Justia Contracts Opinion Summaries

The Board of Supervisors of Fluvanna County filed a complaint against Davenport & Company asserting that Davenport, which served as the financial advisor to the Board, knowingly made false representations and used its fiduciary position to persuade the Board to hire Davenport as an advisor regarding the financing of the construction of a new high school. Davenport filed a demurrer to the complaint, which the circuit court granted on the basis that the separation of powers doctrine prevented the court from resolving the controversy because the court would have to inquire into the motives of the Board's legislative decision making. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the Board effectively waived its common law legislative immunity from civil liability and the burden of litigation, and therefore the circuit court erred in sustaining Davenport's demurrer on these grounds. View "Bd. of Supervisors of Fluvanna County v. Davenport & Co. LLC" on Justia Law

An intoxicated driver (Driver) struck and injured several children. Driver later pleaded guilty to two counts of vehicular battery. Driver's insurer (Insurer) brought a declaratory action seeking a ruling that it had no duty to defend or indemnify the driver in any negligence suit brought on the children's behalf. The circuit court granted summary judgment for Insurer, ruling that coverage had expired twelve hours prior to the accident. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that by failing to accept the offer from Insurer to renew her insurance policy, Driver's coverage expired the day before the accident under the express and unambiguous terms of the insurance contract. View "Alpha Prop. and Cas. Ins. Co. v. Ihle" on Justia Law

Appellants, state police officers, brought this suit individually and on behalf of a class consisting of members of the Arkansas State Police Retirement System (ASPRS), contending that various state defendants had violated the law by failing to properly fund the ASPRS between 1992 and 2003 and that the improper funding violated the Arkansas Constitution. The circuit court dismissed some of Appellants' claims and remanded. On remand, the circuit court granted summary judgment for Defendants. On appeal, Appellants asserted that the circuit court erred in finding that a uniform and travel-expense allowance provided for in Ark. Code Ann. 12-8-209 was not reportable to the ASPRS as a portion of payroll pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. 24-6-209(a). The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that section 24-6-209(a) does not include a uniform and travel-expense allowance such that it is reportable to ASPRS for purposes of calculating retirement benefits. View "McLemore v. Weiss" on Justia Law

Plaintiff purchased a vehicle and an extended service contract for the vehicle from Defendant. Plaintiff signed several transactional documents, including a buyer's guide, a retail installment contract, and a retail purchase agreement, all of which contained statements providing that Defendant would not pay for costs for any repairs and that Defendant expressly disclaimed all express and implied warranties. The vehicle subsequently required repairs, which Defendant refused to pay for. Plaintiff filed a complaint seeking damages for Defendant's alleged failure to honor implied warranties of the vehicle. The justice court held that Defendant disclaimed implied warranties for the vehicle. The district court affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed on alternate grounds, holding (1) Defendant failed effectively to disclaim implied warranties on the vehicle; but (2) Plaintiff's breach of warranty claim failed for lack of evidence necessary to satisfy the elements of breach and causation. View "Payne v. Berry's Auto, Inc." on Justia Law

This case arose out of several business transactions entered into by parties involved in the development of condominiums on Hauser Lake. Cherrad, Merritt & Marie, and Max & V (the Hale interests) were limited liability companies owned by Conrad and Cheryl Hale. Craig Kinnaman was sole proprietor of a business called CK Design. Merritt & Marie purchased the Hauser Lake property. Subsequently, the Hales and Kinnaman agreed to develop a portion of the property. Cherrad was the developer, and Mountain West Bank (MWB) made three loans to Cherrad to develop the project. CK Design suffered delays in the project and later left the project. In 2007, Kinnaman committed suicide, and the Estate recorded a $3.3 million construction lien on the condominiums. MWB brought this action 2008 against the Hale interests and the Estate seeking foreclosure on the three secured loans. The Hale interests and the Estate cross-claimed against each other. The district court (1) declared the Estate's construction lien invalid; and (2) determined Cherrad owed the Estate $76,278 for work that CK Design performed on the project. Finding no error, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "Mountain West Bank, N.A. v. Cherrad, LLC" on Justia Law

This case involved a mediated settlement agreement between two of the heirs of Alfredo and the executrix of his estate, Maria. The superior court ordered Plaintiffs, Lucilio and Patricia, to execute general releases and pay attorney's fees incurred by Maria in seeking to enforce the settlement agreement. Plaintiffs appealed, arguing that the superior court erred in ordering them to execute general releases with terms that were materially different from those contemplated during settlement negotiations, and in assessing attorney's fees. The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the superior court, holding (1) the trial justice erred in ordering Plaintiffs to execute the general release where the general release's language exceeded the clear and unambiguous terms of the settlement agreement; and (2) the superior court erred in awarding attorney's fees to Defendant pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws 9-1-45, as the statute's threshold requirement that the party to receive the attorney's fees award be the "prevailing party" had not been met. View "Furtado v. Goncalves" on Justia Law

Defendant contracted with Plaintiffs to purchase their oil recycling business. The parties carried out the purchase using three contracts. All but one of these contracts, the equipment contract, contained provisions entitling Defendant to attorney's fees in the event Plaintiffs breached the agreements. Plaintiffs later commenced this action seeking damages for Defendant's alleged breach of the contracts and for unjust enrichment. Defendant counterclaimed for breach of contract. The jury found in favor of Defendants on their counterclaim but awarded damages only with respect to Plaintiffs' breach of the equipment contract. The trial court denied Defendant's motion for attorney's fees. The appellate court reversed with respect to attorney's fees. On remand, the trial court denied Defendant's motion for attorney's fees. The appellate court affirmed. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) the trial court improperly applied the law of the case doctrine under these circumstances and improperly rejected Defendant's motion for attorney's fees without reaching the merits of that claim; and (2) when certain claims provide for a party's recovery of contractual attorney's fees but others do not, a party is nevertheless entitled to reasonable attorneys fees if an apportionment is impracticable because the claims arise from a common factual nucleus and are intertwined. Remanded. View "Total Recycling Servs. of Conn., Inc. v. Conn. Oil Recycling Servs., LLC" on Justia Law

The United States Postal Services (USPS) terminated Plaintiff's employment contract after discovering, through a sting operation, that Plaintiff had stolen mail containing money. The Postal Service Board of Contract Appeals (PSBCA) convened an evidentiary hearing and determined that Plaintiff's breach of his employment contract justified the decision to terminate his contract. Plaintiff did not appeal this decision. Meanwhile, Plaintiff initiated a Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) suit against the United States for the actions of USPS employees on the date of the sting, alleging six torts. The district court dismissed three of the claims and granted summary judgment to the government on the remaining claims. The First Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court as to all claims, holding (1) the district court correctly concluded that the PSCBA's findings precluded relitigation of the factual issues in Plaintiff's FTCA suit; and (2) summary judgment was properly granted as to Plaintiff's FTCA claims for negligent supervision, malicious prosecution, and invasion of privacy by postal inspectors. View "Rios-Pineiro v. United States" on Justia Law

Merle Wood, a yacht-broker, appealed the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Trinity, a manufacturer and seller of yachts. Merle Wood sued Trinity for, among other things, quantum meruit and unjust enrichment. Merle Wood alleged that Trinity refused to pay for the fair, reasonable value of the benefit it provided in brokering a deal that led to Trinity selling two multi-million dollar yachts. The court held that Merle Wood's quantum meruit and unjust enrichment causes of action were time-barred under Fla. Stat. 95.11. Accordingly, the court affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Trinity. View "Merle Wood and Assoc., Inc v. Trinity Yachts, LLC" on Justia Law

Plaintiff, on behalf of herself and the Estate, challenged the district court's grant of summary judgment to Zenith on the Estate's breach of the insurance contract claim. After review and oral argument, the court certified questions to the Florida Supreme Court: (1) Does the estate have standing to bring its breach of contract claim against Zenith under the employer liability policy? (2) If so, does the provision in the employer liability policy which excludes from coverage "any obligation imposed by workers' compensation . . . law" operate to exclude coverage of the estate's claim against Zenith for the tort judgment? (3) If the estate's claim was not barred by the workers' compensation exclusion, does the release in the workers' compensation settlement agreement otherwise prohibit the estate's collection of the tort judgment? View "Morales v. Zenith Ins. Co." on Justia Law