Foster, J. v. Nuffer, A.

CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedOctober 31, 2022
Docket2017 EDA 2021
StatusUnpublished

This text of Foster, J. v. Nuffer, A. (Foster, J. v. Nuffer, A.) 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
Foster, J. v. Nuffer, A., (Pa. Ct. App. 2022).

Opinion

J-A11011-22

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

JOHN W. FOSTER, JR. AND MAUREEN : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF FOSTER, H/W : PENNSYLVANIA : : v. : : : ANDREW NUFFER AND BRIANNA : CLARK AND COVE HILL, INC. D/B/A : No. 2017 EDA 2021 HOUSEINSPECT AND COLONIAL : REALTY AND PROPERTY : MANAGEMENT, LLC, AND VICTOR : YOUNG AND PA CONTRATOR, LLC : : : APPEAL OF: COVE HILL, INC. D/B/A : HOUSEINSPECT :

Appeal from the Order Entered September 3, 2021 In the Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County Civil Division at No(s): 2017-01162

BEFORE: BOWES, J., STABILE, J., and McLAUGHLIN, J.

MEMORANDUM BY BOWES, J.: FILED OCTOBER 31, 2022

Cove Hill, Inc. d/b/a HouseInspect (“Appellant”) appeals from the

September 3, 2021 order confirming a March 5, 2020 arbitration award and

entering a judgment in favor of John W. Foster, Jr. and Maureen Foster

(collectively, “the Fosters”) for $40,390 with interest. We affirm.

This controversy stems from the Fosters’ purchase of a single-family

home located in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania (“the property”). On

June 30, 2015, the Fosters entered into an agreement to buy the property

from Andrew Nuffer and Brianna Clark (collectively, “the Sellers”). The Sellers’ J-A11011-22

real estate agent was Victor Young (“Young”), who was an employee of

Colonial Realty & Property Management, LLC (“Colonial”). The Fosters hired

Appellant to inspect and report upon the condition of the property. After the

sale was completed, the Fosters discovered several defects in the property,

including a leaky roof, water penetration in the basement, and external

flooding that required costly renovations and decreased the property’s value.

The Fosters contended that Appellant’s report did not adequately discuss,

discover, or disclose these issues.

The contract between the Fosters and Appellant was executed on July

8, 2015, and mandated that disputes between the parties be submitted to

binding arbitration and provided, in pertinent part, as follows:

ARBITRATION: ANY DISPUTE, CONTROVERSY, INTERPRETATION OR CLAIM INCLUDING CLAIMS FOR, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, BREACH OF CONTRACT, ANY FORM OF NEGLIGENCE, FRAUD OR MISREPRESENTATION ARISING OUT OF, FROM OR RELATED TO, THIS CONTRACT OR ARISING OUT OF, FROM OR RELATED TO THE INSPECTION OR INSPECTION REPORT SHALL BE SUBMITTED TO FINAL AND BINDING ARBITRATION UNDER THE RULES AND PROCEDURES OF CONSTRUCTION DISPUTE RESOLUTION SERVICES LLC OF SANTA FE, NM (888 930 0011). THE DECISION OF THE ARBITRATOR(S) APPOINTED THEREUNDER SHALL BE FINAL AND BINDING AND JUDGMENT ON THE AWARD MAY BE ENTERED IN ANY COURT OF COMPETENT JURISDICTION. EACH PARTY SHALL BEAR THEIR OWN COSTS OF ARBITRATION AND SHALL PAY ONE-HALF OF ANY ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS THAT ARE NOT ALLOCATED TO ANY INDIVIDUAL PARTY. AT LEAST ONE ADMINISTRATOR MUST BE FAMILIAR WITH THE HOME INSPECTION PROFESSION. ALL CLAIMS, INCLUDING CLAIMS OF VIOLATION OF THE CONSUMER PROTECTION/FRAUD ACT MUST BE HEARD IN ARBITRATION AND THE CLIENT IS WAIVING THEIR RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL.

....

-2- J-A11011-22

CHOICE OF LAW: PARTIES AGREE THAT THIS CONTRACT WAS ENTERED INTO IN MEDIA, DELAWARE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA AND THAT THE INTERPRETATION OF THIS CONTRACT IS GOVERNED BY PENNSYLVANIA LAW

Appellant’s Petition to Transfer, 5/10/18, at Exhibit A (“the Contract”). Thus,

the Contract provided for arbitration under the rules and procedures

established by Construction Dispute Resolution Services, LLC (“CDRS”).

On September 27, 2016, the Fosters filed a request for arbitration with

Appellant in connection with these events.1 Thereafter,

[t]he arbitrator, Ronald M. Agulnick, Esquire, [(“the Arbitrator”)] heard testimony from the parties over the course of two days, September 26 and September 27[,] 2019. Oral argument followed on December 19, 2019, and on March 5, 2020[,] the Arbitrator came to the conclusion that [Appellant’s] inspection was wholly inadequate, in that it failed to disclose the presence of

____________________________________________

1 Contemporaneously to the arbitration, the Fosters filed a civil complaint in January 2017 naming the Sellers, Young, and Colonial as defendants and asserting numerous claims for relief including fraud, detrimental reliance, breach of contract, respondeat superior, and various claims under the Real Estate Sellers Disclosure Law and the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law. Thereafter, Colonial and Young filed a praecipe to join Appellant as an additional defendant, along with a joinder complaint alleging, inter alia, that they were entitled to contribution or indemnity from Appellant with respect to the Fosters’ claims. See Joinder Complaint, 11/20/17, at ¶ 12. The Sellers also filed crossclaims against Appellant. Upon petition from Appellant, the trial court stayed the matter and transferred the indemnification claims of Colonial and Young to the then-ongoing arbitration proceedings. See Order, 12/20/18. Ultimately, the Arbitrator discharged the claims of Young and Colonial “without prejudice should that right arise at a later stage in the [c]ourt [l]itigation to assert such claim.” Motion to Confirm Arbitration Award, 10/16/20, at Exhibit B (“Arbitration Award”). In this Court, Young and Colonial filed a joint statement averring they “take no position in the matter before the [C]ourt and will not be filing any brief or memorandum.” No Brief Statement, 3/7/22, at 1 (unpaginated). Although listed as appellees, the Sellers have not participated in the instant appeal or otherwise communicated with the Court.

-3- J-A11011-22

staining, the conditions of the walls in the basement and crawl space, as well as the structural conditions of the roof.

Trial Court Opinion, 11/22/21, at 3. Thus, the Arbitrator entered an award “in

favor of [the Fosters] and against [Appellant] in the amount of $40,390

together with interest thereon at 6% from July 8, 2015 to date of payment

which shall not be later than 60 days after the date of this award.” Motion to

Confirm Arbitration Award, 10/16/20, at Exhibit B (“Arbitration Award”).

Appellant submitted a request for an internal appeal of the Arbitration

Award pursuant to CDRS Rule A25 (“Rule A25”), which provides as follows:

Appeals may only be filed as allowable by the Federal Arbitration Act [(“FAA”)]. . . . The appeal process shall be determined by the CDRS Senior Case Administrator as appropriate for each case. The CDRS Senior Case Administrator shall review all claims for appeal and shall determine if the claim merits the appeals process. There shall be an additional fee required for any request for appeal as determined by the CDRS Senior Case Administrator.

(a) If any party feels that the Arbitration Award may be vacated by a court of competent jurisdiction according to section 10 of the [FAA], that party may apply to CDRS to have a second arbitrator decide if the Arbitration Award would be vacated by the court. The decision of the second arbitrator would be through a documents[-]only submission by the parties. If the second arbitrator determines that the Arbitration Award would most likely be vacated by the court, a new arbitration hearing would be arranged by CDRS to be handled by a new arbitrator . . . . The new arbitration would be held only with the agreement of all parties to the arbitration. If a party does not wish to proceed with the new arbitration, the party requesting the arbitration appeal will have the ability to file a case with a court of competent jurisdiction to request that the original Arbitration Award be vacated.

-4- J-A11011-22

Response in Opposition to Motion to Confirm, 11/14/20, at Exhibit A (“CDRS

Rules”).

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Bluebook (online)
Foster, J. v. Nuffer, A., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/foster-j-v-nuffer-a-pasuperct-2022.