Richard v. Gary Matte Builders, Inc.

944 So. 2d 725, 6 La.App. 3 Cir. 0808, 2006 La. App. LEXIS 2559, 2006 WL 3207888
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 8, 2006
Docket2006-0808
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 944 So. 2d 725 (Richard v. Gary Matte Builders, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Richard v. Gary Matte Builders, Inc., 944 So. 2d 725, 6 La.App. 3 Cir. 0808, 2006 La. App. LEXIS 2559, 2006 WL 3207888 (La. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

944 So.2d 725 (2006)

David and Rosalyn RICHARD
v.
GARY MATTE BUILDERS, INC.

No. 2006-0808.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

November 8, 2006.
Rehearing Denied January 10, 2007.

*726 Timothy O'Dowd, Lake Charles, LA, for Plaintiffs/Appellants, David & Rosalyn Richard.

Sharon Kyle, Baton Rouge, LA, for Defendants/Appellees, Gary Matte Builders, Inc.

Court composed of OSWALD A. DECUIR, JIMMIE C. PETERS, and GLENN B. GREMILLION, Judges.

PETERS, J.

This litigation arises from a residential construction contract. The plaintiffs, David and Rosalyn Richard, brought suit against Gary Matte Builders, Inc., the construction company which had contracted to build them a residence on their property, seeking to recover damages for breach of the contract and for violation of the Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices Act. Gary Matte Builders, Inc. answered the petition and reconvened against the Richards, seeking an award for the work performed under the contract. After trial, the trial court rendered judgment dissolving the contract and awarded David $1,500.00 and Rosalyn $3,000.00 in general damages. The trial court also awarded Gary Matte Builders, Inc. judgment against the Richards for $9,573.00. This award represented recovery for work performed under the contract less cost of repair of the defects. The trial court further rejected the Richards' claim under the Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices Act. The Richards have appealed, asserting that the trial court erred in awarding Gary Matte Builders, Inc. anything for work performed under the contract and in not awarding them additional damages.

DISCUSSION OF THE RECORD

Gary Matte Builders, Inc. (sometimes hereinafter referred to as the "contractor") is a construction corporation the principal officers of which are Gary Lee Matte and Laura Matte, husband and wife.[1] In the *727 contract at issue in this litigation, Gary Matte Builders, Inc. agreed to construct a residence on property in Calcasieu Parish owned by the Richards for the sum of $80,960.00. Construction began in April of 2005, and the concrete footings for the foundation were poured on April 5, 2005. Two days later, the construction crew poured the concrete slab over the footings. Before the footings and slab were poured, J & J Exterminating Company, Inc. (J & J) performed a termite pretreatment of the soil foundation.

Soon after pouring the slab, the construction crew discovered that they had framed up the slab six inches out of square. In order to correct this error, Mr. Matte ordered that thin pie-shaped concrete slabs be poured the length of the slab on either side to square it up. These additions extended fifty-six feet along each side of the slab and were approximately eight inches wide at the larger end and two inches wide at the smaller end. No one contacted J & J to pretreat the soil foundation under these additions before they were poured. Furthermore, the additions were not anchored to the original slab, and this resulted in an open crack between the original slab and the additions extending the full fifty-six feet along both sides of the slab.

Not only did Gary Matte Builders, Inc. not contact a representative of J & J before pouring the additions, but it also did not inform the Richards of this error or of the proposed correction. In fact, the Richards first became aware of the error on April 19, 2005, when Mrs. Richard observed the construction crew framing up the slab to pour the additions. That same day, the construction crew poured the pie-shaped additions to each end of the slab.

The next day, the Richards met with Mr. Matte and questioned him about this new pour. Mr. Matte explained the initial error and the necessity of the additions to the slab. When questioned about the effect of the additional pours on the structural stability of the slab, Mr. Matte informed the Richards that, because the additions would now carry the weight of the exterior walls of the residence, they had been poured to the depth of the original footings. Mrs. Richard then placed her hand under one of the additions to show Mr. Matte that his assertion concerning the depth of the concrete was not correct. In fact, the additions had been poured to the depth of twelve inches instead of the twenty-four-inch depth of the original footings. Mr. Matte acknowledged this second error and agreed that the additions were inadequate to carry the weight of the exterior walls. However, he then suggested that the footings could be poured beneath the additions without having to remove the additions and start anew.

The Richards were not satisfied with the explanation of Mr. Matte or of the contractor's performance under the contract, and construction ceased on the residence on that day. Immediately thereafter, the Richards retained counsel to represent their interests and the services of Dr. Janardanan O. Uppot, a Lake Charles, Louisiana civil and geotechnical engineer, to survey the situation and give them some guidance.[2]

Dr. Uppot examined the construction site on April 24, 2005, and on the next day issued a report to the Richards concerning *728 his findings and recommendations. In his report, Dr. Uppot opined that both the original concrete pour and the additions were not completed in a workmanlike manner —the original pour because it was not square and the additions because, as load bearing walls, footings were required. He suggested in his report that the additions be removed and replaced with additions poured to a significant depth to sustain the loads that would be placed on them by the outside walls. Additionally, he suggested that the additions be anchored to the existing slab by two lines of dowel bars extending the length of the slab and that the surface between the existing slab and the additions be sealed by a bonding agent such as "Therobond."[3]

Because it had not pretreated the soil under the additions, J & J initially refused to unconditionally guarantee the termite treatment. By a letter dated May 4, 2005, J & J notified the Richards that, unless they signed a waiver which would preclude its liability for termites entering the home through the cracks created by the additions, it would cancel the subterranean termite protection contract on the premises. However, sometime thereafter, J & J forwarded to the Richards a letter which stated that someone with Gary Matte Builders, Inc. had contacted its office to inquire as to what it could do in regard to a termite protection guarantee if the additions were removed and repoured after treatment by J & J. The letter stated that "[t]his would allow us to treat the soil before the slab addition is poured. After discussing the matter with my General Manager he said that we could treat it and warrant it using a perimeter product of choice. This is in an effort to try and meet the needs of both the contractor and home owner."

Gary Matte Builders, Inc. also retained an expert, Dr. George Monroe Hammitt, to evaluate the slab and to make recommendations concerning remedying the defects. Dr. Hammitt, who is a civil engineer and professor in the Construction Management Department of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, examined the initial slab and found it to be in compliance with all appropriate codes and standards. However, he agreed with Dr. Uppot's finding that the additions were not completed in a workmanlike manner and should be removed completely rather than patched. Additionally, he agreed that Dr.

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

Related

Douglass v. Easton
953 So. 2d 157 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2007)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
944 So. 2d 725, 6 La.App. 3 Cir. 0808, 2006 La. App. LEXIS 2559, 2006 WL 3207888, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/richard-v-gary-matte-builders-inc-lactapp-2006.