Ponziano Construction Services, Inc. v. Quadri Enterprises, LLC

980 N.E.2d 867, 2012 Ind. App. LEXIS 615, 2012 WL 6186454
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 12, 2012
Docket45A05-1112-CC-661
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 980 N.E.2d 867 (Ponziano Construction Services, Inc. v. Quadri Enterprises, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ponziano Construction Services, Inc. v. Quadri Enterprises, LLC, 980 N.E.2d 867, 2012 Ind. App. LEXIS 615, 2012 WL 6186454 (Ind. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

OPINION

BAILEY, Judge.

Ponziano Construction Services, Inc. (“Ponziano”) appeals the trial court’s decision granting partial recovery on its breach of contract claim against Quadri Enterprises, LLC (“Quadri”), denying foreclosure on its mechanic’s lien, and granting partial attorney’s fees based on its mechanic’s lien. We reverse the trial court’s award of $16,000 on the Contract and its denial of Ponziano’s request to foreclose on its mechanic’s lien; affirm the trial court’s award of $8,000 in attorney’s fees to Ponziano; and remand with instructions to the trial court to enter judgment in favor of Ponziano for $48,483.43, order sale of the property subject to the $45,549.43 lien, and determine the existence, extent, and outcome of a potential priority dispute between Ponziano and Wells Fargo.

Issues

Ponziano raises four issues for our review, which we consolidate and restate as:

I. Whether the trial court erred in awarding Ponziano only $16,000 on the April 30, 2009 contract (“the Contract”);
II. Whether the trial court erred in denying foreclosure on Ponziano’s mechanic’s lien; and
III. Whether the trial court abused its discretion in awarding Ponziano only $8,000 in attorneys’ fees.

Facts and Procedural History

On April 30, 2009, Dr. Kamartaj Quadri (“Dr. Quadri”), as owner of Quadri, contracted with Ponziano to construct a medical office (“the building”) on the site of a pre-existing structure at 200 South West Street, Crown Point, Indiana. 1 Under the Contract, Quadri was to pay Ponziano $144,900. After execution of the Contract, Dr. Quadri turned over all negotiations for and supervision of the construction to her husband, Syed Quadri (“Syed”). In that *871 capacity, Syed was present at the construction site almost daily throughout the construction process.

Syed and Ponziano discussed changes to the Contract, including installation of a metal roof instead of an asphalt shingle roof, lowering of the grade of the building, alteration of the handicap access ramp, and the cost of asbestos removal. Ponzi-ano drafted an addendum to reflect these changes (“the Addendum”), and presented it to Syed. Neither Dr. Quadri nor Syed signed the Addendum, but Syed, working through a registered architect, changed the blueprints for the building to reflect the changes in the Addendum, and filed the changed blueprints with the State of Indiana and the City of Crown Point. Ponziano constructed the building largely in accordance with the revised blueprints. 2

To finance the project, Quadri obtained a construction loan from Wells Fargo. Quadri and Ponziano agreed to payment in the form of three draws on Wells Fargo, each to be made at specified stages of completion of the building, and each to be authorized by Quadri. Quadri released the first two draws to Ponziano, for $44,029.14 and $47,587.43 respectively. Subsequently, Quadri complained to Ponzi-ano about the quality of workmanship for various items in the building, and withheld release of the third draw pending resolution of its concerns. When discussions between the parties failed, Ponziano filed a mechanic’s lien against the building in the amount of $45,549.43 with the Lake County Recorder’s office on January 8, 2010.

On March 18, 2010, Ponziano filed a three-count complaint alleging breach of contract and unjust enrichment, and seeking foreclosure of its mechanic’s lien and attorney’s fees. On May 21, 2010, Quadri filed an answer and counterclaim, alleging breach of contract, slander of title, and breach of an implied warranty of good workmanship. The trial court conducted a bench trial on November 3-5, 2011, and ordered both parties to file proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law. On November 21, 2011, the trial court entered, in relevant part, the following findings of fact and conclusions thereon:

FINDINGS OF FACT
1. That the Plaintiff[ ] ... contracted with the Defendant ] ... with the express purpose of constructing a medical office structure at 200 W. Walnut Street, Crown Point, Indiana.
[[Image here]]
3. That subsequent to the contract date of April 30, 2009, PONZIANO submitted an “Addendum” to QUADRI which was not signed. This document called for the elimination of the handicap ramp and the asphalt shingle roof in exchange for the installation of a metal roof. It also provided for the elimination of a basement leaving a crawl space in its place. Five Hundred ($500.00) Dollars was to be added to the contract amount for the removal of asbestos material from the job site.
4. That the total cost of construction was to be One Hundred Forty Four Thousand Nine Hundred ($144,900.00) Dollars.
*872 [[Image here]]
6. That construction was shut down by the City of Crown Point for a two week period in July, 2009 for QUADRI’S failure to file a landscape design with the City of Crown Point.
7. That QUADRI was never issued an occupancy permit until October 20, 2009. Despite not being issued an occupancy permit prior to that date, QUADRI moved all of its office equipment, furniture and cabinets from its old office into the new structure while work was still being performed by PONZIANO.
8. That as a result of items being moved into the new structure prior to work being completed PONZIANO workers were hindered in fulfilling their duties, which duties included painting, taping and trim work.
9. That there was no punch list presented from QUADRI to PONZIANO, showing items that QUADRI felt should have been completed. Moreover, there was no walk-through performed by either party prior to QUADRI taking occupancy of the premises.
10. That QUADRI listed the following items that did not comport with good workmanship of PONZIANO:
(a) window in the handicapped restroom was broken
(b) varnish stains on the tile floor in the employee break area
(c) screens at five (5) of the windows were missing
(d) light in the employee bathroom as not working properly
(e) nail holes were not filled in
(f) countertops were not properly installed; edging was coming off; edging not properly trimmed on six (6) of the seven (7) units; caulking very sloppy
(g) poor painting throughout the entire office, i.e., primer showing through
(h) foundation defect which caused the floor to slope in the patient waiting area and the employee break area
(i) AT & T[sic] phone lines were not installed.
11. That QUADRI paid PONZIANO about sixty (60%) percent due it.
12.

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

Related

Steven Norris v. Jennifer Norris
Indiana Supreme Court, 2026
Mahvash K LLC v. Hardwood Timber & Veneer Inc
Indiana Court of Appeals, 2024
Joseph Esparza v. Koren Lopez (mem. dec.)
Indiana Court of Appeals, 2018
Steven M. Kelly v. Rebecca J. Kelly
45 N.E.3d 31 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2015)
R.L. Turner Corporation v. William Wressell
44 N.E.3d 26 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2015)
Joy Elaine Gwinn v. Harry J. Kloeppel & Associates, Inc.
9 N.E.3d 687 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2014)
Sharon Jasinski v. Mirian Brown
3 N.E.3d 976 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2013)
Jasinski v. Brown
24 N.E.3d 976 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2013)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
980 N.E.2d 867, 2012 Ind. App. LEXIS 615, 2012 WL 6186454, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ponziano-construction-services-inc-v-quadri-enterprises-llc-indctapp-2012.