Opinion ID: 4386594
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Purported Boat Repair

Text: ¶4. In May 2014, Malouf discovered his ski boat did not run properly. He first took the boat to Ivy Marine. Mike Ivy told Malouf the engine was cracked. Ivy estimated the repairs would cost $6,000 to $7,000. ¶5. Wanting a second opinion, Malouf took the boat to Lake Harbour Marine in Flowood, Mississippi. Important to this case, “Lake Harbour Marine” is not a recognized business registered with the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office. Instead, it was run under a d/b/a (“doing business as”) type of arrangement. At Lake Harbour Marine, Mike Evans inspected the boat and told Malouf he could put a new 350-horsepower engine in the boat and make other necessary repairs for $4,500 to $5,500. Malouf agreed to the deal, with the stipulation he needed the boat by July 4, 2014. Evans directed Justin Atwood, who was working at Lake Harbour Marine that summer, to “write [Malouf] up” and collect a $2,000 down payment. ¶6. As the July 4th approached, Malouf worried his boat would not be ready. He called Lake Harbour Marine several times, but no one answered. He then went by the business. This is when he met Lisa, Evans’s wife. When Malouf told her he was looking for Evans, 2 See Miss. Code Ann. § 11-51-79 (Rev. 2012), invalidated on other grounds by Brown v. Collections, Inc., 188 So. 3d 1171, 1177 (Miss. 2016). 3 Lisa directed Malouf to the back where the boats were. Malouf asked Evans about the boat’s status, and Evans said, “there’s your brand new engine right there.” But Malouf protested that the old and beat-up engine Evans pointed to was not new. According to Malouf, Evans became “very vocal and very violent” and told Malouf to get off his property. The next day, Malouf sent his stepson to check on the boat, and Evans ran off the stepson too. ¶7. Following his confrontation with Evans, Malouf called Lake Harbour Marine multiple times. Each time he spoke with Lisa, who assured Malouf they were working on his boat. According to Malouf, Lisa presented herself as an owner of Lake Harbour Marine. In their conversations, Lisa knew what was going on with his boat. And she acted like she had authority. For example, in one conversation, Lisa told Malouf some parts were missing from his boat. Malouf told her the parts had probably been left at Ivy Marine. So Lisa arranged for her daughter to pick them up. In another call, Lisa accused Malouf’s daughter of spreading lies about “our company” on Facebook. And Lisa told Malouf that if he wanted his boat back, he would have to pay $3,850 in cash. ¶8. July 4th came and went without the boat being repaired, despite Malouf’s numerous phone calls. On July 11th, Malouf sent Lisa a letter: Lisa, This will confirm our conversation of a few moments ago wherein you advised that you would not release my boat or send me an invoice. You stated that I must go through your attorney, Chris Tabb[.] 4 Through Tabb, Malouf arranged to pick up his boat that day. Malouf, his son, and a Flowood police escort arrived at Lake Harbour Marine with $3,850 in cash. Lisa was present with her attorney, Tabb, and Tabb’s legal assistant. The assistant collected the cash and turned over an invoice. On the invoice, Lisa had handwritten the purported boat parts that had been installed, including a new short-block engine.3 ¶9. Malouf and his son immediately took the boat to the nearby Ross Barnett Reservoir. But the boat did not run properly. The ski boat, when throttled, would not exceed five miles per hour. Malouf then took the boat back to Ivy Marine. Ivy told Malouf the work Malouf had paid Lake Harbour Marine for had never been performed. In particular, the cracked engine had not been replaced.