Price v. Godby

263 S.W.3d 598, 2008 Ky. App. LEXIS 275, 2008 WL 4092818
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kentucky
DecidedSeptember 5, 2008
Docket2007-CA-001347-MR, 2007-CA-001600-MR
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 263 S.W.3d 598 (Price v. Godby) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Price v. Godby, 263 S.W.3d 598, 2008 Ky. App. LEXIS 275, 2008 WL 4092818 (Ky. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

OPINION

STUMBO, Judge.

Mary Price (hereinafter Appellant) appeals the orders of summary judgment granted in favor of Samuel Godby and his realty company (hereinafter Godby collectively) and Melvin and Anna Childers. Because the orders stem from the same case, we will resolve both appeals in a single opinion. Appellant argues that summary judgment was improperly granted and asks that we reverse. Additionally, she requests that a deed be reformed to show the intent of the parties (which is the underlying issue in this case). We find that there is a genuine issue of material fact in regard to the Godby summary judgment; that the Childers are not entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law; and that Appellant is entitled to have the deed reformed.

On March 7, 2003, Appellant entered into an auction sales contract with Godby wherein he would sell at auction Appellant’s forty-acre farm in Pulaski County, *600 Kentucky. At the time of the initial contract, all the property was to be sold except some dairy equipment located on it. Godby was to receive six percent commission. The sale was scheduled for May 10, 2003.

After signing the initial contract, but prior to the auction, Appellant decided to reserve from sale the house located on the property. Godby accepted this and noted the reservation in the written auction instructions. The reservation of the house and dairy equipment was also announced at the auction.

At the auction, the Childers purchased the property upon which the house was located. Appellant orally agreed to have the house moved off the property within 60 days.

Godby then had a deed prepared which conveyed the land from Appellant to the Childers. The deed was signed by Appellant on or about June 10, 2003. However, the deed was silent as to the reservation of the house. Around the same time, Godby gave Appellant a closing statement setting forth the outcome of the auction, i.e., how much the land was sold for, how much money was spent on expenses and to pay off liens on the property, and how much money Appellant was ultimately going to receive. Additionally, the statement contained a statement which released Godby from any future claims arising from the transaction. Appellant was directed to sign the closing statement as an acknowl-edgement that she received it.

Appellant had trouble finding someone to move the house off the property and entered into a lease agreement with the Childers to rent the land until she could get the house moved. Appellant missed some rent payments and the Childers moved to evict her from the land by filing a forcible detainer action against her. The day of the hearing of the detainer action, the house burned down.

Appellant had the house insured by Shelter Mutual Insurance, another party in the underlying cause of action. However, because the deed did not reserve the house for Appellant, the insurance company denied her coverage. Appellant then filed suit against Godby for negligence, against the Childers for reformation of the deed, and against Shelter Mutual Insurance for breach of contract.

After discovery was taken, all parties filed summary judgment motions. Summary judgment was denied for Shelter Mutual Insurance and Appellant, but granted for Godby and the Childers. This appeal followed.

Godby’s motion for summary judgment argued that he was released from all liability due to the release language in the closing statement. Appellant responded arguing that the waiver of liability language was never bargained for and that no consideration was given in exchange for the waiver. The lower court granted the summary judgment finding that Appellant signed the closing statement and that exempting the house from the auction was additional consideration for the waiver.

The Childers’ motion for summary judgment argued that Appellant lost her interest in the house because she failed to move it within a reasonable time. Also, because the deed did not mention the reservation of the house, the merger doctrine merged all oral agreements into the deed and the deed was controlling, which made the house property of the Childers. Appellant argued that there was a mutual mistake in the deed because all parties knew the house was not part of the sale and that the merger doctrine does not apply when the parties do not intend it to, as is the case with mutual mistake. The lower court found Appellant lost interest in her house *601 when she did not move the house within a reasonable period of time, that the merger doctrine made the language in the deed controlling, and that there was no genuine issue of material fact regarding the mutual mistake.

After a review of the arguments and the record, we conclude that the lower court wrongly granted the summary judgments and reverse.

The standard of review on appeal of a summary judgment is whether the trial court correctly found that there were no genuine issues as to any material fact and that the moving party was entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Kentucky Rules of Civil Procedure (CR) 56.03.... “The record must be viewed in a light most favorable to the party opposing the motion for summary judgment and all doubts are to be resolved in his favor.” Steelvest, Inc. v. Scansteel Service Center, Inc., Ky., 807 S.W.2d 476, 480 (1991). Summary “judgment is only proper where the movant shows that the adverse party could not prevail under any circumstances.” Steelvest, 807 S.W.2d at 480, citing Paintsville Hospital Co. v. Rose, Ky., 683 S.W.2d 255 (1985). Consequently, summary judgment must be granted “[ojnly when it appears impossible for the nonmoving party to produce evidence at trial warranting a judgment in his favor.... ” Huddleston v. Hughes, Ky.App., 843 S.W.2d 901, 903 (1992).

Scifres v. Kraft, 916 S.W.2d 779, 781 (Ky.App.1996).

We will first address Godby’s summary judgment. As stated above, the lower court granted summary judgment because it found that the reservation of the house was consideration for the release. However, we find that this issue is not ripe for summary judgment. Viewing it in the light most favorable to Appellant, it could easily be determined that this additional term was not bargained for in exchange for the release. It could appear that the reservation of the house was an additional term to the realty contract, which did not contain the release language. Once Appellant informed Godby she wanted to reserve the house, he could have either insisted that the original contract terms be followed or rescinded the contract. Godby instead chose to follow through with the auction and sold Appellant’s land while reserving the house. A jury could find that once the land was sold, the original contract was finished and the release could be considered separate from the underlying transaction, therefore requiring additional consideration in exchange for it.

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

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
263 S.W.3d 598, 2008 Ky. App. LEXIS 275, 2008 WL 4092818, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/price-v-godby-kyctapp-2008.