Panorama Village Homeowners v. Golden Rule

10 P.3d 417
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedSeptember 18, 2000
Docket44993-1-I
StatusPublished
Cited by64 cases

This text of 10 P.3d 417 (Panorama Village Homeowners v. Golden Rule) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Panorama Village Homeowners v. Golden Rule, 10 P.3d 417 (Wash. Ct. App. 2000).

Opinion

10 P.3d 417 (2000)
102 Wash.App. 422

PANORAMA VILLAGE HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION, Respondent,
v.
GOLDEN RULE ROOFING, INC., and Contractors Bonding & Insurance Company (Bond No. 612153), Appellants.

No. 44993-1-I.

Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 1.

August 7, 2000.
Publication Ordered September 18, 2000.

*419 Joseph Robert Foley, Jeffrey Gene Poole, Poole & Assoc. PC, Seattle, for Respondent.

Ralph I. Freese, Freese & Freese, Edmonds, for Appellants.

*418 COLEMAN, J.

Panorama Village Homeowners Association sued Golden Rule Roofing, claiming that Golden Rule breached its contracts to install roofs on four of its buildings and to provide Panorama with 10-year manufacturers' warranties. The trial court ruled that the roofs were defective, that the roofing materials were not installed in accordance with the contract and manufacturers' specifications, and that Golden Rule did not provide Panorama with valid manufacturers' warranties. The trial court entered a judgment for Panorama and awarded the association a portion *420 of the cost of replacing the roofs. On appeal, Golden Rule contends that the trial court erred in finding that it had breached its contracts with Panorama and in awarding damages. We conclude that the record supports the trial court's rulings, and we affirm.

FACTS

From 1991 to 1995, Golden Rule contracted to install nine roofs for the Panorama Village Homeowners Association. Five of the contracts involved the installation of U.S. Intec materials and included U.S. Intec's 10-year material warranty. A sixth contract was for the installation of a Firestone membrane and included the manufacturer's 10-year labor and material warranty. In 1997, Panorama discovered that neither U.S. Intec nor Firestone had a record of any warranties issued for its roofs. Panorama sued Golden Rule, claiming that the construction was defective and that they had not received manufacturers' warranties for the materials. Golden Rule responded by issuing Panorama backdated U.S. Intec warranties. The company further provided its own 10-year labor and material warranty as a substitute for the Firestone warranty and agreed to complete some items that had not been performed in accordance with the contracts' specifications. Panorama, however, maintained that the repairs would not cure the deficiencies in the roofs. It further argued that the U.S. Intec warranties were not valid because Golden Rule lacked authority to issue them on behalf of the manufacturer and because the materials had not been installed in accordance with the manufacturer's specifications. The trial court awarded Panorama $28,612 in damages. The award included a portion of the cost to replace the roofs, prorated to reflect the existing roofs' performance prior to the suit, and incidental and consequential losses.

DISCUSSION

Golden Rule first contends that the trial court erred in finding that it materially breached the roofing construction contracts. When the trial court has weighed the evidence, our review is limited to determining whether the court's findings are supported by substantial evidence and, if so, whether the findings support the court's conclusions of law and judgment. Brin v. Stutzman, 89 Wash.App. 809, 824, 951 P.2d 291, review denied, 136 Wash.2d 1004, 966 P.2d 901 (1998) (quoting Willener v. Sweeting, 107 Wash.2d 388, 393, 730 P.2d 45 (1986)). Substantial evidence is evidence that is sufficient to persuade a fair-minded person of the truth of the declared premise. Brin, 89 Wash. App. at 824, 951 P.2d 291 (quoting Cowiche Canyon Conservancy v. Bosley, 118 Wash.2d 801, 819, 828 P.2d 549 (1992)). The party challenging a finding of fact bears the burden of showing that it is not supported by the record. Brin, 89 Wash.App. at 824, 951 P.2d 291.

Golden Rule argues that Panorama's own experts testified that the roofs performed well, that the deviations from the manufacturers' specifications were not significant, and that there were no serious defects in the construction. Panorama, however, submitted evidence of a number of deficiencies in the design and installation of the roofs. The record indicates that these deficiencies reflected extremely poor workmanship, did not conform to the manufacturers' specifications, and were unacceptable under industry standards. One expert testified that as a result of the defects he had identified, the roofs did not drain properly and were more likely to leak or fail than roofs that were correctly installed, resulting in increased maintenance for the owner. He also indicated that although the roofs had functioned for several years without any major problems, the defects would become more critical as the roofs aged and cause more serious failures. We conclude that this testimony provides ample support for the trial court's findings.

Golden Rule further contends that the court erroneously admitted testimony by one of the plaintiff's experts, Colin Murphy, concerning the roofs' compliance with the manufacturers' specifications. Golden Rule did not, however, object to this testimony on the particular grounds it raises on appeal. Thus, these claims were not preserved for review. State v. Quigg, 72 Wash.App. 828, 836, 866 P.2d 655 (1994); see also City of *421 Seattle v. Carnell, 79 Wash.App. 400, 402-03, 902 P.2d 186 (1995); State v. Christian, 44 Wash.App. 764, 766, 723 P.2d 508 (1986).

Golden Rule also contends that the trial court erred in limiting testimony by William Jordan, the president and an owner of the company, concerning his authority to issue the manufacturers' warranties.[1] Jordan testified that a Firestone representative authorized the issuance of a materials warranty for the Panorama roof. He also testified that he was an approved applicator of U.S. Intec materials, that U.S. Intec authorized the issuance of replacement warranties for the remaining roofs in 1997, and that a U.S. Intec representative accepted warranty coverage for the roofs during a site visit in September 1997. The trial court ultimately excluded this testimony as hearsay.

Our courts have held that a person may properly testify regarding facts that, it is alleged, constitute his or her authority to act. See Blake Sand & Gravel, Inc. v. Saxon, 98 Wash.App. 218, 221-22, 989 P.2d 1178 (1999). But even if the trial court erred in excluding the challenged testimony, the appellant has not shown any prejudice as a result of the ruling. The trial court found that the U.S. Intec replacement warranties were not valid because the roofing materials were not installed in accordance with the manufacturer's specifications.

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10 P.3d 417, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/panorama-village-homeowners-v-golden-rule-washctapp-2000.