Southern Energy Homes, Inc. v. Washington
| Decision Date | 04 February 2000 |
| Parties | SOUTHERN ENERGY HOMES, INC. v. Robert B. WASHINGTON. |
| Court | Alabama Supreme Court |
John Martin Galese, Jeffrey L. Ingram, and David A. Norris of John Martin Galese, P.A., Birmingham, for appellant.
William L. Utsey and J. Jefferson Utsey of Utsey, Christopher, Newton & Utsey, Butler; and Joseph C. McCorquodale III and Jacqualyn S. Bradley of McCorquodale
& McCorquodale, Jackson, for appellee.
Robert B. Washington sued Southern Energy Homes, Inc. ("Southern"), seeking damages, including mental-anguish damages, for, among other things, breach of express and implied warranties in connection with his purchase of a custom-built mobile home from Southern. A jury returned a verdict in favor of Washington and awarded him $375,000 in damages, and the trial court entered a judgment accordingly. While Southern ascribes error to a number of the rulings by the trial court, and we will address each argument asserted by Southern, we affirm.
In June 1993, Washington purchased a custom-built mobile home from Southern for $19,320. The mobile home came with a one-year warranty that provided in pertinent part:
(Telephone number omitted.) (Capitalization and italics in original.)
Washington claims that the mobile home arrived with several deficiencies, including missing siding, damaged window trim, missing molding, loose carpet, loose and/or malfunctioning bathroom fixtures, and loose and leaking entry doors. Washington also claims the mobile home had a leaky roof that caused additional damage, including water damage to the carpets and cracks in the living-room ceiling. Washington and his wife, Brenda Bettis, called Jack Lee Mobile Homes ("Jack Lee"), the dealership from which the mobile home was purchased, to complain about the problems. According to Washington, Jack Lee said it would notify Southern about the problems. Jack Lee also gave Bettis Southern's telephone number so she could contact Southern directly. Washington claims that he and his wife telephoned Southern at that number several times complaining about the condition of the home. Bettis also claimed to have telephoned Merchants Bank, through which the mobile home was financed, to find out whom she needed to contact to repair the home. According to Washington, several attempts were made to repair the roof— one by him, one by his wife's cousin, and one by a Jack Lee employee. Washington, however, never coated the roof with a sealant.
In June 1995, Washington sued Jack Lee, Southern, and Merchants Bank, seeking compensatory damages, including mental-anguish damages, punitive damages, and an attorney fee, and alleging claims of fraud, fraudulent suppression, breach of implied warranty, and breach of express warranty. The trial court entered a summary judgment in favor of Southern with respect to the fraud and fraudulent-suppression claims and with respect to Washington's request for an award of an attorney fee. The trial court also entered a summary judgment in favor of Merchants Bank on all claims against it. The remaining claims went to trial. At the close of Washington's case-in-chief, the trial court entered a judgment as a matter of law in favor of Jack Lee on all claims against it. However, the trial court denied a motion by Southern for a judgment as a matter of law with respect to the remaining claims against it, that is, the claims alleging breach of implied and express warranties. Southern renewed its motion at the close of all the evidence. The trial court denied the motion and submitted to the jury Washington's breach of implied and express warranty claims. The jury returned a verdict in favor of Washington and awarded $375,000 in damages. Southern renewed its motion for a judgment as a matter of law and filed a motion for a new trial or, in the alternative, a remittitur. The trial court denied Southern's motions.
Southern argues that the trial court erred in denying its motions for a judgment as a matter of law on Washington's breach of implied and express warranty claims. Specifically, Southern argues that the trial court should have entered a judgment as a matter of law in its favor because, it argues, Washington failed to give sufficient notice of the problems with his mobile home and because the trial court entered a judgment as a matter of law in favor of Jack Lee on Washington's fraud claims. Southern also argues that the trial court erred by not entering a judgment as a matter of law in its favor to the extent Washington's claims were based on roof leaks, because roof leaks were excluded from warranty protection if the homeowner did not apply sealant to the roof.
"A judgment as a matter of law is proper only where there is a complete absence of proof on a material issue or where there are no controverted questions of fact on which reasonable people could differ and the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Locklear Dodge City, Inc. v. Kimbrell, 703 So.2d 303, 304 (Ala.1997) (internal quotations and alterations omitted). In reviewing the denial of a motion for a judgment as a matter of law, this Court must view all evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. See Bussey v. John Deere Co., 531 So.2d 860, 863 (Ala.1988)
.
Southern argues that the trial court should have entered a judgment as a matter of law in its favor because, it claims, Washington failed to provide sufficient notice of the problems with his mobile home. "Alabama's enacted version of the Uniform Commercial Code (U.C.C.) dealing with notice requires that where a tender has been accepted, the buyer must notify the seller of any breach within a reasonable time after he discovers, or should have discovered, the breach." Barrington Corp. v. Patrick Lumber Co., 447 So.2d 785, 788 (Ala.Civ.App.1984).1 "A person `notifies' or `gives' a notice or notification to another by taking such steps as may be reasonably required to inform the other in ordinary course whether or not such other actually comes to know of it." § 7-1-201(26), Ala.Code 1975. Whether Washington notified Southern of the problems with his mobile home was a disputed issue at trial. Washington presented evidence indicating that he telephoned Southern about the problems, that his wife telephoned Southern about the problems, and that Jack Lee also telephoned Southern about the problems. Whether this notice was sufficient was a question of fact, and there was sufficient evidence to support the jury's finding that the notice was sufficient. See Barrington, 447 So.2d at 788
.
Southern argues that the terms of its warranty required that Washington give written notice of all nonemergency problems, and that Washington give telephone notice, at a particular telephone number, of all problems that might affect the safety or habitability of the mobile home. We disagree. "Express warranties [are] treated like any other type of contract and interpreted according to general contract principles." See Ex parte Miller, 693 So.2d 1372, 1376 (Ala.1997)
(citing 2 Alphonse M. Squillante & John R. Fonseca, Williston on Sales, § 15-9 (4th ed.1974)). If a company wishes to require a specific mode of notice as a prerequisite to warranty coverage, it may do so. See generally Miller, 693 So.2d at 1376 (...
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