Martin v. Phillips
| Decision Date | 20 January 1982 |
| Docket Number | No. 80-321,80-321 |
| Citation | 122 N.H. 34,440 A.2d 1124 |
| Parties | Lawrence A. MARTIN v. Donn A. PHILLIPS et al. |
| Court | New Hampshire Supreme Court |
Kfoury & Williams, Manchester (Joseph Williams, Manchester, on the brief and orally), for plaintiff.
Lee A. Strimbeck, Manchester, by brief and orally, for defendant.
In this construction contract case, the issue is whether the Master (Mayland Morse, Esq.) erred in his calculation of damages to be awarded under the defendant's counterclaim. We hold that an error has been committed and remand for a redetermination of damages.
In 1978, the parties entered into a contract that called for the plaintiff, Lawrence A. Martin, to build a house for the defendants. The contract price was $48,690, and the "stated allowances" were set for a variety of items such as carpeting and kitchen cabinets.
Before the house was completed, the defendants became dissatisfied with the plaintiff's performance and ordered him off the project. The defendants then finished the construction themselves. Claiming that certain sums were due him for work he had performed under the contract, the plaintiff brought suit. The defendants counterclaimed, alleging it was the plaintiff who breached the contract, and that it cost them more than the contract price to complete the home.
Following a trial, the master ruled that the plaintiff had breached the contract. He recommended that a verdict be entered in favor of the defendants and that the defendants be awarded $3,700 on their counterclaim. Mullavey, J., accepted the master's recommendations, and a decree was entered accordingly, from which the plaintiff appeals.
The plaintiff's argument is simple and straightforward. He contends that the master's calculation of damages did not take into account the fact that the defendants used a more expensive heating system, cabinets, carpeting and other items than those that were originally called for in the contract. We agree.
At the hearing, the defendants submitted an itemization of the costs they incurred in completing their home according to the contract specifications. According to this accounting, the defendants spent $3,400 on cabinets, while the stated allowance under the contract was $2,000; defendants spent $5,650 for an oil-heating system, while the contract called for electric heating; defendants spent $3,640 for carpeting, while the stated allowance was $2,200. The defendants greatly exceeded the stated allowances for numerous other items as well. The defendants calculated their cost of completion with these excessive prices and not with the stated allowance provided in the contract. Thus they spent $50,292.82, rather than the $48,690 as provided in the contract.
It is clear from the record that the defendants understood they would have to pay the difference if they exceeded the stated allowance for various items. The defendant Donn Phillips testified, "If I went over an allotment I would pay the difference providing everything went according to plan." While everything obviously did not go according to plan, it is equally obvious that all the parties understood that the defendants were to be responsible for the amount by which certain equipment or materials exceeded the stated allowance set forth in the contract. It was therefore error to allow the defendants a credit for the amounts by which they exceeded the stated allowance for items such as carpets, cabinets, and the heating system. Cf. Marcou Constr. Co. v. Tinkham Indus. & Dev. Corp., 117 N.H. 297, 299, 371 A.2d 1187, 1188 (1977). The goal of contract damage awards is to put "the nonbreaching party in the same position it would have been in by full performance." Id., 371 A.2d at 1188. To allow the defendants to recover amounts in excess of the stated allowance for specified materials and equipment would be to place them in a better position than they would have been in under the contract.
The plaintiff also argues that the master improperly awarded the defendants the sum of $1,757.18 for "other damages attributable to delays, expenses and inconvenience." Any "consequential damages that 'could have been reasonably anticipated by the parties as likely to be caused by the defendant's breach' " are properly awarded to the non-breaching party in a contract action. Zareas v. Smith, 119 N.H. 534, 538, 404 A.2d 599, 601 (1979) (quoting Hurd v. Dunsmore, 63 N.H. 171, 174 (1884)). In this case, the plaintiff claims that there was insufficient proof to justify an award of $1,757.18 for damages attributable to delays, extra expenses and inconvenience. Upon reviewing such a claim, we "will view the evidence in the light most favorable to the prevailing party." M. W. Goodell Const....
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