Saunders-Gomez v. Rutledge Maintenance Corportation

CourtSuperior Court of Delaware
DecidedApril 3, 2017
DocketN16A-03-003 FWW
StatusPublished

This text of Saunders-Gomez v. Rutledge Maintenance Corportation (Saunders-Gomez v. Rutledge Maintenance Corportation) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Delaware primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Saunders-Gomez v. Rutledge Maintenance Corportation, (Del. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE

TIBY SAUNDERS-GOMEZ, ) )

Appellant, ) C.A. No. N16A-03-003 FWW ) v. ) ) RUTLEDGE MAINTENANCE ) CORPORATION, ) ) Appellee. )

Submitted: January 5 , 201 7 Decided: April 3 , 2017

On Appeal from the Court of Common Pleas: AFFIRMED.

M

Tiby Saunders-Gomez, pro se, 404 Pigeon VieW Lane, NeW Castle, Delaware 19720; Appellant.

Edward J. Fornias, III, Esquire, LaW Offlce of EJ Fornias, P.A., 615 West 18th

Street, Lower Level, Wilmington, Delaware 19802; Attorney for Rutledge Maintenance Corporation.

WHARTON, J.

This 3rd day of April, 2017, upon consideration of Appellant Tiby Saunders- Gomez’s (“Appellant”) Opening Brief, Appellee Rutledge Maintenance Corporation’s (“Appellee”) AnsWering Brief, Appellant’s Reply Brief, and the record, it appears to the Court that:

l. Appellant has owned a parcel of land in a housing development (“Rutledge”) since 1994.1 Appellant took possession of the lot subject to the Declaration, Which has been in effect since December 18, l99l.2 The Declaration requires all Rutledge lot owners to be members of a maintenance corporation.3 Typically, all members of the maintenance corporation are required to pay an annual assessment in order to cover the costs associated With maintaining the open space in Rutledge.4 If members fail to pay their annual assessment, the Declaration permits the maintenance corporation to take legal action against them.5

2. Appellant allegedly failed to pay her annual assessment to Appellee

from 2005 to 2013.6

1 Appellee’s App. to AnsWering Br., D.I. ll, at 6.

2 Id. at 7.

3 Id. at 1_2.

4 Id. at 2. The annual assessment, “if necessary, shall be set by a majority vote of the members Who are voting in person or by proxy at the annual meeting, and any special assessments shall be set by a majority vote of the members Who are voting in person or by proxy at the annual meeting . . . .” Ia'.

5 Id.

6 Ia'. at 24. See also Tiby Saunders-Gomez v. Rutledge Maint. Corp., CPU-l3-OO3588, at 202:12- 23 (Del. Com. Pl. Nov. 24, 2015) (TRANSCRIPT).

3. Appellee brought a debt action in the Justice of the Peace Court against Appellant to recover these outstanding assessments7 After considering testimony from both parties on November 13, 2013, the Justice of the Peace Court found that Appellant breached her contract with Appellee by failing to pay her annual assessments8 As a result, the Justice of the Peace Court awarded $1,989.05 to Appellee, plus $250.00 in attorney’s fees, and 5.75% post-judgment interest per annum.9

4. On December 2, 2013, Appellant timely filed a Notice of Appeal to the Court of Common Pleas.

5. The Court of Common Pleas (“Trial Court”) held a trial on November 23, 2015 and November 24, 2015. The Trial Court found that the plain language of the Declaration required Appellant to pay an annual assessment to Appellee upon Appellant’s purchase of the Rutledge lot.10 The Trial Court found that the total amount assessed to each lot owner in Rutledge from 2005 to 2013 was

331020.00.ll However, the Trial Court found that Appellant failed to make any

payments to Appellee during this time period.12 Therefore, the Trial Court

7 Appellee’s App. to Answering Br., D.I. 11, at 22.

8 Id.

9 Id.

10 Tiby Saunders-Gomez, CPU-13-003588, at 201:5-12. 11 ld. ar202;10-21.

12 see id. at 203;6-23; 204;1-18.

awarded $1020.00 to Appellee.13 The Trial Court also awarded $42.01 to Appellee for costs associated with sending certified letters to Appellant’s residence that demanded payment of the assessments14 Finally, the Trial Court awarded Appellee’s counsel $8,975.83 in fees pursuant to a fee-shifting provision in the Declaration.15

6. On March 10, 2016, Appellant timely filed a Notice of Appeal to this Court.

7. On appeal, Appellant has submitted an Opening Brief that presents challenges for the Court in performing its appellate function, as it no doubt did for Appellee in answering. The Court recognizes that pro se litigants are afforded a certain measure of leniency in presenting their case to the Court.16 However, “the

[pro se litigant’s] brief at the very least must assert an argument that is capable of

13 Id. at 204:15-18. The Trial Court noted that, under the Declaration, Appellee would also be entitled to 6% per annum for any delinquencies in paying the assessments Id. at 204:19-23. However, Appellee withdrew any claims for interest because there “were obvious errors . . . in the calculation of the rolling balances from year to year.” Id. The Trial Court noted for the record that, had Appellee not withdrawn the interest claims, it “would have been hard pressed to find in [its] favor . . . .” Id. at 205:17-20.

141d. at206;1-11.

15 Appellee’s App. to Answering Br., D.I. 11, at 89-93.

16 See Torres-Rodriguez v. Young Leader Sumrner Camp (Manna Acad.), 2015 WL 3507952, at *4 (Del. Super. May 22, 2015). See also Gibbs v. Unz`ted States Army, 116 A.3d 427, 433 (Del. Super. 2014) (“Courts are at liberty to reasonably interpret a pro se litigant’s filings, pleadings and appeals ‘in a favorable light to alleviate the technical inaccuracies typical in many pro se legal arguments . . . .”’ (quoting McGom'gle v. George H. Burns, Inc., 2001 WL 1079036, at *2 (Del. Super. Sept. 4, 2001)).

review.”17

The Court finds that some of Appellant’s grounds for appeal are incapable of review because they are conclusory and lacking in any supporting legal authority, or, in one instance, incomprehensible18

8. Appellant summarizes 11 arguments on appeal in the Summary of Arguments section of her Opening Brief.19 lnexplicably, Appellant sets out only seven arguments in the Argument section.20 Compounding the confusion, Appellant has included argument on various issues throughout the Statement of Facts section. Understandably confounded by the disorderly Opening Brief, Appellee has responded to 10 arguments it perceived raised by Appellant.

9. The Court first deals with those arguments presented in the Argument section. Unfortunately for purposes of appellate review, none of these seven arguments is very clearly presented, some are duplicative of others, and some are

simply conclusory. For example, Arguments III, IV, and VI present no real

argument at all. Rather, they are merely assertions that the Trial Court erred.21

17 In re Estate of Hall, 882 A.2d 761, 761 (Del. 2005) (TABLE). See also Joyner v. The News Journal, 844 A.2d 991 (Del. 2003) (TABLE) (“Although the Court affords some degree of leniency to self-represented litigants as to briefing requirements, an appellant’s opening brief, at a minimum, must be adequate so that the Court can conduct a meaningful review of the merits of the appellant’s claims.” (citing Yancey v. Nat’l Trast Co., 712 A.2d 476 (Del. 1998) (TABLE)); In re Asbestos Litig., 2012 WL 1995958, at *3 (Del. Super. May 31, 2012).

18 Flamer v. State, 953 A.2d 130, 134 (Del. 2008) (“ln order to develop a legal argument effectively, the Opening Brief must marshall the relevant facts and establish reversible error by demonstrating why the action at trial was contrary to either controlling precedent or persuasive decisional authority from other jurisdictions.”); In re Estate ofHall, 882 A.2d at 761.

19 Appellant’s Opening Br., D.I. 16, at 5-8.

”Mmam

21 Id. 11-12.

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