Gibbs v. Mayo
| Decision Date | 17 February 2004 |
| Docket Number | No. COA03-290.,COA03-290. |
| Citation | 591 S.E.2d 905,162 NC App. 549 |
| Court | North Carolina Court of Appeals |
| Parties | Jerry GIBBS, Larry Gibbs, Gary Barnette, Roland Stotesberry, Mattie Berry, Anna Mae Gibbs, Charles Gibbs, Rebecca Gibbs, Regina Gibbs, Alison Ellis, Gary Ellis, Barbara Meekins, MacLyn Gibbs, Ellis Gibbs, James Gibbs, Mark Dodge, Mary Gibbs, Barbara Spencer, Sherlin Spencer, John Herina, Peggy Grant, Glenn Jarvis, Odesa Jarvis, and Calvin B. Davis, individually and on behalf of Hyde County, Plaintiffs, v. Troy Lane MAYO, D. Scott Coble, Wayne Teeter, Barbara Deese, Willie Gibbs, Calvin Gibbs, Jr., and North Carolina Counties Liability and Property Insurance Pool Fund, Defendants. |
Carter, Archie, Hassell & Singleton, L.L.P., by Sid Hassell, Jr., and Davis & Davis, by Geo. Thomas Davis, Jr., Swan Quarter, for plaintiffs-appellants.
The Twiford Law Firm, P.C., by Edward A. O'Neal and David R. Pureza, Elizabeth City, for defendant-appellee/cross-appellant Troy Lane Mayo.
Pritchett & Burch, PLLC, by Lloyd C. Smith, Jr. and Lars P. Simonsen, Windsor, for defendants-appellees/cross-appellants D. Scott Coble, Wayne Teeter, Barbara Deese and Willie Gibbs.
The individually listed plaintiffs (collectively "plaintiffs") are residents and taxpayers of Hyde County. They appeal from the 20 August 2002 orders denying their motions for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict and new trial. Plaintiffs also appeal from the judgment entered 20 August 2002. Troy Lane Mayo ("Mayo"), D. Scott Coble ("Coble"), Wayne Teeter ("Teeter"), Barbara Deese ("Deese"), and Willie Gibbs ("Gibbs") (collectively "defendants") were duly elected members of the Hyde County Board of Commissioners ("Board"). They cross-appeal from the judgment entered 20 August 2002.
In 1997, the Board became aware of deteriorating physical conditions of the Hyde County Courthouse ("courthouse"). The walls in the tax office on the first floor had pulled away from the ceiling and the floor had become "bouncey." Moisture had caused books, papers, and furniture to mildew and mold, creating an odor and health hazard. Around October, 1997, the County Manager, Jeff Credle ("Credle") crawled under the courthouse to inspect the deteriorating conditions. Credle videotaped the conditions and showed the video at the October meeting of the Board. Substantial rotting of the wood structure and ponding of water in the crawlspace were evident on the video. At this meeting, Mayo agreed to seek a contractor to perform the needed repairs to the courthouse. At this time, Mayo was one of two licensed contractors in Hyde County. No entry was made of Mayo speaking with a contractor in the Board's November, 1997, meeting minutes.
In April, 1998, all offices and employees located in the courthouse moved out of the building. Mayo and his workers began tearing out the floors and some of the walls of the courthouse. At its May, 1998, meeting, the Board adopted a resolution declaring an emergency situation and determined that immediate action was needed to correct the problems at the courthouse. Mayo, Chairman of the Board, abstained from voting on this resolution.
Several months after Mayo began work on the courthouse, the Board adopted a resolution approving $97,000.00 to be spent on the courthouse renovations. The resolution limited the cost to not exceed $97,000.00, unless the Board approved the additional expenditures prior to the work being done. The Board never sought competitive bids for the work on the courthouse. The Board entered into a written contract with Calvin C. Gibbs, Jr. ("Calvin Gibbs") (no relation to Commissioner Gibbs), through Mayo, to perform extensive renovation work on the courthouse for this amount. However, Mayo and his employees actually performed all of the renovations of the courthouse. Coble and Teeter testified that they were aware that Mayo was doing the work and would receive payments for the work even though the Hyde County's contract had been executed with Calvin Gibbs. Deese and Gibbs testified they thought Mayo would be supervising the work and Calvin Gibbs was actually performing the work. None of the commissioners, except Mayo, received any money or individual benefit from the courthouse project. The total cost of the finished courthouse project reached $179,410.42. None of the Board's minutes from their meetings show that any of this additional work and costs were approved after the Board's original authorization of $97,000.00. On 7 September 1999, the Board adopted a unanimous resolution amending the appropriation from $97,000.00 to $179,410.42. Of that sum, $167,783.28 was received by Mayo.
In the latter part of 1997, the Board also became aware of the deteriorating condition of the Hyde County Health Department building ("health department"). The wood around the windows and doors was rotted and the vinyl siding was in a dilapidated state. Moisture was also causing mold and mildew problems. The Board instructed Credle to secure informal bids to repair the health department. On 8 December 1997, B.T. Glover, a licensed general contractor, provided a bid in the amount of $37,000.00. On 8 January 1998, the Board received a bid from Calvin Gibbs in the amount of $35,900.00. On 30 July 1998, the Board, again through Mayo, entered into a contract with Calvin Gibbs to perform work on the health department. The contract provided that the cost would not exceed $35,900.00, unless the Board approved the additional work before it was done. As with the courthouse renovations, Teeter and Coble knew that Mayo would be performing the work. Deese and Gibbs testified they were not aware that Mayo would be directly involved. The cost of the finished health department totaled $110,386.42. Mayo performed all of the work and received all of this money.
The press began investigating the actions surrounding both projects. The County Auditor asked and was told by Credle that Mayo was not involved in these projects. On 25 August 2000, plaintiffs made written demand on the Board to recoup the money paid to Mayo for the work done on both projects. On 18 November 2000, the Board declined to take any action on this matter. Plaintiffs brought suit to recover the money paid to Mayo. Defendants' motions for directed verdict were denied. The jury returned a verdict against all defendants in the amount of $25,167.49 for the courthouse project and $16,557.96 for the health department project. Plaintiffs moved for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict and a new trial on the issues of damages. The trial court denied both motions and dismissed ex mero motu plaintiffs' punitive damages claims. Plaintiffs and defendants appeal.
Plaintiffs contend that the trial court erred in: (1) refusing to hold defendants liable as a matter of law and in not granting plaintiffs' motions on the issue of damages, (2) dismissing plaintiffs' punitive damage claim, (3) permitting defendants to mention and question witnesses concerning the costs and reasonable value of the work incurred by Mayo in performing the work on the courthouse and health department, (4) refusing to allow evidence concerning attorney's fees paid by Hyde County for the defense of this action, and (5) refusing to admit the testimony of Credle from an earlier hearing.
Defendants contend in their cross-appeals that the trial court erred in: (1) denying their motions for directed verdict, (2) prohibiting evidence concerning the costs and reasonable value of the work done on the courthouse and health department and refusing to instruct the jury that they should consider the costs and reasonable value of the work done on the courthouse and health department, and (3) allowing Credle to repeatedly assert and plead his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in the presence of the jury.
Plaintiffs contend that the trial court erred in not granting their motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict ("JNOV") on the issue of damages.
This Court applies an abuse of discretion standard of review for a trial court's denial of a motion for JNOV. Railway Co. v. Fibres, Inc., 41 N.C.App. 694, 702, 255 S.E.2d 749, 754 (1979).
At the time relevant to this action, North Carolina's conflict of interest law provided in part:
243 N.C. 252, 254, 90 S.E.2d 496, 497-498 (1955).
Not only will [the Court] declare void and unenforceable any contract between a public official, or a board of which he is a member, and himself ... but it will also deny recovery on a quantum meruit basis. In entering into such contract a public official acts at his own peril and must suffer the loss incident upon his breach of his public duty. He may look in vain to the courts to aid him in his efforts to recoup his losses, due to the invalidity of the contract, on the grounds the public agency which he serves has been enriched by...
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...that the motion for "judgment as a matter of law" as to punitive damages was inappropriately timed. But see Gibbs v. Mayo, 162 N.C.App. 549, 558-59, 591 S.E.2d 905, 911-12 (holding that trial court did not err in dismissing plaintiff's punitive damages claim ex mero motu at the close of pla......
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...`only upon a showing that it was so arbitrary that it could not have been the result of a reasoned decision.'" Gibbs v. Mayo, 162 N.C.App. 549, 561, 591 S.E.2d 905, 913 (quoting Sloan v. Miller Building Corp., 128 N.C.App. 37, 45, 493 S.E.2d 460, 465 (1997); and White v. White, 312 N.C. 770......
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Hearsay rule
...the missing words: “is not excluded by the hearsay rule.”] North Carolina expresses its application well in the case of Gibbs v. Mayo , 591 S.E.2d 905 (N.C. App., 2004): When weighing the circumstantial guarantees of the trustworthiness of a hearsay statement, as an element for admissibilit......
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Hearsay Rule
...the missing words: “is not excluded by the hearsay rule.”] North Carolina expresses its application well in the case of Gibbs v. Mayo , 591 S.E.2d 905 (N.C. App., 2004): When weighing the circumstantial guarantees of the trustworthiness of a hearsay statement, as an element for admissibilit......
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Hearsay Rule
...the missing words: “is not excluded by the hearsay rule.”] North Carolina expresses its application well in the case of Gibbs v. Mayo , 591 S.E.2d 905 (N.C. App., 2004): When weighing the circumstantial guarantees of the trustworthiness of a hearsay statement, as an element for admissibilit......
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Hearsay Rule
...the missing words: “is not excluded by the hearsay rule.”] North Carolina expresses its application well in the case of Gibbs v. Mayo , 591 S.E.2d 905 (N.C. App., 2004): When weighing the circumstantial guarantees of the trustworthiness of a hearsay statement, as an element for admissibilit......