Hadeed v. Abraham

• Decision Date: 23 May 2003
• Docket Number: No. CIV.A. 2:02CV695.,CIV.A. 2:02CV695.
• Citation: 265 F.Supp.2d 614
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Virginia
• Parties: Grace J. HADEED and Joan E. Winter, Plaintiffs v. Thomas ABRAHAM and Glenda Abraham, Defendants.

265 F.Supp.2d 614

Grace J. HADEED and Joan E. Winter, Plaintiffs v. Thomas ABRAHAM and Glenda Abraham, Defendants.

No. CIV.A. 2:02CV695.

United States District Court, E.D. Virginia, Norfolk Division.

May 23, 2003.

John B. Mann, Esq., Levit Mann Halligan & Warren, Richmond, VA, for Plaintiffs.

Lawence Steven Emmert, Esq., Sykes Bourdon Ahern & Levy, PC, Virginia Beach, VA, for Defendants.

OPINION AND ORDER

MORGAN, District Judge.

PRELIMINARY STATEMENT

This matter comes before the Court on the Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment (document no. 8). Also pending is the Defendants' Motion to Compel (document no. 10) and the Plaintiffs' Motion for an Extension of Time to File Affidavits (document no. 17). The Court held a hearing on the three motions on January 30, 2003, ruling from the bench that the Motion for Summary Judgment would be TAKEN UNDER ADVISEMENT to allow the Plaintiffs to take the deposition of Deborah A. Baisden, that the Motion to Compel was MOOT¹, and that the Plaintiffs' Motion for an Extension of Time to File Affidavits would be GRANTED². The Plaintiffs now having taken Ms. Baisden's deposition, and both parties having filed with the Court their designations from the Baisden deposition³, the Court will GRANT the Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment. This order more fully explains the Court's reasoning.

This case arises from the sale of a residential real estate parcel located in the Sandbridge area of Virginia Beach, Virginia. Plaintiffs Grace Hadeed and Joan Winter are women who wanted to purchase the parcel. The sellers, Defendants Thomas and Glenda Abraham, are a married couple who owned the property. The Defendants ultimately chose to sell the property to someone other than the Plaintiffs.

Deborah Baisden is the principal realtor in the transaction. She had many roles in the transaction, acting (for a time) as the seller's agent for the Defendants, the buyer's agent for Plaintiffs, and the buyer's agent for the individuals who ultimately purchased the Defendant's residence. Subsequent to the transaction involving the Defendants' property, Baisden was the listing agent for the sale of the Pfanstiels' property at Sandbridge and she also rented her own Sandbridge property to the Defendants. Thus, it can be seen that Baisden was involved in this transaction at many levels. Baisden, however, is not a party to this litigation.

Plaintiffs allege that the Defendants conducted the sale in a manner contrary to the Federal Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 3601-31, and the Virginia Fair Housing Act, VA. CODE ANN. § 36-96.3. Specifically, Plaintiffs allege the Defendants refused to sell the property to them because of their gender and, in so doing, the Defendants engaged in prohibited sex discrimination.

The summary judgment record is now complete. The Defendants filed their Brief in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment on December 20, 2002 (document no. 9). The Plaintiffs' Opposition Brief was filed on January 10, 2003 (document no. 15). The Affidavits were filed in open Court on January 30, 2003 (document nos. 27-34). The Defendants' Rebuttal Brief was filed on January 16, 2003 (document no. 23). The matter was argued on January 30, 2003. The Plaintiffs' submitted their designations from the Baisden deposition on February 14, 2003 (document no. 35).⁴ The Defendants submitted thendesignations from the Baisden deposition on February 21, 2003 (document no. 36).

FINDINGS OF FACT⁵

In accordance with Local Rule 56(B)⁶, the Defendants, as the movants, submitted a list of undisputed facts at pages 1-3 of their opening brief (document no. 9). The Defendants' Opening Brief cited the parts of the record relied on to support the proffered facts, in compliance with Local Rule 56(B).

The Plaintiffs, at pages 2-4 of their Opposition Brief (document no. 15), sought to contest six of the Defendants'; facts. By implication, the Plaintiffs did not contest the other facts proffered by the Defendants. By operation of Local Rule 56(B), all facts proffered by the Defendants which Plaintiffs did not contest are admitted for the purposes of the summary judgment motion. See, Moore v. PYA Monarch, 238 F.Supp.2d 724, 725 (E.D.Va. 2002); Blaustein & Reich v. Buckles, 220 F.Supp.2d 535, 539 (E.D.Va.2002); Bon Supermarket & Deli v. United States, 87 F.Supp.2d 593, 600 (E.D.Va.2000); Withers v. Eveland, 988 F.Supp. 942, 945 (E.D.Va.1997); Bolt v. Norfolk Southern Corp., 22 F.Supp.2d 512, 513 n. 2 (E.D.Va. 1997). The six facts Plaintiffs seek to dispute are noted and analyzed in this Order.

The Plaintiffs also proffered at pages 5-20 of the Opposition Brief (document no. 15) numerous additional facts. Many of these additional facts were not supported by citation to evidence in the summary judgment record, in violation of Local Rule 56(B). The Plaintiffs' proffered facts that were unsupported by citation to evidence in the summary judgment record were rejected by the Court and will not be noted in this Order. Those facts proffered by the Plaintiffs that were supported by citation to evidence in the summary judgment record are noted and analyzed in this Order.

The Court infers that the Plaintiffs meant to proffer additional facts (in reliance on the Affidavits of Winter, Hadeed and Tolson) via their Memorandum of Law Regarding the Admissibility of Deborah Baisden's Testimony (document no. 35). The additional facts Plaintiffs seek to establish pertain to the manner in which the Defendants characterized the Plaintiffs during the negotiations concerning the property. These additional facts are noted and analyzed in the Order.

In the spring of 2002, the Abrahams' home was publicly listed for sale, with an asking price of $525,000. Complaint, ¶ 12, and answer, ¶ 12.⁷ On May 5, the Plaintiffs viewed the property. Complaint, ¶ 10. They did not submit a proposed contract at that time, or at any time within the following seven weeks. Complaint, ¶¶ 12, 14, 18, 20, 21. The Plaintiffs delayed evaluating the property and formulating their offer so that they could take care of various professional and personal obligations. Affidavit of Winter, ¶ 4 (document no. 28); Affidavit of Hadeed, ¶ 5 (document no 27); Exhibit 4, attached to Plaintiffs' Opposition Brief (document no. 15).⁸ During the first viewing of the property on May 5th, the Defendants inquired into the position and whereabouts of Winter's husband, and whether Winter's husband would be a party to the transaction. Affidavit of Winter, ¶ 3 (document no. 28); Affidavit of Hadeed, ¶ 4 (document no. 27).⁹

Hadeed worked with Deborah Baisden (a real estate agent with ties to both the Plaintiff buyers and the Defendant sellers ¹⁰

) to arrange a subsequent viewing of the property. During one of these conversations, Baisden asked if Winter's husband would attend also. Affidavit of Hadeed, 18 (document no. 27).

On June 16¹¹ and 24, Plaintiff Winter again viewed the property. Complaint, ¶¶ 17, 19. During the second viewing of the property on June 16th, Winter was accompanied by a male architectural designer. One of the Defendants inquired of him whether he was the husband of Winters.¹² Affidavit of Winter, ¶ 5 (document no. 28); Affidavit of Baisden, ¶¶ 6-7 (copy attached as exhibit 1 to Defendants' Opening Brief (document no. 9)). During the third viewing of the property on June 24th, Winter was accompanied by a male civil engineer. Baisden asked if the civil engineer was Winter's husband.¹³ Affidavit of Tolson, ¶ 5 (document no. 29). Baisden also told Winter of the Defendants' concern that "the girls" might not have the financial wherewithal to purchase the property and that the Defendants were upset because "the girls" were bringing so many people to see the property. Affidavit of Tolson, ¶ 5 (document no. 29); Affidavit of Winter, ¶ 8 (document no. 28).¹⁴

After the third viewing (on June 24th), the Plaintiffs decided to submit an offer on the home. Complaint, ¶ 19.

On June 25 or 26, the Plaintiffs delivered to Baisden an offer to purchase the property at a price of $485,000, some $40,000 below the listing price. Complaint, ¶ 24; Answer, exhibit A; Affidavit of Deborah Baisden, ¶¶ 13 & 15 (copy attached as exhibit 1 to Defendants' Opening Brief (document no. 9)). At Baisden's suggestion, Winter drafted a note to the Defendants complimenting them on the condition of the property. The note was delivered to the Defendants along with the Plaintiffs' offer to purchase the property (on June 25 or 26).¹⁵ Affidavit of Winters, ¶ 19; Exhibit 5 attached to Plaintiffs' Opposition Brief (document no. 15). The Plaintiffs had obtained loan approval in the amount of $485,000 at the time that they tendered their offer.¹⁶ Exhibit 9 attached to Plaintiffs' Opposition Brief (document no. 15).

The Plaintiffs were not the only persons interested in the property. James and Priscilla Pfanstiel first viewed the home on June 22, and soon thereafter decided to bid on it. Affidavits of James and Patricia Pfanstiel, ¶¶ 2 and 3 (copies attached as exhibits 6 & 7 to Defendants' Opening Brief (document no. 9)). The Pfanstiels prepared their offer on June 26 and gave it to Baisden, asking her to deliver it to the Defendants. Id. ¶ 4. That offer provided for a purchase price of $505,000, or $20,000 higher¹⁷¹⁸ than the Plaintiffs' offer. Affidavit of Baisden, ¶ 17 (copy attached as exhibit 1 to Defendants' Opening Brief (document no. 9)); Answer, exhibit B. Later on June 26, Baisden took both offers to the Defendants for their consideration. Affidavit of Baisden, ¶ 19 (copy attached as exhibit 1 to Defendants' Opening Brief (document no. 9)). In addition to noting the price differential between the two offers, the Defendants also noted two nonmonetary differences in the two offers. First, the Plaintiffs' offer required the Defendants to give the Plaintiffs 30 days to complete the home inspection; the Pfanstiels' offer proposed a ten day time limit. Second, the Plaintiffs' offer required the Defendants...