to be completed Febru *631 ary 17, 2005. Numerous problems occurred during the construction of the home. Flex did not pay to have any of these issues repaired. After the construction was complete, the Greens moved into the Model Home despite its defects.

On February 23, 2007, Plaintiffs filed suit in the Court of Common Pleas for Geauga County, Ohio alleging that Defendants improperly manufactured, designed, and repaired various components of the Model Home. The complaint alleged claims for: (1) breach of contract, (2) breach of implied warranty of workmanship, (3) breach of implied warranties of merchantability and fitness, (4) negligence, (5) products liability, and (6) violations of the Ohio Consumer Sales Protection Act (“OCS-PA”). Ritz-Craft removed the case to the Northern District of Ohio.

On April 12, 2007, Ritz-Craft moved to dismiss some of Plaintiffs’ claims. The district court granted this motion with respect to the Greens’ claim for breach of contract, Flex’s claim for breach of implied warranty of workmanship, Plaintiffs’ claims for breach of implied warranties of merchantability and fitness, Flex’s claim of negligence, Flex’s OCSPA claim, and all claims for punitive damages. The district court denied Ritz-Craft’s motion with respect to the Greens’ breach of implied warranty of workmanship claim.

On January 15, 2009, Ritz-Craft moved for partial summary judgment. This motion was granted in part and denied in part. On September 30, 2009, the district court granted the motion with respect to Flex’s breach of contract claim, part of the Greens’ negligence claim, Flex’s products liability claim, and the Greens’ OCSPA claim. However, the district court denied Ritz-Craft’s motion with respect to the Greens’ product liability claims. Thus, pri- or to trial, all of Flex’s claims were dismissed.

Subsequently, the district court proceeded to trial on the Greens’ claims of negligence, breach of implied warranty of workmanship, and products liability. Several witnesses presented testimony during trial. Cynthia Casto testified that, based on her experience as a real estate appraiser, the problems in the home impaired its value by $200,000. In order to prove that there were problems with the electrical systems of the Model Home, the Greens presented the expert testimony of Michael Thompson (“Thompson”). Thompson submitted a report which detailed his credentials as an electrician and explained his opinion about the electrical issues with the house. He testified that electrical repairs would cost $62,000. Ritz-Craft responded by putting on their own master electrician, William Tegler (“Tegler”). Joseph Nyzen, a structural engineer, alleged that there were structural problems in the Model Home. The Greens also called on Dale Olson (“Olson”), their finishing contractor, to explain the types of repairs the home needed and to testify to his estimate of the cost of those repairs. Olson was permitted to testify to repairs that would cost $14,860.

After the presentation of evidence, the district court requested that each side provide proposed jury instructions to the court. After reviewing the jury instructions, the district court held a hearing in regards to the appropriate jury instructions. During this hearing, the Greens objected to the district court’s refusal of their request for a diminution instruction. Following the hearing, the district court instructed the jury without the diminution instruction. After deliberating for two days, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the Greens on three of their claims, and awarded the Greens $12,675. This timely appeal followed.

*632 ANALYSIS

Plaintiffs claim that the district court made errors which warrant reversal by this court.

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491 F. App'x 628, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/flex-homes-inc-v-ritz-craft-corp-of-michigan-inc-ca6-2012.