Title: Cold Springs Farm Development, Inc. v. Ball

State: vermont

Issuer: Vermont Supreme Court

Document:

COLD_SPRINGS_FARM_DEV_V_BALL.94-069; 163 Vt 466; 661 A.2d 89

[Filed 07-Apr-1995]


NOTICE:  This opinion is subject to motions for reargument under V.R.A.P. 40
as well as formal revision before publication in the Vermont Reports. 
Readers are requested to notify the Reporter of Decisions, Vermont Supreme
Court, 109 State Street, Montpelier, Vermont 05609-0801 of any errors in
order that corrections may be made before this opinion goes to press. 

                                 No. 94-069


Cold Springs Farm Development, Inc.               Supreme Court

                                                  On Appeal from
    v.                                            Chittenden Superior Court

Rene Ball                                         September Term, 1994


Matthew I. Katz, J.

Craig Weatherly of Gravel and Shea, Burlington, for plaintiff-appellee

Rick Sharp, Burlington, for defendant-appellant


PRESENT:  Allen, C.J., Gibson, Dooley, Morse and Johnson, JJ.


     DOOLEY, J.   Defendant appeals two superior court orders denying his
motion to dismiss plaintiff's breach of contract claim and granting summary
judgment in favor of plaintiff. We reverse. 

     Defendant entered into an agreement to purchase from plaintiff a
business known as the Millhouse Wine Cellar Restaurant.  Defendant paid a
$1000 deposit to plaintiff's agent to secure the sale, but refused to
complete the transaction because of concerns about the heating. 

     Defendant filed a complaint in small claims court against plaintiff's
president and sole shareholder to recover the deposit and attorney's fees. 
Defendant claimed plaintiff's president failed to disclose material
information about the sale in a timely fashion.  Prior to a hearing in small
claims court, plaintiff filed a complaint alleging breach of contract in
superior court. Plaintiff sought to recover damages resulting from
defendant's failure to complete the agreement, including the contract price,
past and future rent, attorney's fees, and interest.  Defendant moved to
consolidate his small claims court action with plaintiff's breach of contract
claim in superior court.  Plaintiff opposed this motion, arguing that small
claims actions cannot be transferred to superior court.  Defendant's motion
was denied. 

 

     The small claims court concluded that defendant failed to complete the
purchase as agreed upon, and plaintiff could retain the deposit.  Relying on
the small claims court's decision, plaintiff moved for partial summary
judgment in superior court on the issue of liability.  The superior court
granted the motion, concluding under the doctrine of collateral estoppel that
the parties could not relitigate the issue of liability.  Thereafter,
plaintiff moved for summary judgment on the question of damages.  Plaintiff
filed two affidavits outlining its damages. Defendant opposed the motion and
demanded a jury trial on the issue of mitigation of damages. Defendant
presented no facts contesting the facts set forth in plaintiff's affidavits. 
The court granted plaintiff's motion, concluding that defendant had failed to
show there was a triable issue of material fact. 

     Defendant raises three issues on appeal: (1)  collateral estoppel was
improperly used to grant partial summary judgment on liability; (2) res
judicata barred relitigation of the breach-of-contract issue in the superior
court; and (3) summary judgment on damages was improper because he had raised
a genuine issue of material fact. 

     First, defendant argues the court erroneously applied collateral
estoppel when it granted summary judgment on liability based on the small
claims court's conclusion that defendant had breached the contract. 
Collateral estoppel, or issue preclusion, prevents a party from relitigating
an issue that has necessarily been decided in a previous action.  Berisha v.
Hardy, 144 Vt. 136, 138,