Voss v. Woodmaster of Maine, Inc.

Superior Court of Maine·Decided August 12, 2005·No. KENcv-03-137·Unpublished

Opinion

STATE OF MAINE SEVENTH DISTRICT COURT DIV. OF SO. KENNEBEC

CIVIL ACTION

KENNEBEC, ss. DOCKET NO. AUG-CV-03-137

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LINDA J. VOSS, ;t

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Plaintiff

DECISION AND ORDER

WOODMASTER OF MAINE, INC., t :

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Defendant

Tlus matter is before the court after bench trial. The amended complaint alleges an agreement for defendant to install a metal roof on plaintiff's home, that certain representations were made to plaintiff prior to entering into the agreement, that work was performed that resulted in an entirely unsatisfactory product, and that plaintiff paid the defendant a sum of money but she will have future expenses as a result of defendant's conduct. She seeks damages for breach of contract, fraud, unfair trade practice, breach of express warranty and breach of implied warranties.

The plaintiff is the owner of a home at 25 Highland Avenue in Waterville.

Having suffered ice damage to her roof in November of 2001, she and her companion discussed with representatives of the defendant the installation of a new metal roof. After a conversation of some two and a half to three hours, plaintiff entered into a written contract with the defendant on the evening of November 27th. The contract executed by the parties called for the defendant to install steel roofing, forest green in color, and perform the following the work:

Inspect roof and renail as needed.

Strap roof with 1x 3 strapping.

Provide and install Bi-ribbed steel roofing to all sections of roof.

Includes all accessories, vented ridge cap L-bend closure strips.

25 year warranty on steel roofing.

Includes all labor, materials taxes and permits.

Any additional work requires additional work order.

Consideration for the performance was to be $7,650 with bank financing to be arranged.

The preprinted contract carries a "Buyer's Right To Cancel." T h s gave a right to the plaintiff to cancel the contract provided the notice was mailed to the defendant before midnight of December 14, 2001, and the address for that purpose of the defendant was listed.

A change order was executed December 28,2001, as follows:

Terms of original contract are changed to cash with 20% down payment $1,530 due on check out and balance of $6,120 due on completion.

During the discussions with the representatives of the defendant leading up to the contract, the plaintiff understood from representations made that the roof would be completed and fit to a tolerance of 1/ 16" and that all cut edges of the material would be "factory sealed." Plaintiff indicates that defendant's representatives told her that "no other company could do this." Finally, the terms as proposed by the defendant were described as a "one day deal" and required the plaintiff to enter the contract, if at all, on the very evening it was discussed.

On February 4, 2002, the material was delivered and placed on the grounds of plaintiff's home and the work on the roof started on February 5, 2002. The roof job was completed on February 13.

P h l Crandlemire, friend and housemate of plaintiff, videotaped the material as it was positioned on the ground of the home and inspected it. He noted a tag on the material that suggested that the material should not be stored on the ground. He noted scratches on the top of sheets and wood on top of the metal sheets. Because of h s , he called the general manager of the defendant corporation and complained. As the workers were making the installation, Mr. Crandlemire also videotaped the entire pr0cess.l As the work was being completed, plaintiff noticed that damage had been done to her property including damage to a door handle, screens, etc. and cigarette butts in the area. She also noticed gaps in the fit of the roof. At the time of completion, a member of the installation crew advised plainbff that they expected to receive timely payment. P h l Trask, expediting manager of the defendant, inspected the job on February 14 when Mr. Crandlemire made the complaints regarding the job. On that same date, Mr. Trask prepared an "additional work authorization" for work to be done without charge to the plaintiff.

Woodmaster agrees to screw down metal where necessary. File down cut edge where possible. Repair one screen, replace mailbox, paint scratches on metal in warm weather. Flash around chimney with metal.

The repairs were completed with respect to the plaintiff's house but it was agreed that further work on the roof would wait until warmer weather in the Spring. In the meantime, defendant's representative asked for payment in the amount of $4,500 toward the contract price. It was reported to plaintiff and Mr. Crandlemire that an employee of defendant who had worked on the job was getting married and defendant wished to see that he was fully paid for the job. Somewhat influenced by that motivation, plaintiff paid $3,800 to the defendant on the contract with an understanding that the balance of the contract would be paid in the Spring when the work was done.

Between February and May, the plaintiff and Mr. Crandlemire noticed addtional discrepancies and deficiencies in the roof. Most importantly, they did not believe the

1 The court accepts the defendant's explanation as more likely than not that the material was placed on the ground for a 24-hour period immediately prior to the installation and that the manufacturer's instruction relates to long-term storage. Furthermore, Mr. Trask testified that the material was protected from the ground and on the top by wood and other unusable pieces of roof sheeting.

roof was fit to a 1/ 16" tolerance and there were bare edges where cutting of sheet metal had been done whch did not appear to be sealed. Because plaintiff felt that those two representations were a fundamental part of her expectations under the contract, she and Mr. Crandlemire did further inspection of the job.

Defendant was given a window/door screen from plaintiff's home to make repairs. The repairs were completed by the defendant. A dispute arose over whether the repair was made w i h n a reasonable period. Phil Crandlemire complained that defendant had possession of the screen for over two months and had not returned it in a repaired condition. The general manager of the defendant advised Crandlemire that the repairs were made in a timely fashon, the screen was returned to the plaintiff's residence but because no one was home when it was returned, it was set up against the garage in a manner to be seen by the plaintiff. When Mr. Crandlemire denied the truth of that statement, the general manger and Mr. Trask went to the plaintiff's residence where the general manager retrieved the screen and took it to the front door of the residence to hand it to Mr. Crandlemire. Words were exchanged and a struggle ensued. As a result of h s confrontation, plaintiff changed her mind in allowing defendant to repair, correct or "cure" the defect. As a result, Mr. Trask asked for a meeting with plaintiff and Mr. Crandlemire. On May plaintiff and Mr. Crandlemire met with P h l Trask of Woodmaster at plaintiff's home to discuss the deficiencies as noted by the plaintiff. T h s meeting was surreptitiously <ideotaped by Mr. Crandlemire hiding a videotape camera on the floor.

Plaintiff and Mr. Crandlemire explained their complaints about the quality of the work that had been performed and also the manner in which they believed defendant's

general manager had treated them. Mr. Trask tried to explain the nature of the installation and some of the matters whch plaintiff perceived as deficient but continued to express a willingness to take such action as to complete the job to the satisfaction of the plaintiff and, finally, even agreeing to remove and replace the entire roof. At t h s offer, Mr. Crandlemire responded by demanding that defendant pay plaintiff for her trouble in addition to replacing the roof.

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Voss v. Woodmaster of Maine, Inc., (Me. Super. Ct. 2005).

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