VAN DE WALLE & ASSOC. v. Buseman

2003 SD 70, 665 N.W.2d 84
CourtSouth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedJune 11, 2003
DocketNone
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 2003 SD 70 (VAN DE WALLE & ASSOC. v. Buseman) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering South Dakota Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
VAN DE WALLE & ASSOC. v. Buseman, 2003 SD 70, 665 N.W.2d 84 (S.D. 2003).

Opinion

665 N.W.2d 84 (2003)
2003 SD 70

VAN DE WALLE & ASSOCIATES, L.L.C., formerly known as John Van De Walle d/b/a John Van De Walle & Associates, Plaintiff and Appellee,
v.
Edith BUSEMAN, Defendant and Appellant.

No. 22535.

Supreme Court of South Dakota.

Considered on Briefs April 28, 2003.
Decided June 11, 2003.

*85 Gary L. Pashby, Lisa Hansen Marso of Boyce, Greenfield, Pashby & Welk, L.L.P., Sioux Falls, South DAkota, Attorneys for plaintiff and appellee.

Rick Johnson, Sandy Steffen of Johnson, Eklund, Nicholson, & Peterson, Gregory, South Dakota, Attorneys for defendant and appellant.

SABERS, Justice.

[¶ 1.] Van De Walle & Associates, L.L.C. (Van De Walle) brought suit against Edith Buseman seeking payment for architectural services. Van De Walle later brought a summary judgment motion which was granted on July 10, 2002. Buseman filed a notice of appeal claiming there were genuine issues of material fact whether: 1) Van De Walle should recover its entire claim under an implied contract theory; and 2) what agreement, if any, the parties had for payment.

FACTS

[¶ 2.] In 1996 Buseman contacted Van De Walle requesting architectural services for a project known as "Hilda's Heritage Home and Silver Threads Apartments." The assisted living facility was to be constructed *86 in Gregory, South Dakota, on land owned by Buseman and her husband.[1] After meeting to discuss the Gregory project, Van De Walle sent Buseman a proposal letter outlining the architectural and other services he would provide. He then began providing those services. In July 1996, Van De Walle sent Buseman a standard agreement contract for her signature, but Buseman never signed. Despite the lack of a formal written contract, Van De Walle provided architectural services beginning in April 1996 and continuing through the fall of 1998. During that time, Van De Walle submitted drawings and did other architectural and engineering work. Buseman used Van De Walle's drawings in her efforts to apply for a HUD guaranteed bank loan to finance the project.

[¶ 3.] In December 1996, Van De Walle sent two bills to Buseman totaling approximately $16,000. The bills together covered services provided by Van De Walle from mid April 1996 through November 1996. Thereafter, Van De Walle sent numerous invoices to Buseman detailing the services he was providing. Van De Walle billed Buseman for services provided through June 23, 1998. The total billed to Buseman was $21,149.16. Buseman never paid any of Van De Walle's bills, nor did she contest any of the bills. Buseman never indicated that she did not believe she owed the money nor did she ever inform Van De Walle that he needed to submit the bill to another party. Buseman did, however, pay the invoices that Van De Walle sent her for work done on the project by ATS Engineering and RF Sayer Surveying. She stated in her deposition that she paid those bills in accordance with her agreement with the shareholders in the Gregory Assisted Living LLC[2] that she would be reimbursed with an interest in the LLC.

[¶ 4.] When Buseman could not get a loan guarantee through HUD, the plans done by Van De Walle were scrapped, financing was obtained through community efforts and the project was scaled down significantly. Today, there is a 30-unit assisted living facility named Silver Threads Residential Home. The architectural work on the existing building was not performed by Van De Walle.

[¶ 5.] Throughout her brief, Buseman argues facts that are unsupported by the record. First, she argues that "HUD financing was a pre-requisite for the project." Second she argues that Van De Walle "at all times knew that the assisted living project in Gregory was premised upon approval of HUD financing." She uses these factual statements as the underlying premise for her argument that Van De Walle agreed to perform the services with the knowledge that he would be paid only in the event that HUD guaranteed the financing. Because the record does not support these assertions, we will disregard them in accordance with SDCL 15-26A-60(5).[3]

*87 [¶ 6.] When he did not receive payment for his services, Van De Walle commenced this suit against Buseman on May 4, 2001. The trial court granted Van De Walle's motion for summary judgment and judgment was entered in his favor in the amount of $21,149.16. Buseman appeals. We affirm.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

[¶ 7.] Our standard of review for the grant of summary judgment is well settled:

In reviewing a grant or a denial of summary judgment under SDCL 15-6-56(c), we must determine whether the moving party demonstrated the absence of any genuine issue of material fact and [established] entitlement to judgment on the merits as a matter of law. The evidence must be viewed most favorably to the nonmoving party[,] and reasonable doubts should be resolved against the moving party.... Our task on appeal is to determine only whether a genuine issue of material fact exists and whether the law was correctly applied.

Hasse v. Fraternal Order of Eagles, 2003 SD 23, ¶ 7, 658 N.W.2d 410, 412 (citing Braun v. New Hope Township, 2002 SD 67, ¶ 8, 646 N.W.2d 737, 739 (quoting South Dakota State Cement Plant Commission v. Wausau Underwriters Ins. Co., 2000 SD 116, ¶ 9, 616 N.W.2d 397, 400-01)) (bracketed portions in original).

[¶ 8.] 1. WHETHER THERE ARE GENUINE ISSUES OF MATERIAL FACT WHETHER VAN DE WALLE MAY RECOVER ITS ENTIRE CLAIM ON THE BASIS OF IMPLIED CONTRACT.

[¶ 9.] An implied contract "is one, the existence and terms of which are manifested by conduct." SDCL 53-1-3. With regard to implied contracts, we have stated:

[w]hen a party confers a benefit upon another party who accepts or acquiesces in that benefit and it is inequitable to receive that benefit without paying therefore, a contract will be implied between the parties.

Randall Stanley Architects, Inc. v. All Saints Community Corp., 1996 SD 138, ¶ 20, 555 N.W.2d 802, 805 (quoting Amert Construction Co. v. Spielman, 331 N.W.2d 307, 310 (S.D.1983)). Typically, when a person provides services or materials to another and those services or materials are voluntarily accepted, it is inferred that the services or materials "were given and received in the expectation of being paid for, and a promise to pay their reasonable worth implied." Id. (quoting St. John's First Lutheran v. Storsteen, 77 S.D. 33, 84 N.W.2d 725, 728 (1957)).

[¶ 10.] Buseman argues first that whether there was an implied contract is inappropriate for summary judgment because the question must be decided by the trier of fact. Generally, this assertion is true. As we noted in Lien v. McGladrey & Pullen, under South Dakota law, the existence of an implied contract between parties creates a genuine issue of material fact to be decided by the jury. 509 N.W.2d 421, 424 (S.D.1993) (citations omitted).

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2003 SD 70, 665 N.W.2d 84, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/van-de-walle-assoc-v-buseman-sd-2003.