LeDonne v. Kessler
| Decision Date | 12 July 1978 |
| Citation | 256 Pa.Super. 280,389 A.2d 1123 |
| Parties | Joseph LeDONNE and Barbara LeDonne, his wife, Appellants, v. George KESSLER and Emily L. Kessler, his wife, Appellees. |
| Court | Pennsylvania Superior Court |
Argued March 21, 1978.
David A. Martino, Bangor, for appellants.
Charles P. Eyer, Asst. Dist. Atty., Stroudsburg, for appellees.
Before HOFFMAN, CERCONE, PRICE, VAN der VOORT and HESTER, JJ.
Appellants contend that the lower court erred in entering summary judgment because it believed the parol evidence rule removed all material factual issues from their trespass suit. We agree and reverse the order of the lower court.
On August 31 1976, appellants, Joseph and Barbara LeDonne, filed a second amended complaint [1] in trespass against appellees, George and Emily Kessler, in the Monroe County Court of Common Pleas. Appellants made the following pertinent allegations On October 1, 1973, they purchased appellees' house and surrounding property in Ross Township, Monroe County, in reliance on appellees' fraudulent misrepresentations that the property had no water or sewer problems. In particular, appellees responded to specific questions by informing appellants that (a) the drainage problem in the septic system had been repaired, (b) the sundeck did not leak water, and (c) the cellar did not leak water; appellees deliberately made these false statements in order to induce appellants to execute the agreement of sale. Moreover, because appellees knew that appellants could not discover the defects through visual inspection of the premises, appellants depended upon appellees' good faith in making these assurances. When appellees prepared the agreement of sale, they fraudulently and intentionally omitted the representations concerning water and sewer problems. In reliance on appellees' representations, appellants executed the agreement of sale and a deed. Shortly after appellants moved into their new house, the septic system backed up, and the sundeck and cellar started to leak water. As a result, appellants sustained serious damage to their rugs, sewing machine, and other unspecified personalty as well as the loss of the use of the sundeck and cellar. Appellants asked for damages in excess of $10,000.
Appellants also filed depositions in support of their complaint. Joseph LeDonne described in detail his inspections of appellees' premises prior to execution of the agreement of sale. On one occasion, his wife's father, a carpenter, accompanied him. Both LeDonne and the carpenter noticed black spots underneath the sundeck and on the plywood paneling in the garage directly beneath the sundeck; these spots, in the carpenter's estimation, definitely suggested a water leakage problem. Joseph LeDonne questioned appellee, George Kessler, about the black spots; Kessler responded that although there had been a leak around the chimney, the problem had been corrected. When Joseph LeDonne, his father-in-law, and George Kessler inspected the premises outside the house, LeDonne specifically asked about the septic system. Kessler assured him that the septic system functioned properly, despite a small problem during the previous summer. Kessler showed LeDonne a four inch plastic pipe protruding from the ground; this pipe constituted part of the septic system. Kessler also pointed out a purported drainage field which had been installed to correct the prior septic system problem. LeDonne observed that a portion of the ground had been backfilled and was now fairly smooth; instead of grass, shale covered this segment. LeDonne's observations, coupled with Kessler's representations, satisfied his apprehensions.
In her deposition, Barbara LeDonne confirmed the presence of black spots underneath the sundeck and on the plywood paneling in the garage; these spots made both LeDonnes and her father suspicious of water leakage problems and prompted their inquiries to appellees. Mrs. LeDonne also stated that an inspection of the cellar, which immediately adjoined the garage, revealed damp conditions which again suggested a water leakage problem. These wet conditions triggered questions concerning possible water leakage problems; appellees again proffered reassuring answers.
On September 10, 1976, appellees filed preliminary objections in the nature of a demurrer to the second amended complaint as well as a motion for summary judgment. Both documents asserted that the parol evidence rule barred prosecution of appellants' trespass suit. [2] In particular, appellees relied upon paragraph number six of the agreement of sale: "The parties have full knowledge of the physical appearance of the land and buildings and of the value thereof and there are no verbal representations as to character or quality." Also, the two page agreement stipulated that the parties had read its provisions before signing.
On March 21, 1977, the lower court held that the parol evidence rule prohibited oral testimony in contradiction of the statement in paragraph number six that "there are no verbal representations as to character or quality." Without parol evidence of appellees' alleged pre-agreement oral misrepresentations, no material factual issues remained for the lower court's resolution. Accordingly, the lower court ordered the prothonotary to enter summary judgment unless appellants filed another amended complaint within twenty days. Appellants declined this opportunity; instead, they petitioned the lower court to enter summary judgment so that an appeal could test whether the second amended complaint stated a cause of action. On May 13, 1977, the lower court granted summary judgment. This appeal followed.
Appellants contend that the lower court erred in granting summary judgment on the basis of the parol evidence rule. Pa.R.Civ.P. 1035; 42 Pa.C.S. § 1035, authorizes the entry of summary judgment ". . . if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. . . ." See also Cercone v. Cercone, 254 Pa.Super. 381, 386 A.2d 1. The parties agree that if the parol evidence rule bars testimony concerning appellees' alleged oral misrepresentations, then no material issues require a factfinder's resolution. Therefore, we must determine the applicability of the parol evidence rule to the instant case.
Succinctly stated, the purpose of the parol evidence rule is ". . . to preserve the integrity of written agreements by refusing to permit the contracting parties to attempt to alter the import of their contract through the use of contemporaneous (or prior) oral declarations." Rose v. Food Fair Stores, Inc., 437 Pa. 117, 120-21, 262 A.2d 851, 853 (1970). "Where parties, without any fraud or mistake, have deliberately put their engagements in writing, the law declares the writing to be not only the best, but the only, evidence of their agreement." Gianni v. Russell & Co., 281 Pa. 320, 323, 126 A. 791, 792 (1924). In Bardwell v. The Willis Co., 375 Pa. 503, 506, 100 A.2d 102, 104 (1953), our Supreme Court articulated the following definition of this rule:
See also Nicolella v. Palmer, 432 Pa. 502, 248 A.2d 20 (1968); United Refining Co. v. Jenkins, 410 Pa. 126, 189 A.2d 574 (1968); National Cash Register Co. v. Modern Transportation Co., 224 Pa.Super. 138, 302 A.2d 486 (1973). [4]
While our courts have applied the parol evidence rule in a wide variety of contexts, concentration upon cases involving agreements of sale and similar property transactions will expedite analysis of the rule's application in the instant case. Fortunately, our Court, per PRICE, J., has recently undertaken a comprehensive review of these cases. See National Building Leasing, Inc. v. Byler, 252 Pa.Super. 370, 381 A.2d 963 (Allocatur denied April 17, 1978). Borrowing from Byler, we will recapitulate the facts and holdings of the pertinent cases and then fit the case at bar into the pattern established by Byler and its predecessors.
In Bardwell v. The Willis Co., supra (hereinafter Bardwell ), defendants leased property to the plaintiffs for use in plaintiffs' bottling business. The written lease specifies that the lessees had examined the premises and found them to be in sound condition, that they had not received any warranty as to the condition or repair of the premises for the intended use, and that the lease contained the entire agreement between the parties. When the premises proved to be unsuitable for their bottling business, the lessees sued in trespass. The complaint alleged that the defendants had orally represented that the premises would be fit for a bottling business, and that plaintiffs had entered into the lease in reliance on these representations. The complaint did not specify the particular defects which made the premises...
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