Ngoc Mai Nguyen v. Elvis Bui

CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedSeptember 6, 2022
Docket2021-CP-00538-COA
StatusPublished

This text of Ngoc Mai Nguyen v. Elvis Bui (Ngoc Mai Nguyen v. Elvis Bui) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ngoc Mai Nguyen v. Elvis Bui, (Mich. Ct. App. 2022).

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI

NO. 2021-CP-00538-COA

NGOC MAI NGUYEN APPELLANT

v.

ELVIS BUI APPELLEE

DATE OF JUDGMENT: 05/18/2021 TRIAL JUDGE: HON. JOSEPH N. STUDDARD COURT FROM WHICH APPEALED: LOWNDES COUNTY CHANCERY COURT ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: NGOC MAI NGUYEN (PRO SE) ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE: WILLIAM THOMAS COOPER NATURE OF THE CASE: CIVIL - REAL PROPERTY DISPOSITION: AFFIRMED - 09/06/2022 MOTION FOR REHEARING FILED: MANDATE ISSUED:

BEFORE WILSON, P.J., McDONALD AND SMITH, JJ.

SMITH, J., FOR THE COURT:

¶1. This is an appeal from a Lowndes County Chancery Court judgment mandating

specific performance of a real estate contract. The seller, Ngoc Mai Nguyen, appeals the

court’s judgment requiring her to proceed with the sale of her commercial property. Because

we find that Nguyen’s arguments do not raise issues of reversible error, lack citation to

supporting legal authority, and are beyond the scope of appellate review, we affirm the

chancery court’s final judgment.

STATEMENT OF THE FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶2. Nguyen is the owner of commercial property located at 703 Highway 45 North,

Columbus, Mississippi (subject property). On August 26, 2019, Nguyen and Elvis Bui signed a written agreement pertaining to the subject property. The written agreement consisted of

two different and distinct forms, but the parties executed each form in connection with the

other as one combined contractual document (sale contract). One form provided terms for

the sale and purchase of real estate, and the other form listed terms for a commercial lease

agreement.

¶3. The portion regarding the purchase of real estate outlined specific terms and

conditions that were required of Bui in order for him to purchase the subject property from

Nguyen. According to the terms stipulated in the contract that are relevant to this appeal, the

parties agreed that the sale price would be $175,000 and be payable by a cash sale or bank

financing; the “closing costs” would be split equally between Nguyen and Bui; the sale was

required to close on or before November 30, 2020; and Bui would tender a check for $10,000

as earnest money. Under the terms written in the lease-agreement portion, Bui would lease

the subject property for fifteen months, beginning on September 1, 2019, and expiring on

November 30, 2020.

¶4. A blank page at the end of the entirety of the sale contract contained terms Nguyen

added by hand. The additional terms included in the sale contract, in essence, incorporated

the terms of the real estate sale into the terms of the lease agreement. The handwritten terms

stated the following: Bui had the duration of the rental period (one year and three months)

to purchase the subject property; Bui would lose his $10,000 earnest money if he did not

proceed with purchasing the property within that time period; the sale price was $175,000;

2 the sale would be for the property in as-is condition with no warranty; and both parties would

split the closing costs equally.

¶5. Pursuant to the terms of the contract, Bui deposited a $10,000 payment to Nguyen

toward the purchase of the subject property.1 Bui secured financing through BancorpSouth

to purchase the subject property, and BancorpSouth then retained the services of Attorney

Jack Hayes to conduct the real estate closing and property sale transaction. A real estate

closing appointment for Bui to complete the purchase of the subject property was originally

scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on November 6, 2020. But after the parties failed to convene at the

same place, they communicated and rescheduled the closing appointment for November 9,

2020, at 10:00 a.m. at Hayes’s law office.

¶6. Of note, at 3:41 p.m. on November 6, 2020, once the parties had corresponded to

reschedule, the closing coordinator from Hayes’s law office, Robin Tate, sent Nguyen an

email supplying her with the closing documents to review. Nguyen responded to Tate’s email

at 7:18 p.m. and inquired about the total amount of proceeds she would receive at closing

from the sale. Tate replied shortly after at 10:39 p.m., providing Nguyen with the specific

dollar amount of her net proceeds.2

¶7. The following morning, on Saturday, November 7, 2020, at 7:20 a.m., Nguyen sent

an email to Tate declaring that the amount Tate quoted was incorrect and that based on her

1 The date Bui tendered the $10,000 down payment as earnest money is unknown and not within the record provided. 2 Tate informed Nguyen that her net proceeds would be $111,681.13.

3 own calculations, her net proceeds should be a higher amount.3 Nguyen’s email to Tate

requested that Hayes’s office correct the closing documents to align with the terms as listed

in her email. A few hours later, on that same Saturday at 2:08 p.m., Nguyen sent Tate a

second email following up on the status of her requested changes and asking if the closing

documents would be corrected before the parties’ upcoming appointment.

¶8. On November 9, 2020, both Bui and Nguyen appeared at Hayes’s law office for their

closing appointment as rescheduled. However, after voiced disagreements between the

parties, Nguyen left the office without signing any closing documents. The closing

transaction for the sale of the subject property was not completed that day. An email from

Hayes’s office shows Tate communicated with other personnel at 11:18 a.m. and stated that

the parties agreed to revisions to the settlement statement.

¶9. The record shows that Bui sent Nguyen a text message later that evening on

November 9, 2020, at 5:53 p.m., informing Nguyen that the documents had been changed

according to her requested terms. Nguyen replied to Bui’s message with a text message that

3 According to Nguyen’s email, she believed her net proceeds should actually amount to $112,987.15. She specifically pointed to the settlement statement included in the closing documents and identified certain itemized fees that were related to Bui’s BancorpSouth loan and claimed those fees were incorrectly divided equally between the parties. She insisted she had not agreed to split those loan costs in their contract. Nguyen also disagreed with the property taxes itemized and allotted between her and Bui in the settlement statement, arguing the amount for property taxes that was listed was wrong. She contested the “tax contract” as well, stating that she believed the parties should settle based on the taxes from the previous year. Lastly, Nguyen asserted that the sales price should be listed as $165,000, not $175,000, because Bui had deposited a $10,000 down payment the previous year.

4 stated, “See you in court,” according to the record.

¶10. Four days later, on November 13, 2020, Nguyen sent a notarized “2 Weeks Notice”

letter to Bui. The letter stated the following, “Your ‘Sale & Purchase’ real estate contract &

‘Rental’ contract will expire by November 30, 2020. I’m writing to inform you that we are

no longer extending your rental lease. . . . The ‘Sale & Purchase’ contract CAN NOT go any

further due to fraudulent information.”

¶11. Thereafter, on November 20, 2020, Bui filed a verified complaint for specific

performance, a preliminary injunction, and a temporary restraining order against Nguyen in

the Lowndes County Chancery Court. The premise of Bui’s complaint was that Bui and

Nguyen had entered into a valid contract for the sale and purchase of the subject property and

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Ngoc Mai Nguyen v. Elvis Bui, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ngoc-mai-nguyen-v-elvis-bui-missctapp-2022.