Ohio Savings Bank v. H. L. Vokes Co.

560 N.E.2d 1328, 54 Ohio App. 3d 68, 13 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 92, 1989 Ohio App. LEXIS 5253
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedJanuary 3, 1989
Docket53391
StatusPublished
Cited by27 cases

This text of 560 N.E.2d 1328 (Ohio Savings Bank v. H. L. Vokes Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ohio Savings Bank v. H. L. Vokes Co., 560 N.E.2d 1328, 54 Ohio App. 3d 68, 13 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 92, 1989 Ohio App. LEXIS 5253 (Ohio Ct. App. 1989).

Opinion

Nahra, C.J.

Ohio Savings Bank is appealing the directed verdict rendered against it in favor of the Trane Company.

This case involves a seventy-five-ton rooftop air-conditioning unit manufactured by the Trane Company, sold to the Hattenbach Company and installed in the newly constructed, three-story Ohio Savings Bank Building in Rocky River. When alleged prob *69 lems arose regarding the installation and performance of the air-conditioning unit, the owner of the building, Ohio Savings Bank, brought suit against the following parties: H. L. Vokes Company, the general contractor, now bankrupt and subsequently dismissed as a party; Hattenbach, which contracted to design and install the air-conditioning system; Evans & Associates, the engineering firm hired by Hattenbach to design the heating, ventilating and air-conditioning system; George Evans, a consulting engineer (and, at the time of trial, President of Evans); Drake Construction Company, the entity responsible for the tenant suites and installation of the ducts; and Trane, the manufacturer and supplier of the air-conditioning unit. Ohio Savings sued for breach of contract, breach of express and implied warranties, negligence, strict liability, and willful misrepresentations and failure to disclose. Prior to trial, Ohio Savings dismissed George Evans individually and entered into settlements with all the remaining defendants except Trane. Trane moved for summary judgment, which motion was denied, and the case was transferred to a visiting judge.

On the morning of trial the court granted Trane’s motion to exclude evidence of consequential damages pursuant to Trane’s warranty. At the close of Ohio Savings’ case, Trane moved for a directed verdict contending that (1) Trane had no contract with Ohio Savings; (2) if Ohio Savings is considered to be a third-party beneficiary, Trane’s warranty contains a disclaimer and limitation of remedies provision to preclude recovery on contractual warranty claims; (3) there was no evidence of negligence since the design specifications were prepared after the unit was selected and, furthermore, there can be no recovery in Ohio on a negligence claim for economic loss only; (4) strict tort liability is inapplicable since there was no evidence that Trane’s unit was unreasonably dangerous; and (5) there was no evidence of fraud. After counsel’s arguments and the court’s deliberation, the court directed a verdict for Trane on each cause of action for the reasons stated by Trane’s attorney. Ohio. Savings timely appealed.

I

Ohio Savings’ first assigned error is that:

“The trial court erred in excluding evidence of Trane’s fraudulent misrepresentation, nondisclosure and concealment, and resulting damage.”

During trial the court precluded Ohio Savings from presenting evidence relating to its fraud claim. In particular, the court sustained objections to questions regarding (1) what Trane’s representative Robert Wolff told Evans’s engineers, (2) what Evans’s engineers relied on in determining the specifications for the cooling system, and (3) what consequential damages were suffered. 1 Trane argues that this evidence was properly excluded because (1) its warranty limited damages and excluded statements of warranty other than those within the written document, (2) Ohio Savings waived any right to a fraud claim since it did not promptly notify it after discovering the alleged fraud, (3) the parol evidence rule barred admission of this testimony, and (4) there was no contract between it and Ohio Savings, thereby precluding any reliance on it by Ohio Savings. The first issue to *70 decide' is whether a cause of action for fraud may be maintained in addition to a cause of action pursuant to the Ohio Uniform Commercial Code (“UCC”). If so, Trane’s warranty disclaimer and limitation of remedies are of no effect.

The UCC was not enacted to eliminate all common-law causes of action other than a UCC cause of action. Principles of law and equity, including common-law fraud, supplement the provisions of the UCC governing transactions in goods “[ujnless displaced by * * * particular provisions of [the UCC] * * *.” R.C. 1301.03. No provisions of the UCC have displaced actions for fraud. 2 See, generally, 1 White & Summers, Uniform Commercial Code (3 Ed. 1988) 19-20. In fact, unlike the exclusive remedy provisions of the old Uniform Sales Code, see Saberton v. Greenwald (1946), 146 Ohio St. 414, 32 O.O. 454, 66 N.E. 2d 224, the UCC provides that remedies for fraud include those remedies available under the UCC sales provisions without making them exclusive. R.C. 1302.95. Accordingly, we hold that a cause of action for fraud is maintainable in addition to a UCC cause of action. A plaintiff bringing an action for fraud is therefore not limited by the UCC provisions governing warranties, warranty disclaimers and limitations of remedies, but is entitled to seek all damages incurred as a result of the fraud. The trial court, therefore, wrongfully precluded Ohio Savings from presenting evidence of a possible fraud claim against Trane.

None of the remaining arguments advanced by Trane operates to bar Ohio Savings’ fraud claim as a matter of law. The parol evidence rule will not bar the admission of oral representations made to induce one to enter into a contract in an action for fraud. Walters v. First Natl. Bank of Newark (1982), 69 Ohio St. 2d 677, 681, 23 O.O. 3d 547, 550, 433 N.E. 2d 608, 611; Finomore v. Epstein (1984), 18 Ohio App. 3d 88, 89, 18 OBR 403, 404, 481 N.E. 2d 1193, 1195. Therefore, the representations of Trane’s salesman relied upon by the purchaser are admissible. Privity is not required to assert a claim of fraud. Haddon View Investment Co. v. Coopers & Lybrand (1982), 70 Ohio St. 2d 154, 158, 24 O.O. 3d 268, 271, 436 N.E. 2d 212, 215. Finally, a claim for fraud does not accrue until the wrongdoer and the fraud are discovered. Burr v. Stark Cty. Bd. of Commrs. (1986), 23 Ohio St. 3d 69, 76, 23 OBR 201, 206, 491 N.E. 2d 1101, 1105. Although Ohio Savings acknowledged cooling problems early on, Ohio Savings’ evidence indicates that the alleged wrongdoer was not discovered until June 1984. Ohio Savings notified Trane sometime before meeting with Wolff in November, learned of the'alleged misrepresentation at the November meeting, and commenced suit on June 26,1985, well within the four-year statute of limitations. Ohio Savings has not waived its fraud claim under these circumstances.

The trial court thus erred in excluding evidence pertinent to Ohio Savings’ cause of action for fraud. Accordingly, this assignment of error is sustained.

II

Ohio Savings’ second assigned error is that:

“The trial court erred in excluding evidence of Trane’s breach of contract and warranties, and resulting damages.”

*71 A. Contract

Ohio Savings contends the court erred in excluding evidence of the contracts between the various parties involved in constructing the bank building.

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Bluebook (online)
560 N.E.2d 1328, 54 Ohio App. 3d 68, 13 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 92, 1989 Ohio App. LEXIS 5253, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ohio-savings-bank-v-h-l-vokes-co-ohioctapp-1989.