G.T. ISSA CONSTRUCTION, LLC v. BONNIE BLALOCK - Articles

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Posted by: Tanja Trezise on Nov 23, 2021

Court: TN Court of Appeals

Attorneys 1: Buddy Bryant Presley and Terrance L. Jones, Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the appellant, G.T. Issa Construction, LLC.

Attorneys 2: Timothy M. Gibbons, Nathan Lee Kinard, and Harold Lebron North, Jr., Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the appellee, Bonnie Blalock.

Judge(s): CLEMENT

This is a controversy between a homebuyer, the plaintiff, and a residential developer/contractor concerning the construction and sale of a newly constructed custombuilt home and lot within a subdivision with restrictive covenants. The parties executed a fill-in-the-blank “Purchase and Sale Agreement” (“the Agreement”) pursuant to which the defendant agreed to construct a custom home and sell the home and lot to the plaintiff. The principal matter in dispute is whether the defendant was contractually obligated to provide a brick veneer on the retaining wall installed by the defendant. The Agreement did not expressly include the construction of a retaining wall; however, the parties agree that a retaining wall was to be constructed and included in the sale. Although the brick veneer had not been installed and the hotly disputed issue remained unresolved, the sale closed. Shortly thereafter, the buyer commenced this action in which she asserted, inter alia, claims for breach of contract and violation of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act. The plaintiff alleged that the defendant failed to finish the retaining wall with brick veneer as required by the subdivision’s restrictive covenants and implicitly required by the Agreement. In its answer, the defendant denied liability and asserted that it had no obligation to provide a veneer finish on the retaining wall. The case proceeded to a jury trial, after which the jury awarded the plaintiff $6,800 on her breach of contract claim. Thereafter, the trial court awarded the plaintiff $201,255.50 in attorney fees and expenses. This appeal followed. The defendant seeks to set aside the jury verdict, arguing that the Agreement was fully integrated and did not include an obligation to build a retaining wall. The defendant also appeals the amount of the award of attorneys’ fees, arguing that the plaintiff was not entitled to an award for time spent on her unsuccessful claims. We affirm the trial court’s decision in all regards.

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