Greco v. Mancini, 81-277-A

Decision Date31 May 1984
Docket NumberNo. 81-277-A,81-277-A
Citation476 A.2d 522
PartiesEarl M. GRECO et ux. v. Philip S. MANCINI, Sr., et al. ppeal.
CourtRhode Island Supreme Court
OPINION

KELLEHER, Justice.

This Superior Court litigation involves "problem real estate," a high water table, and a registered professional engineer whose negligence or deviousness gave rise to the problem that belongs to the plaintiffs. On July 30, 1973, the plaintiffs, Earl M. Greco and his wife Antonetta, agreed in writing to purchase from Continental Land Co. for $12,700 a lot of land situated on Forest Lane in East Greenwich and described in various documents as lot No. 4 on the Chessbrook Plat. The Grecos paid a deposit of $1,000, and the balance of the purchase price was to be paid on or before August 27, 1973, upon the delivery of the warranty deed. The sales agreement contained a provision indicating that the impending sale was subject to proof of "satisfactory percolation tests." The land company is a family corporation. The family in question is the Mancini family, which includes a father and two sons. One son, Philip S. Mancini, Jr., is the registered professional engineer to whom we have just alluded. On August 16, 1973, the title closing was held, and a warranty deed conveying title to lot No. 4 and bearing the signatures of Philip S. Mancini, Jr., and his wife, Janet, was delivered to Mr. and Mrs. Greco.

Since the only parties to this appeal who testified at the Superior Court trial were the plaintiff husband, Earl M. Greco, and the defendant engineer, Philip S. Mancini, Jr., we shall hereinafter refer to "Greco," and, where appropriate, this reference will include his wife; and our subsequent references to "Mancini," where appropriate, will also encompass the other defendants. 1

Greco, who is a building contractor, testified that when he signed the sales agreement that was prepared by Mancini's broker, he expressed some doubt that he could proceed to build a house on the lot without having any concern about water problems. The percolation proviso found in the sales agreement was a result of this expression of anxiety. At the closing, which was held at the office of Mancini's attorney, Mancini assured Greco that there would be no water problems. He also volunteered to draw up a plan for a proposed septic system and to attend to all the preliminary details that had to be dealt with before Greco could begin construction of his home. Among those details was the obtaining from the State Health Department's Division of Food Protection and Sanitation (the division) its approval of the proposed septic system.

Mancini acknowledged that in the early part of 1971 he had acquired an undeveloped parcel of land now known as Chessbrook Plat. Before a proposed subdivision of the parcel, which indicated six lots, could be approved by the East Greenwich authorities, it was necessary to submit to the division for its approval the results of percolation tests and a ground-water evaluation conducted on the parcel. On June 2, 1971, the division received a document entitled "Subsoil Exploration Report" which related to Chessbrook. The report, which is set forth on a form supplied by the division, was prepared by Mancini, who as a licensed professional engineer certified that his examination was in conformity with the division's rules relating to location, design, and construction of individual sewer systems. The report indicated that, in order to determine the level of ground water on the parcel, Mancini had dug five holes, four of which came up dry and the fifth of which indicated water at a depth of seven feet. When representatives of the division made an onsite inspection, they discovered that the holes dug by Mancini had been covered up. Additional holes were dug when the division's representatives were present, but the viewing occurred at a time when the wet season of the year was on the wane.

The division's approval of Mancini's proposed subdivision was subject to the condition that the septic tanks and leaching fields servicing the six houses within the subdivision be built in the front yard of each lot. There is no question that the division, in its initial acquiescence to Greco's construction efforts, was relying on the representations made by Mancini in his "Subsoil Exploration Report." 2

In his initial design for Greco's sewer system, Mancini had placed the system in the front yard. However, Greco wanted the system located at the side of the house because all of the plumbing lines exited at this point. Mancini, in acquiescing to this request, never informed Greco about the division's front-yard stipulation.

Greco began building his new home in April 1974, and in doing so he installed a system that modified considerably the design originally formulated by Mancini. Later, in May 1974, at Greco's request, the division appeared at the building site to give final approval to the system. However, an on-the-spot examination of the ground-water conditions showed a substantial difference between what Mancini had reported and what was actually present. Ground water was found eighteen inches below the surface of the soil rather than at the seven-foot depth previously reported by Mancini. The leaching field would have been awash had the installation been permitted to continue.

Consequently, the division suspended the permit that it had previously issued. The suspension date was May 30, 1974, and Greco was instructed not to use the system. A new system was designed with the help of the division and was installed in the summer of 1975. The cost of the new installation...

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8 cases
  • Montecalvo v. Mandarelli
    • United States
    • Rhode Island Supreme Court
    • August 30, 1996
    ...of this testimony, the jury's determination of a loss in value of $50,000 was reasonably supported by the evidence. See Greco v. Mancini, 476 A.2d 522, 526 (R.I.1984) (when damage to real estate is permanent, diminution-of-value standard should be For the reasons stated, the plaintiff's app......
  • Richardson v. Fuchs
    • United States
    • Rhode Island Supreme Court
    • April 6, 1987
    ...the discretion of the trial justice, the exercise of which we shall not disturb in the absence of clear error or abuse. Greco v. Mancini, 476 A.2d 522, 525 (R.I. 1984); Lacey v. Edgewood Home Builders, Inc., 446 A.2d 1017, 1018 (R.I. 1982). In making such a determination, the trial justice ......
  • State v. Boucher, 86-490
    • United States
    • Rhode Island Supreme Court
    • May 17, 1988
    ...absent a showing of abuse. Mangasarian v. Gould, 537 A.2d 403 (R.I.1988); Richardson v. Fuchs, 523 A.2d 445 (R.I.1987); Greco v. Mancini, 476 A.2d 522 (R.I.1984); Gormley v. Vartian, 121 R.I. 770, 403 A.2d 256 (1979); Leahey v. State, 121 R.I. 200, 397 A.2d 509 (1979); Schenck v. Roger Will......
  • In re DiMartino
    • United States
    • U.S. Bankruptcy Court — District of Rhode Island
    • March 24, 1989
    ...the damage to realty was permanent or temporary. Tortolano v. Difilippo, 115 R.I. 496, 502-503, 349 A.2d 48, 52 (1975); Greco v. Mancini, 476 A.2d 522, 526 (R.I.1984). "The general rule is that where the damage is temporary the cost of repair measure is proper and where the damage is perman......
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