Town & Country Homecenter of Crawfordsville, Indiana, Inc. v. Woods

725 N.E.2d 1006, 2000 Ind. App. LEXIS 444, 2000 WL 343806
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 4, 2000
Docket54A01-9903-CV-89
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 725 N.E.2d 1006 (Town & Country Homecenter of Crawfordsville, Indiana, Inc. v. Woods) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Town & Country Homecenter of Crawfordsville, Indiana, Inc. v. Woods, 725 N.E.2d 1006, 2000 Ind. App. LEXIS 444, 2000 WL 343806 (Ind. Ct. App. 2000).

Opinions

OPINION

BAKER, Judge

Appellant-plaintiff Town & Country Homecenter of Crawfordsville, Indiana, Inc. (T&C) appeals the trial court’s judgment in favor of appellee-defendant, National City Bank (NCB). Specifically, T&C argues that, as vendor of materials to builder Woods, it was a third-party beneficiary of the agreement between mortgagee NCB and mortgagor Lynn Fellows, who purchased a house built by Woods. Furthermore, T&C argues that NCB’s action in disbursing funds to Woods when T&C was still owed $32,866.12 constituted constructive fraud. Finally, T&C maintains that NCB committed the criminal offense of deception when it required that Woods sign an affidavit stating that there were no unpaid claims for materials furnished.

FACTS

The facts most favorable to the judgment reveal that in June 1992, Lynn Fellows contracted with Ronald Woods to build a house. Fellows paid Woods $10,-000 as down payment and applied for a mortgage with NCB to cover the remaining balance, which was due at closing. Woods purchased materials for the house from T&C. On September 23, 1992, Fellows received a letter from T&C entitled “a routine letter” (the pre-lien notice) which.stated that T&C could perfect a lien against his property if payment was not received for the materials. Record at 60-61, 92-93. Fellows brought the letter to the attention of Tom Gineris, the NCB representative handling his mortgage. Gineris responded that there was no problem, that similar situations arose “all the time” and that the letter would be addressed at closing. R. at 155. '

The closing on Fellows’ house occurred on October 13, 1992. Prior to the closing, T&C did not communicate with anyone at NCB regarding the bill owed by Woods. At the closing, Gineris questioned Woods about liens against the property. Woods acknowledged the existence of a mortgage held on the property by Tri-County Bank & Trust. Woods also confirmed that he had not completed payment to T&C but stated that he would pay T&C from the check he received at the closing. Gineris required that Woods sign a vendor’s affidavit which stated that there were no liens on the property and that there were “no unpaid claims for labor done upon or materials furnished for the real estate in respect of which liens have been or may be filed.” R. at 141-42. NCB then issued one check in the amount of $40,321.90 to Tri-County for Woods’ construction loan and a second check to Woods in the amount of $59,229.17. Before doing so, Gineris asked Fellows if he was “comfortable” with disbursing the funds to Woods, based on Woods’ statement that he would pay T&C from the proceeds. R. at 123. Fellows said, “That would be fine.” R. at 123.

On January 11, 1993, T&C filed a mechanics lien against Fellows’ residence with the Montgomery County Recorder, asserting it was owed $32,866.12. On January 7, 1994, T&C filed a complaint seeking to foreclose the lien, naming Woods, Fellows, NCB and the Montgomery County Treasurer as defendants. However, Fellows and the Montgomery County Treasurer were dismissed from the action.1 [1009]*1009T&C’s mechanics lien was ultimately released because the notice to Fellows did not comply with statutory limits.

Evidence was submitted by stipulation and deposition testimony presented by T&C and NCB. The trial court then made its decision without hearing or jury, as agreed by the parties. It entered its order and judgment in favor of NCB and against T&C on December 17, 1998. T&C filed a motion to correct errors, which the trial court denied. T&C now appeals.

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

I. Standard of Review

By agreement of the parties in this case, the trial court weighed evidence from exhibits and deposition transcripts and arrived at findings of fact and conclusions of law.2 Our standard of review for the trial court’s findings of fact requires that we not reweigh the evidence, but rather affirm the trial court’s decision unless the trial court’s findings are clearly erroneous. Indiana Farmers Mut. Ins. Co. v. Ellison, 679 N.E.2d 1378, 1380-81 (Ind.Ct.App.1997), trans. denied. The trial court’s findings of fact may be found clearly erroneous only if the record lacks any evidence or reasonable inferences from the evidence to support such findings. Id.

The trial court also decided questions of law: whether an agreement existed and whether T&C was a third-party beneficiary to such an agreement. We review the trial court’s conclusions of law de novo. Brown v. State, 677 N.E.2d 517, 518 (Ind.1997).

II. Third-Party Beneficiary Status

T&C first claims that it is the third-party beneficiary of the agreement between mortgagee NCB and mortgagor Fellows which permitted Fellows to take out a mortgage for his home. Specifically, T&C argues that NCB had a fiduciary duty to Fellows and T&C to exercise reasonable care that T&C be paid and that it breached that duty in disbursing funds to Woods knowing that T&C had not been paid.

We note that, in order to prevail upon a claim that one is a third-party beneficiary to a contract, a plaintiff must prove:

(1) A clear intent by the actual parties to the contract to benefit the third party;
(2) A duty imposed on one of the contracting parties in favor of the third party; and
(3) Performance of the contract terms is necessary to render the third party a direct benefit intended by the parties to the contract.

Prairie Heights Educ. v. Bd. of Sch. Trustees of Prairie Heights Community Sch., 585 N.E.2d 289, 294 (Ind.Ct.App.1992).

In this case, NCB’s representative Gineris stated to Fellows that T&C’s pre-lien notice would be “address[ed]” at the closing. R. at 155. We do not see in this statement a promise that T&C would be paid. Rather, at most, any promise amounted to a commitment to protect Fellows’ interest by addressing the notice at the closing, where it was indeed addressed. R. at 123-24, 146. After Woods informed Gineris that he would pay T&C with the check he was to receive from NCB, Gineris required Woods to sign a vendor’s affidavit which stated that there were “no unpaid claims for ... materials furnished for the Real Estate in respect of which lien have been or may be filed.” R. at 141-42. Fellows stated that NCB’s payment to Woods, based on Woods’ statement that he would pay T&C, was “fine.” R. at 123. Thus, we do not see on NCB’s part a commitment to ensure payment to T&C.

[1010]*1010Furthermore, even if a contract were established by Gineris’ remark that the pre-lien notice would be addressed, the evidence presented does not demonstrate that NCB and Fellows had a “clear intent” to benefit T&C, as required under Indiana law. See Prairie Heights, 585 N.E.2d at 294.

T&C also contends that it was the intended beneficiary of the agreement between Gineris and Fellows.

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Town & Country Homecenter of Crawfordsville, Indiana, Inc. v. Woods
725 N.E.2d 1006 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2000)

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Bluebook (online)
725 N.E.2d 1006, 2000 Ind. App. LEXIS 444, 2000 WL 343806, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/town-country-homecenter-of-crawfordsville-indiana-inc-v-woods-indctapp-2000.