Sage Street Associates v. Northdale Construction Co.

956 S.W.2d 583, 1997 WL 235083
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedDecember 23, 1997
Docket14-90-00311-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 956 S.W.2d 583 (Sage Street Associates v. Northdale Construction Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

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Sage Street Associates v. Northdale Construction Co., 956 S.W.2d 583, 1997 WL 235083 (Tex. Ct. App. 1997).

Opinion

OPINION ON REMAND

MURPHY, Chief Justice.

This case comes before us on second remand to determine the factual sufficiency of the evidence to support the jury’s finding of damages in favor of appellee Northdale Construction Company. We find the evidence is factually insufficient and reverse and remand for a new trial.

Sage Street Associates, through its general partner, Marvin B. Myers, wanted to build a high-rise apartment building for which financing from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) was available if the construction price did not exceed $13.5 million. In January 1984, Myers negotiated with Northdale’s president Robert B. Evans and offered to guarantee Northdale a $760,000 profit from the job if Northdale would sign a contract with a nominal price of $13.5 million. Evans asked what would happen if costs on the project ran higher than $13.5 million. Myers explained that because Northdale’s fee was “sacred,” it would still receive the cost of the work plus a $760,000 fee. He also indicated that after HUD approval at the $13.5 million base price, the project could be expanded and the price increased through change orders. Throughout the appellate life of this case, no court has been able to address the questionable propriety of the contract’s financing arrangement, which used a HUD funding program designed for construction of low to moderate income housing to build a luxury high-rise condominium. By agreement of the parties, the trial judge instructed the jury not to consider the legality of the HUD financing of the project.

On March 7, 1984, Northdale and Sage Street entered into a construction agreement. The contract authorized monthly payment requests by Northdale for work performed. Sage Street was to pay in each installment for only ninety percent of the work done, until the overall project was ninety percent complete, at which point Sage Street was to cooperate with Northdale in obtaining HUD approval to reduce the retention to five percent.

*585 Approximately three weeks later, in an action that Myers told Evans was strictly to accommodate HUD, Sage Street and North-dale executed a second contract, also known as the HUD contract. The HUD contract provided that Sage Street would pay to Northdale the actual cost of construction as defined therein, plus a fee of “$NONE,” and that in no event would the total amount payable exceed $13,535,000. The HUD contract did not refer to the earlier contract, and provided that it constituted the entire agreement between the parties.

During the course of construction, various disputes arose between Sage Street and Northdale, primarily over how payments for design changes and extra work were to be handled. In September 1985, Northdale stopped or sharply reduced work on certain extra items for which it had not received payment. In November 1985, when the project was approximately ninety percent complete, and after receiving somewhat more than $11 million, Northdale stopped work and was terminated as contractor by Sage Street. Sage Street then hired Cahaba Construction Company to finish the project.

Northdale and Sage Street filed separate suits that were consolidated for trial. The jury found that Sage Street had wrongfully terminated Northdale and that Northdale was owed $2,491,110 pursuant to the contract for the work it performed, its overhead, and its profits, if any.

On original submission, this court affirmed the jury’s damage award, holding the evidence supported a damage figure greater than the jury’s finding. Sage Street Associates v. Northdale Const. Co., 809 S.W.2d 775, 778 (Tex.App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1991). The Texas Supreme Court remanded the case, instructing this court to determine whether the evidence was factually sufficient to support the jury’s award of damages. Specifically, the supreme court instructed this court to determine (1) whether the $760,-000 fee claimed by Northdale was an addition to the contract price or was considered a part of the contract price and (2) whether the evidence was sufficient to support the damage award under the theory submitted to the jury. Sage Street Associates v. Northdale Const. Co., 863 S.W.2d 438, 447 (Tex.1993).

On remand, this court held the evidence was factually sufficient to support a finding that Sage Street owed Northdale the $760,-000 even though Northdale did not complete the project. Sage Street Associates v. Northdale Const. Co., 889 S.W.2d 400, 402 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1994). We further held the evidence was factually sufficient to support the jury’s award of damages. Id. at 403. The supreme court has now remanded the case to this court to again determine the factual sufficiency of the evidence to support the jury’s award of damages. Sage Street Associates v. Northdale Const. Co., 937 S.W.2d 425, 428 (Tex.1996). The court held that our initial determination that Sage Street owed Northdale the $760,-000 fee was resolved by this court’s second opinion. 937 S.W.2d at 427. The court held, however, that we did not correctly review the factual sufficiency of the jury’s award of damages.

The supreme court recognized that, according to the measure of damages submitted to the jury, Northdale is entitled to recover its unpaid costs, overhead and profits for work performed, less whatever more than the contract price it would have cost to complete the project. The court determined the formula to be used in calculating the damages due Northdale is as follows: 1

1. Contract price 13,500,000
2. Amount paid Northdale 11,000,000
3. Cost to complete construction 2,000,000
4. Balance remaining under contract 500,000
5. Northdale’s unpaid costs, etc. 2,000,000
6. Northdale’s damages: lesser of lines 4 and 5 500,000

The supreme court pointed out that this court did not include item 3 in our calculation of damages. Therefore, our task, on second remand, is to determine the factual sufficiency of the evidence to support the jury’s award of damages when the cost to complete construction is included in the formula.

In reviewing a factual insufficiency challenge, the appellate court must consider all of the evidence in the record, both supporting and contrary to the judgment.- Plas-Tex., *586 Inc. v. U.S. Steel Corp., 772 S.W.2d 442, 445 (Tex.1989); In re King’s Estate, 150 Tex. 662, 244 S.W.2d 660, 661 (1951).

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956 S.W.2d 583, 1997 WL 235083, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sage-street-associates-v-northdale-construction-co-texapp-1997.