Mann v. Flacke

CourtSuperior Court of Maine
DecidedJuly 16, 2001
DocketWALcv-00-024
StatusUnpublished

This text of Mann v. Flacke (Mann v. Flacke) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mann v. Flacke, (Me. Super. Ct. 2001).

Opinion

STATE OF MAINE SUPERIOR COURT WALDO, SS. Docket No. CV 00-024

FO VAL Tlojoee

Richard S. Mann, ) Plaintiff, ) ) ) Vv ) FINDINGS OF FACT ) ND CONCLUSIONS.OF- EA W— ) STATE OF MAINE ) Waido County Superior Court Thomas Flacke, et al, ) JUL 16 228 Defendant. )

SEC'D AND FILED Joyce M. Page. Clerk

In the late 1990's the Defendants decided to sell the house in Morrill, Maine they had owned for almost a quarter of a century so they could build a new house across the road. The house and barn they sold to Plaintiffs was a rather typical, rural Maine dwelling which was more than a century old. It had been routinely maintained by the Defendants.

One significant new feature added to their house was a steel roof which was only a year old when Defendants sold to Plaintiffs. It had been installed by a long-time vendor of such roofs, Brian Mitchell who testified. The roof was the source of one of the major complaints of the Plaintiffs who testified that the roof roared in the wind.

Their other major complaint was the oil consumption of the furnace. The basis of that complaint was the language used by Mr. Flacke in the three page property disclosure he filled out when requested to do so by his agent, Sam Mitchell. The actual language used appear on page three and is found to have been written in part by Mr. Flacke and in part by Sally Demeter!.

1. Ms. Demeter, apparently, was present throughout trial but did not testify. The Court says “apparently” because a woman was seated next to Mr. Flacke throughout the trial and was inferentially identified by him as his wife, Sally Demeter. The completed form reads: “Heating system:.Type: Oil fired Hot water _ Consumption: 800 gal per year +/-. Comments: Also supplies hot water for household use - 3 zones The phrase “3 zones” was the part written by Ms. Demeter. The evidence, the Court finds, proves there was considerably more gallonage consumed than was disclosed by the Defendants’ writing.

Mr. Flacke testified that he believed that the gallonage was accurate for heating. He believed that a person would realize that hot water would be recognized as generating a greater nurnber of gallons since he felt that it would take “one to two gallons a day” to heat the hot water used in addition to the 800+/- needed for heating. There is some merit to that position but the phrase: “- 3 zones” impugns his view because the phrase must relate to the furnace and not the hot water component of the system.

Except for his testimony, all other evidence presented, including especially Mr. Mitchell’s, suggests that the assumption to be derived from the language was that the house used 800 gallons of fuel oil, more or less, for the heating of the house and the hot water. Mr. Kelly argues that the language admits more than one interpretation and that there was a latent ambiguity. Had the first phrase read: “800 gal per year - 3 zones” and the . comment was as written, the Court would agree. But the contrary is the case.

A latent ambiguity is one which “occurs when . . . the facts extrinsic to the document controvert or in some way render unclear . apparently unambiguous terms.” Snyder v. Haagen, 679 A.2d 510, 513 (Me. 1996). In Portland Valve v. Rockwood Systems, 460 A..2d 1383, 1387 (Me. 1983) the Maine Law Court said “The issue of whether a contract (here the Disclosure, see infra) is ambiguous is a question of law for the court. See Eskimo Pie Corp v. Whitelawn Dairies, Inc, 284 F.Supp. 987, 995 (S.D.N.Y. 1968). The interpretation of an unambiguous written contract is a question of law for the Court; the interpretation of ambiguous language is a question for the factfinder. Zamore v Whitten, 395 A.2d 435, 440 (Me. 1978). The interpretation of an unambiguous writing must be determined from the plain meaning of the language used and from the four corners of the

instrument without resort to extrinsic evidence. . . Contract language 1s ambiguous when it is reasonably susceptible of different interpretations.”

There is no latent ambiguity here. Maine’s rule is: “[H]e who speaks (here Mr. Flack and Ms. Demeter) should speak plainly or the other party may explain to his own advantage.” Monk v Morton, 139 Me. 291, 294 (Me. 1943).” “The rule calling for construction of a contract against the party drafting it presupposes an initial ambiguous contract, for, absent any ambiguity in the terms of a contract, the question of their meaning is purely one of law.” Dufresne, J. Waxler v. Waxler, 458 A.2d 1219, 1224 (Me. 1983). “The Court is to ascertain the intention of the parties by looking at the agreement itself, taking into consideration the subject matter, motive and purposes of the parties as well as the object to be accomplished.” Waltman & Co. v. Leavitt, 722 A.2d 862, 863 (Me. 1999) See also Bumila v. Keiser Homes, 696 A.2d 1091, 1094 (Me. 1997). The foregoing relates to formal statements made which are known to the maker to be considered by another such as the Plaintiffs here.

The Court finds as a fact that the number used “800 gal per year +/-” was a misrepresentation. That conclusion is based in large part on the addition of the phrase “3 zones” after the phrase: “[A]lso supplies hot water for household use”. But for the phrase “3 zones”, the Court would find an ambiguity and no misrepresentation.

With respect to fraud and misrepresentation, the question becomes whether the misrepresentation was a material one and whether the Plaintiffs justifiably relied on it. It is ‘hornbook’ law that to recover in fraud one must show justifiable reliance on a false representation of a material fact.

“A person is liable for fraud if the person

(1) makes a false representation (2) of a material fact (3) with knowledge of its falsity or in reckless disregard of whether it is true or false (4) for the purpose of inducing another to act or to refrain from acting in reliance on it, and (5) the other person justifiably relies on the representation as true and acts upon it to the damage of the plaintiff.” Fitzgerald _v. Gamester 658 A.2d 1065 (Me. 1995).

As to #5, see_Ferrell v. Cox, 617 A.2d 1003, 1006-1007 (Me. 1992). The question of justifiable reliance is for the factfinder.

The Court finds the Plaintiffs’ claim wanting in two regards. They did not justifiably rely on the misrepresentation and they have not established that it was a material fact.

The basis of these findings is the total absence of any relevant inquiry as to how the 800 gallons heated the house - that is to what degree level- , what steps were required by the Defendants to “winterize” their house so as to heat as they represented they did and what wood use was made of an obvious heat source.

It is clear that there was a wood stove in the kitchen. It is equally apparent that it did not pass with the sale. It was deleted from the Purchase and Sale agreement and when Beverly Mann testified she made clear the wood burning they now do. With the Plaintiffs’ wood burning as. they now do it but with no testimony of how the Plaintiffs prepare the house for winter, the misrepresentation cannot be found by this Court to have been of a material fact. More importantly, there was no justifiable reliance on it.

That is so notwithstanding Mr. Flacke’s testimony that the wood stove in the kitchen was not a primary heat source. If inquiry had been made by Plaintiffs, that fact would have become relevant. Mr. Flacke said the stove was for “the ice storm” and some cooking.

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Mann v. Flacke, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mann-v-flacke-mesuperct-2001.