Manning v. Lewis

400 S.W.3d 737, 2013 WL 3122022, 2013 Ky. LEXIS 294
CourtKentucky Supreme Court
DecidedJune 20, 2013
DocketNo. 2012-SC-000296-DG
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 400 S.W.3d 737 (Manning v. Lewis) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Kentucky Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Manning v. Lewis, 400 S.W.3d 737, 2013 WL 3122022, 2013 Ky. LEXIS 294 (Ky. 2013).

Opinion

Opinion of the Court by

Justice SCOTT.

Appellee, Robert Lewis, sought to void or reform a deed resulting from a sale of property through Appellant1 Deborah [739]*739Manning’s real estate company. Appellee filed suit claiming that the deed grossly misrepresented the amount of land he contracted to buy. The trial court ruled in favor of Appellants, finding that no fraud existed that would warrant reforming the deed, as Appellee was aware at the time of closing that the tract did not contain 300 acres of land. The Court of Appeals reversed and remanded for the trial court to decide whether to reform the deed and give Appellee a partial refund, or to void the deed altogether. Appellants now appeal to this Court, arguing that the Court of Appeals: 1) misapplied or misinterpreted the “10% Rule” and 2) went too far to protect Appellee from the unwise decision he made in purchasing the property. For the following reasons, we reverse and remand.

I. BACKGROUND

On May 24, 2007, Appellee entered into a contract to buy real estate from Appellants. The Deed’s description called for 300 acres, but also established that the property was being sold by tract, not acreage. On the same day, Appellee signed two documents. The first document was the “Broker’s Disclosure to Potential Buyers” which stated in pertinent part:

Furthermore, I am also disclosing that I am not warranting nor do not in any way guarantee the total amount of acreage included in this land. The property is being sold by the boundary description. The buyer is welcome to have the property surveyed at the buyer’s expense.

The second document was the “Survey Waiver Form” which contained the following language:

The Seller(s) Buyer(s) hereby waive(s) our/his/her right to a property survey against the advice of his/her real estate agent and broker and agree(s) to hold harmless the real estate agents or brokers involved in this transaction for the amount of acreage, boundary lines, or anything that could have been uncovered or clarified by a survey of the property.

The closing occurred on October 15, 2007 at the office of attorney Jeffrey Scott, whom Appellee had hired to do a title search on the property. Prior to the closing, Appellee was provided with a copy of the Magoffin County PVA assessment that showed the acreage on the property to be 128 acres.

On the day of the closing, Appellee spent approximately two hours with a surveyor, named either Joe Curd or Joe Spradlin,2 who informed him that the property did not consist of 300 acres. Furthermore, Appellee testified that just prior to the closing he met with Merle Williams who indicated that he owned 40 acres of the property in question.

Appellee arrived late to the closing, as he had been consulting with his attorney, and initially announced that he would not close because he had just been informed that there was not 300 acres of property. Appellee then made an offer to have the property surveyed and pay $300 per acre. Appellants did not agree to this proposition, as the property was to be sold as a tract and not acreage. Appellants also informed him that he did not have to pur[740]*740chase the property, and was free to walk away from the deal. However, Appellee insisted on closing even after he admitted that he was aware the tract of land did not contain 300 acres.

After closing, Appellee had a survey done which showed that the tract contained 44.329 acres. Appellee filed suit alleging fraud and requested rescission of the sale, claiming that he was unaware of the deficiency in the acreage. However, the trial court concluded that there was no fraud in the inducement committed on the part of Appellants. Therefore, the trial court refused to reform the deed.

The Court of Appeals reversed the trial court, remanded the case, and ordered the trial court to decide whether to reform the deed and give Appellee a partial refund or to completely void the deed.

II. ANALYSIS

A. The 10% Rule Does Not Apply

Appellants first argue that the Court of Appeals misapplied or misinterpreted the law. Specifically, Appellants allege that the Court of Appeals erroneously applied the 10% Rule established in Wallace v. Cummins, 334 S.W.2d 904 (Ky.1960). We review questions of law de novo. Kentucky Pub. Serv. Comm’n v. Commonwealth ex rel. Conway, 324 S.W.3d 373, 376 (Ky.2010) (citation omitted).

The Court of Appeals relied upon Wallace, as it is the leading case with regard to the applicability of the 10% Rule, an equitable doctrine that holds that where relief from a sale is sought because of a deficiency in acreage, and the deficiency is greater than ten percent of the stated acreage, relief will be granted if at the time of the conveyance the parties are ignorant of the deficiency or the buyer is deceived by misrepresentations of the seller as to the quantity of land. Wallace, 334 S.W.2d at 907; see also Rust v. Carpenter, 158 Ky. 672, 166 S.W. 180, 182 (1914).

In Wallace, this Court stated that the equity in each case must depend on its own particular circumstances surrounding the transaction. 334 S.W.2d at 906. Wallace relied on the four characterizations of transactions established in Harrison v. Talbot:

[a.] First — Sales strictly and essentially by the tract, without reference in the negotiation or in the consideration to any estimated or designated quantity of acres.
[b.] Second — Sales of the like kind, in which though a supposed quantity by estimation is mentioned or referred to in the contract, the reference was made only for the purpose of description and under such circumstances or in such manner as to show that the parties intended to risk the contingency of quantity, whatever it might be, or how-much-soever [sic] it might exceed or fall short of that which was mentioned in the contract.
[c] Third — Sales in which it is evident from extraneous circumstances of locality, value, price, time and the conduct and conversations of the parties, that they did not contemplate or intend to risk more than the usual rates of excess or deficit in similar cases, or than such as might be reasonably calculated on as within the range of ordinary contingency.
[d.] Fourth — Sales which, though technically deemed and denominated sales in gross, are, in fact, sales by the acre, and so understood by the parties.

32 Ky. 258, 266 (1834).

These categorizations are important because they determine the applicability of the 10% Rule. Land sale contracts [741]*741belonging to either of the first two classes, whether executed or executory, should not be modified when there has been no fraud. Wallace, 334 S.W.2d at 907. However, if a contract falls in one of the later two classifications then it may be reformed if the deficiency is based upon fraud or mistake, and the deficiency is as much or more than 10% of the agreed upon acreage. Id.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Douglas L. Gordon v. Ronald Waldridge
Court of Appeals of Kentucky, 2025
Johna Roby v. James Richardson
Court of Appeals of Kentucky, 2022
Timothy Lunsford v. Central Bank and Trust Company
Court of Appeals of Kentucky, 2021
Ahmed Dizaya v. Tax Ease Lien Servicing, LLC
Court of Appeals of Kentucky, 2020

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
400 S.W.3d 737, 2013 WL 3122022, 2013 Ky. LEXIS 294, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/manning-v-lewis-ky-2013.