Miller v. Bakken

978 S.W.2d 518, 1998 Mo. App. LEXIS 1980, 1998 WL 761544
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 3, 1998
DocketNo. WD 55060
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 978 S.W.2d 518 (Miller v. Bakken) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Miller v. Bakken, 978 S.W.2d 518, 1998 Mo. App. LEXIS 1980, 1998 WL 761544 (Mo. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinion

HOWARD, Judge.

Donald and Francine Miller appeal the dismissal of their petition for breach of contract and breach of warranty. The Millers contend that the trial court erred by dismissing their petition as premature because they did not first give the builder an opportunity to correct the deficiencies in his work.

Reversed and remanded.

In December of 1991, the Millers noticed that the foundation of their house had settled. They contacted some contractors to get estimates, and among those submitting bids was Steve Bakken, d/b/a Rayview Builders. Mrs. Miller testified at trial that, when Bakken came to view their home, he was told that they also wanted him to fix everything deficient in the basement, including longstanding leaks in the southeast and southwest corners. Bakken, on the other hand, testified that he was not told that the Millers were having a problem with leaks in the southeast and southwest corners of the basement. Bakken never excavated the outside of the basement walls in the southeast and southwest corners.

Bakken’s bid, which later became the contract between the parties, provided that Bakken would:

Repair settlement of North and East foundation walls as follows: Excavate beneath footing of said walls as necessary to install 9 [nine] reinforced concrete underpin pier pads, to be used to jack said area of foundation walls and footings back to their original positions and to prevent further settlement of same. Check center I-beam and shim same as necessary to level house. Excavate West foundation wall to footing. Patch all cracks and waterproof exterior foundation walls. Install drain tile on West, North and East foundation walls to sump pump installed in utility room area. Backfill dirt, tamp and grade for drainage. Replace bushes and fence. Replace step and sidewalk section as necessary. Reseed damaged area of yard. Tap existing sewer in basement for future stool connection. Replace concrete floor around sump pump. Repair any damage to waterlines or gas lines. Owner responsible for re[519]*519placement or repair of sheetrock or paneling removed for access.

The bid also included the following warranty provisions:

3 year warrantee on area of foundation repaired to remain structurally sound, free of other than minor cracking or settlement as could be expected in a new foundation. Warrantee limited to releveling of house or additional underpinning by contractor as could become necessary. Warrantee against leakage thru repaired walls and sump pump will also apply for a period of 3 years.

In response to the Millers’ request, Bakken modified his bid to extend the warranty from three years to five years. The Millers accepted Bakken’s bid on January 30, 1992.

The Millers'were out of town in February and March of 1992, when Bakken performed the repairs on the home. After they returned to their residence in September of 1992, they noticed that their basement continued to leak at the southeast and southwest corners. One year later, in September of 1993, the Millers complained to Bakken about the leaks in these areas of the basement. Bakken was unable to locate the source of the leak in the southeast corner without removing the sheetrock from the wall, so he attempted to resolve the problem by installing a window well drain. To stop the leak in the southwest corner, Bakken recommended caulking the crack and diverting the downspout, and Mr. Miller offered to do that work himself.

On October 6,1993, the Millers sent Bakken a letter advising him that the basement was still leaking. They had removed the sheetrock from part of the basement wall and saw several cracks which they thought were responsible for the leaks. In November, Bakken went to the Miller residence and injected epoxy into the cracks. On December 14, 1993, the Millers sent Bakken another letter stating that the epoxy injections were effective in keeping the water out, but adding that they were now experiencing another leak on the basement wall. Apparently, the Millers had removed more sheetrock, exposing additional cracks, so Bakken returned to their house and injected those cracks with epoxy.

In August of 1994, Bakken asked for a meeting with the Millers and Ken Blom, an engineer retained by the Millers, in order to determine what needed to be done to solve the leakage problems. The meeting took place the following month, and resulted in a list of repairs which Bakken agreed to perform free of charge. However, in a later conversation, the Millers’ attorney informed Bakken that the repairs agreed upon were insufficient, and that the Millers had retained another engineer, who had inspected the basement and prepared a report. Based upon the new engineer’s report, the Millers wanted to make changes in the list of repairs to be performed. In a letter dated November 22, 1994, Bakken proposed a new list of repairs to be performed based upon the new engineer’s report. However, the Millers refused to allow Bakken to enter their premises to perform the work.

On June 16, 1995, the Millers filed a petition for damages in the associate division of the Jackson County Circuit Court. The first three counts of the petition asserted claims against Bakken and his father, Orville Bakken, for breach of contract, breach of implied warranty, and breach of express warranty. The petition also asserted claims of breach of contract and negligence against Blom, but those counts were dismissed prior to trial.

Following a bench trial, the court found that Bakken “performed the work provided for in the contract except that he did not excavate and waterproof’ the disputed locations in the basement. Nevertheless, the trial court concluded that the Millers “should not have filed suit against Defendant, Steve Bakken d/b/a Rayview Builders, without first giving said Defendant the opportunity to correct any deficiencies or defects under the terms of the contract between the parties and to fulfill his warranty as set forth in said contract.” The court also concluded that Orville Bakken was “not liable to Plaintiffs as he had no connection whatsoever with the transaction at issue.” Accordingly, the court dismissed with prejudice the claims against Orville Bakken, and dismissed without prejudice the claims against Steve Bakken.

[520]*520In their first point on appeal, the Millers claim that the trial court erred by dismissing their claim against Steven Bakken on the ground that they did not give Bakken the opportunity to correct any defects in his work and to fulfill his warranty. They argue that the contract in this case did not include a provision requiring them to allow Bakken the opportunity to correct defects, and therefore Missouri law did not require them to provide such an opportunity before filing suit. Alternatively, they argue that they did, in fact, give Bakken sufficient opportunity to correct any defects in his work before refusing to accept further repairs from him.

In dismissing the Millers’ claim against Bakken, the trial court relied upon Ballwin Plaza Corp. v. H.B. Deal Construction Co., 462 S.W.2d 687 (Mo.1971), in which the owner of a shopping center sued its general contractor over the alleged defects of a heating and air conditioning system.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
978 S.W.2d 518, 1998 Mo. App. LEXIS 1980, 1998 WL 761544, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/miller-v-bakken-moctapp-1998.