Sanford v. Kobey Bros. Const. Corp.
| Decision Date | 06 September 1984 |
| Docket Number | No. 81CA0873,81CA0873 |
| Citation | 689 P.2d 724 |
| Parties | Andrew M. SANFORD and Olivia M. Sanford, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. KOBEY BROTHERS CONSTRUCTION CORP., a Colorado corporation, and Harris Kobey, Defendants-Appellees. . II |
| Court | Colorado Court of Appeals |
George Alan Holley & Assoc., P.C., Dennis B. Polk, Golden, for plaintiffs-appellants.
Gorsuch, Kirgis, Campbell, Walker & Grover, James A. Jablonski, Denver, for defendants-appellees.
Plaintiffs, Andrew M. and Olivia M. Sanford, appeal the judgment of the trial court holding defendant Kobey Brothers Construction Corp. (Kobey Brothers) liable to plaintiffs in the amount of $8,905.59 and holding co-defendant Harris Kobey not jointly or severally liable. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand with directions.
Kobey Brothers constructed a home for the plaintiffs in the Cherry Hills North area of Englewood, Colorado. For various reasons, the foundation was incompatible with the soil, resulting in heaving and damage to the home. Plaintiffs sued both Harris Kobey and Kobey Brothers for negligent construction and breach of express and implied warranties. The trial court found no individual liability on the part of Harris Kobey, but found Kobey Brothers liable for damages arising from the negligent reduction of the "void space" between the foundation and interior basement walls, as well as from certain other work negligently performed. The trial court measured plaintiffs' damages by the cost to repair the injuries caused by the improperly reduced void space and other errors attributable to Kobey Brothers.
Plaintiffs first contend that the trial court erred in not finding Harris Kobey personally liable for his allegedly negligent acts. They argue the trial court improperly applied the doctrine of respondeat superior as a shield barring personal liability and sua sponte looked unsuccessfully for reasons to "pierce the corporate veil" instead of simply attributing to Harris Kobey personal responsibility for his negligent acts. We agree that Kobey should be held personally liable.
Neither the doctrine of respondeat superior nor the fiction of corporate existence bars imposition of individual liability for individual acts of negligence, even when the individual is acting in a representative capacity. See Cafritz v. Corporation Audit Co., 60 F.Supp. 627 (D.C.1945); Loonan Lumber Co. v. Wannamaker, 81 S.D. 51, 131 N.W.2d 78 (1964). Cf. Klockner v. Keser, 29 Colo.App. 476, 488 P.2d 1135 (1971). Rather, a servant may be held personally liable for his individual acts of negligence, as also may an officer, director, or agent of a corporation for his or her tortious acts, regardless of the fact that the master or corporation also may be vicariously liable. Scribner v. O'Brien, Inc., 169 Conn. 389, 363 A.2d 160 (1975). Thus, if Harris Kobey personally committed any negligent act, judgment should also have entered against him personally. Dwyer v. Lanan & Snow Lumber Co., 141 Cal.App.2d 838, 297 P.2d 490 (1956).
The record reveals that Harris Kobey did personally commit the negligent act causing the major portion of damages attributable to Kobey Brothers. The trial court found that the reduction in size of the "void space" from the specified three inches to the improper one and one-half inches constituted negligence. Harris Kobey admitted three times on the witness stand that he personally and solely authorized the reduction, and in fact did so arbitrarily. Accordingly, joint and several liability for the entire judgment should have entered against Harris Kobey. See Davis H. Elliott Co. v. Caribbean Utilities Co., 513 F.2d 1176 (6th Cir.1975); Sensale v. Applikon Dyeing & Printing Corp., 12 N.J.Super. 171, 79 A.2d 316 (1951)....
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Camino Real Mobile Home Park Partnership v. Wolfe
...value of the subject property as warranted and its reasonable market value in its actual condition. E.g., Sanford v. Kobey Bros. Constr. Corp., 689 P.2d 724, 726 (Colo.Ct.App.1984); Northern Petrochemical Co. v. Thorsen & Thorshov, Inc., 297 Minn. 118, 211 N.W.2d 159, 165 (1973); Beik v. Am......
-
GALACTIC EMPLOYER SERVICES v. McDORMAN
...employment relationship." 27 Am.Jur.2d Employment Relationship § 488 (1996) (footnote omitted). See, e.g., Sanford v. Kobey Bros. Constr. Corp., 689 P.2d 724 (Colo. Ct.App.1984) (neither the doctrine of respondeat superior nor the fiction of corporate existence bars the imposition of indivi......
-
Wallop Canyon Ranch, LLC v. Goodwyn
...the perpetration of flagrant and wanton injuries by agents of insolvent and irresponsible corporations.”); see Sanford v. Kobey Bros. Constr. Corp., 689 P.2d 724 (Colo.App.1984) (corporate representative found jointly and severally liable for construction defects he authorized). The parties......
-
Roper v. Spring Lake Development Co., 88CA1169
...value of the home without and with the odor in the garage. See Hoye v. Century Builders, supra; see also Sanford v. Kobey Brothers Construction Corp., 689 P.2d 724 (Colo.App.1984). That part of the judgment ruling that the action was not barred by the statute of limitations and that the exi......
-
Chapter 14 - § 14.2 • OVERVIEW OF COLORADO LAW RELATING TO NEW HOME SALES AND CONSTRUCTION
...in market value between the structure contracted for and the imperfect structure received. See Sanford v. Kobey Bros. Constr. Corp., 689 P.2d 724, 726 (Colo. App. 1984); Summit Constr. Co. v. Yeager Garden Acres, Inc., 470 P.2d 870, 875 (Colo. App. 1970).[281] Hildebrand, 252 P.3d at 1171.[......
-
Chapter 4 - § 4.3 • BREACH OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES
...for breach of implied warranty extended to cracks in surfaces of house, tilting doors, and windows); Sanford v. Kobey Bros. Constr. Corp., 689 P.2d 724, 725 (Colo. App. 1984) (heaving and other damage to home, and reduction in void space between foundation and interior walls, breached impli......
-
Chapter 5 - § 5.1 • NEGLIGENCE
...see sample proposed jury instructions and verdict forms in the appendices to this book.[236] Sanford v. Kobey Bros. Constr. Corp., 689 P.2d 724, 725-26 (Colo. App. 1984) (principal in home construction company personally liable for participation in negligent design and construction decision......
-
Chapter 2 - § 2.2 • STATUTES, ORDINANCES, AND REGULATIONS
...in market value between the structure contracted for and the imperfect structure received. See Sanford v. Kobey Bros. Constr. Corp., 689 P.2d 724, 726 (Colo. App. 1984); Summit Constr. Co. v. Yeager Garden Acres, Inc., 470 P.2d 870, 875 (Colo. App. 1970).[281] Hildebrand, 252 P.3d at 1171.[......