Inimitable Group, L.P. v. Westwood Group Development II, Ltd.

264 S.W.3d 892, 2008 Tex. App. LEXIS 6252, 2008 WL 3540268
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedAugust 14, 2008
Docket2-07-289-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by44 cases

This text of 264 S.W.3d 892 (Inimitable Group, L.P. v. Westwood Group Development II, Ltd.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Inimitable Group, L.P. v. Westwood Group Development II, Ltd., 264 S.W.3d 892, 2008 Tex. App. LEXIS 6252, 2008 WL 3540268 (Tex. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

OPINION

TERRIE LIVINGSTON, Justice.

Introduction

This case involves a dispute over whether a contract for the construction and sale of an office and warehouse building was validly terminated by the purchaser before closing. In five issues, appellants Inimitable Group, L.P. and Soitis, L.L.C. challenge (1) the trial court’s determination that they did not validly terminate the contract and, consequently, (2) the trial court’s final judgment awarding damages to appellee Westwood Group Development II, Ltd. for breach of contract. We affirm.

Background

In February 2005, Soitis and Westwood entered into an Agreement of Purchase and Sale (Agreement) “to provide for the construction by” Westwood — and the subsequent sale to Soitis — of an office and warehouse building in Grapevine, Texas. The Agreement provided for the building to be constructed according to certain plans and specifications, which were attached as exhibits. The initial closing date was to be October 30, 2005. The date the building was to be substantially completed as defined in the Agreement was October 15, 2005, “as adjusted from time to time as expressly provided” in the Agreement. The Agreement further (1) provided that “[t]ime is of the essence,” (2) required Westwood to construct the building with due diligence on or before the substantial completion date, “as extended by Excusable Delays and/or Purchaser Delays,” both defined in the Agreement, 1 and (3) allowed Soitis to terminate the agreement by written notice to Westwood if substantial completion had not occurred by December 31, 2005 “as extended by Purchaser Delays only and Excusable Delays.”

*896 The construction plans attached to the Agreement provided only for the construction of the exterior of the building; Soitis was responsible for its own interior finish-out. Construction on the building began in late March 2005. In April 2005, Soitis and Westwood agreed that Westwood would assist Soitis in designing the interior finish-out of the building. Westwood hired an architect to assist with the interior finish-out plans.

From April through November 2005, Tony Robertson, Soitis’s president, and Nicole Meadors, a Westwood employee, corresponded by phone and email regarding various aspects of the interior and exterior design and construction of the building. A1 Burtin, Westwood’s chief operating officer, also participated in the process. Soitis requested several alterations to the original exterior design, including the relocation of a truck ramp, the addition of a window, and the addition of a hard coat texture to the exterior. After reviewing and making several changes to the architect’s proposed drawings, Robertson approved the initial interior finish-out plans on June 21, 2005. He approved the final construction documents for the interior on September 14, 2005, which Westwood then sent out for bids on the construction costs.

On November 7, 2005, the day West-wood received at least one of the bids for the interior construction, Robertson and Meadors had a phone conversation about the project, after which Meadors sent Robertson an email stating, “I was curious to hear if you had found anything else out? We have put your building on hold, but need to know ASAP exactly what direction we are going to be heading in.” Two days later, on November 9, 2005, Robertson, Burtin, and Meadors met regarding the project, and Robertson informed Meadors and Burtin that Soitis did not intend to occupy the building. They discussed options for the project, including having Soi-tis continue with the purchase and lease or sell the building. In addition, Robertson asked Meadors to investigate whether a different buyer could be found for the project. Robertson told Meadors and Burtin that he wanted to get a new appraisal on the building. Robertson’s notes from that meeting indicate, “Anticipate a closing on December 1st,” and contain a notation that appears to state that the architect’s costs were approximately $25,000. The meeting notes also appear to contain calculations of the costs to either lease or sell the building in both improved and unimproved condition.

Despite Robertson’s November 7, 2005 instruction to stop work on the building, Westwood’s contractor continued construction according to its contract with West-wood. As of December 13, 2005, the only item remaining to be completed was the addition of an exterior wall light, needed to replace a planned but not installed light pole that the architect had inadvertently located over a gas line.

On December 14, 2005, Meadors sent Robertson an email stating,

We are still trying to sell your building!;] our prospect cannot meet until after the first of the year ... so I will keep you informed. As far as closing on your building, we want to close after Christmas but before the New Year. Can you have all of your financing in place by this time?

Robertson responded, “Having the financing in place is not a problem. Organizing our side for a closing in the middle of the holiday week is going to be a problem. The way things stand now, we are all out *897 on vacation. We can try to figure something out this afternoon.” Meadors sent Robertson an email on January 9, 2006 inquiring whether Soitis “had gotten anything scheduled for [the] building” and asking him to email her “an update so we can get a closing date set.” Robertson responded,

I forwarded the information to Chase last Thursday. My contact assured me they would evaluate the appraiser to determine if they could use him in our situation. I think you are correct, that this would be the most effective way to get us the appraisal we want in the shortest time.... I will be talking with Chase tomorrow at the latest.

Burtin finally sent Robertson an email on January 27, 2006, stating that West-wood wanted to schedule closing for February 6, 2006. Burtin went on to state that the building had been substantially completed on November 30, 2005 and that the construction had run over schedule because of the changes to the exterior plans requested by Soitis, “none of which [according to Burtin] pertained to the seller’s actions.” Soitis did not challenge Bur-tin’s contention that it was the cause of the construction delay.

On January 31, 2006, Meadors sent Robertson an email noting that he had told her Soitis was “changing the name on the [Agreement] from Soitis to another entity” and asking the name so that an assignment could be drafted. Soitis formed Inimitable in February 2006 and assigned its rights under the Agreement to Inimitable. According to Steve Staneff, Soitis’s former president and an equity holder, Inimitable was formed for the sole purpose of purchasing the building as an investment with the intent to lease it back to Soitis. 2

Robertson and Meadors continued to correspond regarding closing, with Mea-dors attempting to schedule a February 15, 2006 closing. Robertson told her that he would “make every effort for 2:00 on the 15th, [but] the 16th would be easier.” He also stated that he “would like to wrap this up as well.” Meadors met with the new appraiser on February 6, 2006.

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Bluebook (online)
264 S.W.3d 892, 2008 Tex. App. LEXIS 6252, 2008 WL 3540268, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/inimitable-group-lp-v-westwood-group-development-ii-ltd-texapp-2008.