Hidalgo v. Julian

715 So. 2d 498, 1998 WL 281306
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 20, 1998
Docket98-83
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 715 So. 2d 498 (Hidalgo v. Julian) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hidalgo v. Julian, 715 So. 2d 498, 1998 WL 281306 (La. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinion

715 So.2d 498 (1998)

Anthony HIDALGO and Kathy Hidalgo, Plaintiffs-Appellees,
v.
Henry Lee JULIAN and Frances H. Julian, Defendants-Appellants.

No. 98-83.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

May 20, 1998.

*499 Michael R. Garber, Lake Charles, for Anthony Hidalgo and Kathy Hidalgo.

Frank C. Miller, III, Lake Charles, for Henry Lee Julian and Frances H. Julian.

Before THIBODEAUX, SAUNDERS and DECUIR, JJ.

THIBODEAUX, Judge.

Henry and Francis Julian appeal the trial court's judgment ordering them to execute an act of sale conveying their home to Anthony and Kathy Hidalgo for the sum of $14,000.00. The Hidalgos sued the Julians for specific performance of a signed purchase/sell agreement after the Julians refused to close the sale. The Julians alleged that but for the Hidalgos' erroneous indication to them that the property was termite infested, they would not have entered into the contract for that price. They alleged that their consent was vitiated by this error or, in the alternative, lesion beyond moiety, contending that the agreed-upon sale price of $14,000.00 is less than half of the value of the property. They also argued that the contract was void because it failed to contain an adequate description of the immovable property at issue. The trial court did not find the existence of an error and also ruled that the Julians failed to carry their burden of proving lesion beyond moiety. The Julians suspensively appealed.

We find that the statements of the Hidalgos were not proven to be erroneous; that the description of the property in the contract was sufficient to reasonably apprise all parties as to what was being purchased and should not serve to invalidate the contract; and, that the Julians failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the sale price was less than half of the actual market value of their home. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

I.

ISSUES

We must determine:

1. whether the Hidalgos' alleged misrepresentation regarding the condition of the property constituted an error that prevented the Julians from validly consenting to the agreement to purchase and sell;
2. whether the agreement was invalid because of an inadequate description of the property; and,
3. whether the sale is lesionary and should be canceled.

*500 II.

FACTS

The Julians own a 1,525 square feet, one bedroom, one bath house located at 220 Big Lake Road in Cameron Parish. The residence is located in a resort camp neighborhood and is situated on two lots measuring 138.2 feet × 100 feet in the Herbert Summer Place subdivision. After living in the residence for twenty-one years, the Julians moved to Natchitoches, Louisiana to care for an elderly relative, and placed their home on the market for $32,000.00. This figure was arbitrarily chosen by Henry Julian based upon a comparison he made of the selling prices of other properties in the subdivision.

The Hidalgos submitted a bid to purchase the property for $28,000.00. The Julians accepted the offer and all parties signed an "Agreement to Purchase and Sell" for that price on June 19, 1996. Soon thereafter, Hidalgo met Eric Rue, the owner of another home in the subdivision. Rue informed Hidalgo that he had also been interested in the Julians' home at one time but discovered, after having an inspection performed by Chris Pumpelly of Alamo Insect Control, that the house had structural damage caused by termites. Rue testified that during the inspection, Pumpelly went under the house to view the sills, joists and subflooring and actually showed him a rotten sill by pushing a screwdriver through it.

Hidalgo immediately called the Julians, who, by then, had been living in Natchitoches for close to a year. He spoke with Henry Julian and told him that the house was termite infested and had structural damage and that he and his wife no longer wanted to buy the house. Julian testified that since he had not lived at the property for nearly a year, he accepted Hidalgo's representation as being true and, consequently, asked him what he would be willing to pay for the property. Hidalgo stated that they would purchase it for half of the agreed upon price, $14,000.00. Julian initially rejected the offer but called Hidalgo later that afternoon and agreed to the new price. A new "Agreement to Purchase and Sell" was signed by the parties on June 25, 1996, designating a purchase price of $14,000.00. The Hidalgos also paid the Julians a deposit of $500.00.

After performing a title examination, the Hidalgos forwarded a cash deed to the Julians on August 2, 1996, requesting that they sign it in the presence of a notary public and return it to them for filing. They stated the balance of the purchase price, less the abstractor's fee of $135.00, would be forwarded upon receipt of the executed deed. Before the deed was executed, however, the Julians received notice that their home was not termite infested. In a letter dated August 5, 1996, Lyle Cormier of J & J Exterminating Company, who had been hired by the Julians to conduct an inspection of the property on July 31, 1996, reported the results of his inspection of the property. He wrote that the results of that inspection were based solely upon those areas readily accessible for visible inspection; therefore, many areas, especially underneath the house, were not inspected. He characterized his inspection as being inferior for this reason and concluded that although there were several existing conditions that made the property conducive to termite infestation, he was unable to detect any active infestation. He did not comment on the existence of structural damage. On that same date, August 5th, the Julians returned the $500.00 deposit to the Hidalgos, reimbursed them in full for the cost of updating the abstract, and advised them by letter that the agreement was not valid for numerous undisclosed reasons. The Julians continued to refuse to close the sale, and the Hidalgos filed a suit seeking specific performance of the contract.

The Julians answered, denying that any valid, enforceable agreement existed. They alleged that their consent was vitiated by error as to the condition of the property they were trying to sell and that the agreement contained an inadequate description of the property. They also urged the court to take notice of the fact that they had returned the $500.00 deposit to the Hidalgos. During the trial, the Julians raised the issue of lesion beyond moiety as a defense. They offered the appraisal of the property conducted on May 9, 1997, by A. Albert Cooley, a court recognized, expert real estate appraiser, as *501 proof of the estimated market value of the property. Cooley found that the home would be worth $33,000.00 in the absence of termite infestation or structural damage.

The Hidalgos had their own inspection of the property conducted by Chris Pumpelly of Alamo Insect Control on August 5, 1996. This was his second inspection of the property. According to Pumpelly, the subflooring was rotten and the sills and joists were also rotten and falling apart. In addition, he found termite runners on a floor joist. This evidenced a prior infestation; however, he did not find an active infestation.

The trial court essentially stated in written reasons that the error complained of by the Julians had not been established.

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Bluebook (online)
715 So. 2d 498, 1998 WL 281306, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hidalgo-v-julian-lactapp-1998.