Healey v. Coury

783 P.2d 795, 162 Ariz. 349, 37 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 50, 1989 Ariz. App. LEXIS 176
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arizona
DecidedJune 20, 1989
Docket2 CA-CV 89-0033, 2 CA-CV 89-0034
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 783 P.2d 795 (Healey v. Coury) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Healey v. Coury, 783 P.2d 795, 162 Ariz. 349, 37 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 50, 1989 Ariz. App. LEXIS 176 (Ark. Ct. App. 1989).

Opinion

OPINION

FERNANDEZ, Judge.

This case involves the breach of an oral contract of employment. Both parties appeal from the judgment, entered after a jury verdict, that awarded $61,200 to appel-lee. Appellant also appeals from an order denying its motion for relief from the judgment brought pursuant to Rule 60, Ariz.R. Civ.P., 16 A.R.S.

Appellee Jack Healey sued appellant Coury Construction Company and its shareholders, Pete and Karen Coury, for breach of an oral contract. Healey sued after he demanded his share of certain profits in May 1984, and Coury denied they had entered into a contract. The complaint also sought treble damages pursuant to the Arizona Racketeering Act (RICO), A.R.S. §§ 13-2301 through 13-2317, alleging theft by false pretenses and by fraudulent scheme or artifice.

During the course of the trial, the court granted a directed verdict against Healey on the RICO claim and dismissed the claims against the Courys as individuals.

Healey was a bank appraiser in the State of Washington until 1975 when he retired and began spending winters in Arizona. Cross-appellees Karen and Pete Coury are Healey’s sister and brother-in-law. Pete Coury is in the real estate and construction business in Mesa. Through Coury Construction Company, he had acquired a large parcel of land in Mesa that he planned to subdivide. Healey testified that, during a 1975 visit to Phoenix, he told Coury he could make more money on the property by developing a recreational vehicle (RV) park on the site. Healey testified that in December 1976 or January 1977 he and Coury Construction agreed that Healey would gather information about developing an RV park and Coury Construction would pay him 10% of the “net operating income” from the park or 10% of the “increase in value” of the property. Healey also testified that Coury Construction promised him 10% of the annual net operating income and 10% of the profits when the property was sold. Healey testified he prepared a written agreement, but Coury never signed it.

Subsequently, Coury Construction leased the property to a third party who began developing it into an RV park. When the park was partially developed, the lessee declared bankruptcy. Following lengthy legal proceedings, Coury Construction reacquired the property and completed development of the RV park. Healey testified that he gathered information and made numerous suggestions about the design and operation of the park, that he prepared several booklets about the park and that he contacted lenders about obtaining funding. He also testified he worked many hours at the park during the winters from 1976 through May 1984. In addition, Healey testified that he flew from Washington several times during the summers to assist Coury with RV park business matters. According to Healey, Coury Construction reimbursed him for the costs of those trips. Healey also presented evidence that Coury Construction purchased a car for him to use, and Coury agreed with that evidence. Several people who had worked for Coury Construction testified that Healey had *352 worked on plans and that he had spent a lot of time at his office in the park.

Coury denied that the company and Hea-ley had entered into an agreement and that Healey had performed most of the work he claimed to have done. Coury Construction introduced 47 checks for $150 each that it gave Healey from December 1982 through May 4, 1984. Each is marked “Consultant Fee.” Coury Construction also introduced copies of a number of other checks paid to Healey over the years as reimbursement for supplies he had bought for the park. Coury testified that the $150 checks constituted a weekly salary the company paid Healey for reading park utility meters and performing other odd jobs. Several witnesses, including other RV park employees and persons involved with the park’s design and construction, testified that Healey performed little work for the RV park, had little or no input in the design, was given “busy work,” such as reading meters, and had not gathered information or prepared documents.

At the end of the three-and-one-half week trial, the court submitted interrogatories to the jury. The jury found that Hea-ley and Coury Construction had entered into an oral contract, that the terms of the contract were that Healey was to receive 10% of the annual net profits and 10% of the sale price less the costs of development and sale, and that Healey had performed his duties under the contract. The jury then awarded Healey damages of $61,200 through May 4, 1984, the date on which he demanded payment from Coury.

In its judgment, the court ordered Coury Construction to provide annual accountings and to pay Healey 10% of the annual net profits, if any, of the RV park, beginning May 4, 1984 and continuing until the park is sold. If the park is sold, Coury Construction is to pay Healey 10% of the profit from the sale less the costs of development and sale.

In its appeal, Coury Construction contends as follows: 1) there is no contract as a matter of law because the terms are too indefinite, or because it is barred by the statute of frauds and even if there is a contract, the action is barred by the statute of limitations; 2) insufficient evidence was presented to support either the jury’s finding that a contract existed or the amount of damages awarded; 3) the court erred in instructing the jury that Coury Construction’s access to the evidence shifted the burden of proof; 4) the order for an accounting and for damages accruing after May 1984 is void because it exceeds the jury’s verdict; and 5) the accounting order is improper because Healey failed to show that his remedy at law was inadequate.

IS THERE A CONTRACT?

Coury Construction contends that no contract existed as a matter of law, raising the following issues: 1) the terms of the alleged agreement were too indefinite; 2) the alleged contract is barred by the statute of frauds; and 3) the alleged contract is barred by the statute of limitations. In determining these issues, this court must view the evidence in the light most favorable to sustaining the verdict of the trial court. Maxwell v. Aetna Life Insurance Co., 143 Ariz. 205, 693 P.2d 348 (App.1984).

1) Are the Contract Terms Definite?

Coury Construction argues that the terms of the alleged contract were not shown with reasonable certainty and that the agreement Healey described was “extremely vague.” It complains that Healey neither testified to the meaning of the terms “net operating income” and “increase in value” nor produced evidence as to their meaning under accepted accounting practices. Finally, Coury Construction contends that Healey’s testimony as to his performance was too indefinite.

In addition to his own testimony, Healey introduced copies of documents that he prepared when he was gathering information about the park.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
783 P.2d 795, 162 Ariz. 349, 37 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 50, 1989 Ariz. App. LEXIS 176, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/healey-v-coury-arizctapp-1989.