Thomas O'Shea v. High Mark Development, LLC

280 P.3d 146, 153 Idaho 119, 2012 WL 1436898, 2012 Ida. LEXIS 112
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedApril 26, 2012
Docket37869
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 280 P.3d 146 (Thomas O'Shea v. High Mark Development, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Thomas O'Shea v. High Mark Development, LLC, 280 P.3d 146, 153 Idaho 119, 2012 WL 1436898, 2012 Ida. LEXIS 112 (Idaho 2012).

Opinions

EISMANN, Justice.

This is an appeal from a judgment in favor of the defendants in an action alleging fraud and breach of contract in connection with the sale of a commercial building. We affirm the judgment of the district court.

I.

Factual Background

High Mark Development, LLC, is an Idaho limited liability company whose members include Gordon Arave, Mark Arave, and Jared Arave. High Mark was the owner of a commercial building located in the City of Ammon, a suburb of Idaho Falls. On June 20, 2006, it had leased a portion of the building to The Children’s Center, Inc., for a period of ten years commencing on June 19, 2006.

In June 2007, High Mark listed the real property for sale through its realtor. Thomas O’Shea, a resident of California, learned of the property through a realtor friend in Boise. Mr. O’Shea and his wife, Anne, were trustees of the “Thomas and Anne O’Shea Trust u/d/t Dated November 2, 1998,” which they had formed to protect their assets and provide for their children. They decided to purchase the real property.

On August 14, 2007, the Trust entered into a real estate contract agreeing to purchase the property from Seller for $3,700,000.00. The remaining Plaintiffs, Grandview Credit, LLC, a California limited liability company; San Francisco Residence Club, Inc., a California corporation; Caleb Foote; Kate Donahue; and John Donahue, all agreed to invest in the property. When the transaction closed, the deed listed the Trust and the investors as grantees, taking the property as tenants in common with varying percentages of interest. The negotiations and exchange of information were conducted primarily through the Plaintiffs realtor and High [121]*121Mark’s realtor, with Mr. O’Shea being the spokesperson for the investors.

The sale of the real property closed on December 10, 2007. The Children’s Center did not make any payments to Plaintiffs after they acquired the property. On March 1, 2008, the Children’s Center vacated the property, and shortly thereafter it went out of business.

On July 8, 2008, Plaintiffs filed this action against High Mark and two of its principals, Gordon Arave and Benjamin Arave. Plaintiffs later added Jared Arave as a defendant by filing an amended complaint. The focus of the litigation was that the Defendants had induced the Plaintiffs to acquire the property by providing false information that the Children’s Center was current in its payments of rent and/or concealing or failing to disclose that the Center had failed to pay all rent due under the lease. The Plaintiffs alleged claims for breach of contract and fraud by misrepresentation and nondisclosure against all of the Defendants, but the issues were narrowed after cross motions for summary judgment. The case was tried to a jury on the issues of: High Mark’s breach of contract; High Mark’s alleged fraud by misrepresentation and nondisclosure; Gordon Arave’s alleged fraud by misrepresentation and nondisclosure; and Benjamin Arave’s alleged fraud by nondisclosure. The jury returned verdicts in favor of all of those Defendants. The Plaintiffs filed a motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict on the issue of liability or, in the alternative, for a new trial, which the district court denied. The Plaintiffs then timely appealed.

II.

Did the District Court Err in Denying the Plaintiffs Motion for a Judgment Notwithstanding the Verdict?

When a trial court decides a motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict, it cannot weigh the evidence or pass on the credibility of witnesses. Weinstein v. Prudential Prop. and Cas. Ins. Co., 149 Idaho 299, 327, 233 P.3d 1221, 1249 (2010). It must simply determine whether reasonable minds could have reached the same conclusion as the jury when the evidence and all reasonable inferences that can be drawn therefrom are considered in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Id. We use that same standard when reviewing the trial court’s ruling on the motion. Id. at 315, 233 P.3d at 1237.

A.

The Fraud Claim.

1. False Statement. The jury was asked to decide whether the Plaintiffs had proved, by clear and convincing evidence, that High Mark had committed fraud, either by misrepresentation or by failure to disclose; that Gordon Arave had committed fraud, either by misrepresentation or failure to disclose; and that Benjamin Arave had committed fraud by failure to disclose. The jury found that the Plaintiffs had not proved those claims. In their motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict, the Plaintiffs asked for a judgment establishing liability for fraud against High Mark on the claim of fraud by both misrepresentation and nondisclosure and against Gordon Arave on the claim of fraud by nondisclosure. The district court denied that motion. In their initial brief on appeal, the Plaintiffs listed as an issue the district court’s denial of that motion. However, they only addressed their claim that High Mark committed fi’aud by making false representations. Therefore, we will not address the district court’s denial of the motion ■with respect to High Mark’s and Mr. Arave’s alleged fraud by nondisclosure. Inama v. Boise County ex rel. Bd. of Comm’rs, 138 Idaho 324, 330, 63 P.3d 450, 456 (2003) (“We will not consider issues cited on appeal that are not supported by argument and propositions of law”).

The only claim of fraud argued on appeal is High Mark’s alleged fraud in making a false representation. Under the facts shown in the record, the Thomas and Anne O’Shea Trust u/d/t Dated November 2, 1998, did not have a fraud claim based upon an alleged false representation. There were no representations that could have fraudulently induced Mr. O’Shea on behalf of the Trust to enter into the purchase contract. The only [122]*122alleged misrepresentations that occurred pri- or to the execution of the real estate contract were: (a) the internet posting advertising the property for sale, which was created by High Mark’s realtor, and (b) a statement by the realtor to the Plaintiffs’ realtor that, “as far as he knew,” the tenant had made all of the rental payments. In connection with the Defendants’ motion for summary judgment, the district court determined that the internet advertisement did not contain allegations of fact that could be the basis of a fraud claim, and it so instructed the jury. The court also held that the statement by High Mark’s realtor could not be a statement of fact that could be the basis of a fraud claim. The Plaintiffs have not challenged those rulings on appeal. Therefore, there was no misrepresentation that induced the Trust to enter into the real estate contract.

Alleged false representations about the financial condition of the tenant made after the Trust had entered into the contract could not form the basis of a fraud claim because the contract did not provide that the Trust could terminate it if the Trust determined that the tenant was not financially sound. The buyer could only terminate the contract “[sjhould the information provided on the estoppel differ from the information provided by Seller,” and there is no contention that it did. The Trust was already bound to purchase the property before the alleged false representations were made.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
280 P.3d 146, 153 Idaho 119, 2012 WL 1436898, 2012 Ida. LEXIS 112, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/thomas-oshea-v-high-mark-development-llc-idaho-2012.