Barrett Mobile Home Transport, Inc. v. McGugin

• Decision Date: 15 July 1981
• Citation: 423 So.2d 1364
• Parties: BARRETT MOBILE HOME TRANSPORT, INC., a corporation, and H.L. Williams v. John McGUGIN and Lois McGugin; Harry J. Willis and Brenda Kay Willis. Civ. 2416.
• Court: Alabama Court of Civil Appeals

Page 1364

423 So.2d 1364

BARRETT MOBILE HOME TRANSPORT, INC., a corporation, and H.L. Williams v. John McGUGIN and Lois McGugin; Harry J. Willis and Brenda Kay Willis.

Civ. 2416.

Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama.

July 15, 1981.

Rehearing Denied Aug. 19, 1981.

John W. Cooper, Mentone, for appellants.

Joseph C. McCorquodale, III, Jackson, for appellees.

BRADLEY, Judge.

On August 22, 1975 Harry J. and Brenda K. Willis purchased a used Concord mobile home from Mustang Mobile Homes of Alabama and executed a "credit sale contract and security agreement" granting Mustang a security interest in the home. That same day, Mustang assigned all of its rights in the secured collateral or proceeds thereof to Midland Guardian Company. Although the Willises had signed the contract and security agreement for the mobile home, John and Lois McGugin, Mrs. Willis's parents, made all the payments on the mobile home and lived in it.

In 1976 H.L. Williams was employed by Barrett Mobile Home Transport, a Minnesota corporation, as a mobile home mover. On the morning of August 23, 1976 Williams arrived in Jackson, Alabama to transport the McGugins' mobile home to Irvington, Alabama. After placing the trailer on the carrying frame, Williams inspected the frame's undercarriage, put air in its tires, and hitched the frame to his truck cab. Williams then attempted to move the mobile home from a small dirt road adjoining the McGugins' trailer park lot onto a paved two lane highway which abutted the park. To reach the two lane highway, Williams had to drive his truck and carrying frame up the dirt road, over a hump two feet in front of the paved highway, and onto the highway itself. The carrying frame was supported by a series of three axles. When the frame's third axle attempted to traverse the hump, it rose approximately one foot off the dirt road and then returned to the ground. The frame's "tongue" simultaneously dug a hole in the asphalt of the highway and the roof, sides, and floor of the McGugins' mobile home cracked. Williams moved the damaged mobile home back onto the dirt road leading from the trailer park to the paved highway but refused to return it to the McGugins' lot within the park. Williams proceeded to contact Barrett's district manager in Birmingham, Alabama, who subsequently appeared in Jackson. Neither Barrett nor Williams offered to repair the damaged trailer at Barrett's expense or to move it back onto the McGugins' trailer park lot.

Almost immediately after the accident, Barrett's district manager asked Mr. Sol Stewart, owner of a mobile home dealership in Jackson, Alabama, to remove the mobile home from the trailer park to his mobile home dealership lot until Barrett decided what it would ultimately do with the home. Stewart complied with this request and the home remained on his storage lot for three or four months thereafter until agents of Mustang Mobile Homes repossessed it in April 1977 for the benefit of Midland Guardian. Stewart charged Barrett ten dollars for moving the home but did not receive any money for storing it.

On September 19, 1976 John and Lois McGugin filed a three count complaint in the Circuit Court of Clarke County against Barrett and Williams. Count one alleged that these defendants had breached their contract to move plaintiffs' mobile home from Jackson to Mobile, Alabama by failing to move same. Count two charged defendants with negligence in moving the mobile home. Count three stated that defendants had converted the home to their use. Defendants moved the court to change the venue of the action from Clarke County to Jefferson County on the grounds that Barrett was a foreign corporation which did not do business by agent in Clarke County.

After their venue motion was denied, defendants then filed an answer and counterclaim. Plaintiffs denied the counterclaim. The case was tried before a jury on the breach of contract and negligence counts of the complaint. A verdict was rendered for plaintiffs in the amount of $3,536. Defendants moved for a judgment n.o.v. or, in the alternative, for a new trial. These motions were denied. An appeal was perfected and several issues were raised,...