Opinion ID: 202362
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Dealings with VTW

Text: 23 In December 2000, a year after Isbitski had seen the first preliminary Timberpeg plans but before Isbitski had asked Timberpeg for a second set of preliminary plans, Isbitski approached VTW. VTW is located in Vermont, and specializes in timberframing. It has no architects on staff, and does not design buildings or create architectural plans. Instead, it uses specifications provided by the customer to create shop drawings of the frame of the building. These specifications typically are in the form of architectural plans, but VTW also can draw frames based on rough sketches, as long as VTW receives information about the building's footprint (the outline of the building as it sits on the ground) and wall height. VTW also has an in-house frame assembly crew that actually erects the frame on site. 24 According to VTW, Isbitski stated that he had developed a layout for a house plan with his then-deceased wife. Isbitski stated that his plan was to have VTW draw and construct only the timberframe for the timberframed main portion of the home. Isbitski was going to act as the general contractor for the remainder of the home, subcontracting work to other people or companies as needed. Starting at the end of 2000, VTW began drawing a timberframe for Isbitski. 25 It is undisputed that in his first meeting with VTW in December 2000, Isbitski provided VTW with a copy of the first, unregistered set of preliminary plans created by Timberpeg. VTW asserts that its personnel only saw this first set of preliminary plans, not the second, registered plans, on which the claim here is brought. VTW also claims that those first preliminary plans did not even factor into its creation of its timberframe for Isbitski's home because Isbitski said he was unhappy with the plans, and that VTW, in fact, asked Isbitski to consult an architect to develop floor plans and elevations for the home. This, VTW says, would not have been necessary had VTW been relying even on Timberpeg's first, unregistered plans. Timberpeg counters that VTW could have obtained the second, registered preliminary plans, either through Isbitski himself or through the Town of Salisbury. Timberpeg points to a letter written by VTW's attorney after litigation had commenced, which stated that Isbitski asked VTW to design a frame to fit a portion of the floor plans of his house and that Isbitski had represented to [VTW] that he paid for and owned a set of plans, which he provided to [VTW] that were drawn by Timberpeg. The letter does not say whether the plans referred to were the first set or the second set of plans created by Timberpeg. 26 VTW's position is that it took its directions only from Isbitski and that Isbitski provided substantial guidance in determining VTW's shop drawings of the timberframe. According to Douglas Friant at VTW, Isbitski said that he had been planning this house for years and [was] working on the design for years. At the first meeting in December 2000, Isbitski provided the dimensions of his plan (although the record does not reveal the exact dimensions that he gave to VTW). He also brought pictures clipped from a magazine and a catalog (not from Timberpeg) showing how he wanted the frame to look. The pictures showed a bent-style frame. Friant stated that during the drafting process (starting from December 2000 until May 2002) Isbitski frequently would drop by or call VTW's shop unexpectedly, and would talk with Friant about his ideas about what he wanted for the timberframe. As an example, Friant testified at his deposition that Isbitski was very concerned about how the stairway looked and absolutely emphatic about . . . making sure that he was able to hang a chandelier in the stairway area, and this instruction required Friant to modify the shop drawings. According to VTW, some of Isbitski's instructions were very specific. Isbitski would tell VTW where to place posts within an eighth of an inch, and asked VTW to change the roof pitch in VTW's original designs to a precise pitch he provided. During the time VTW was working on its shop drawings, Isbitski received the second preliminary plans and the construction plans from Timberpeg. 27 Isbitski agreed to purchase the VTW timberframe on March 8, 2002. By this time, Timberpeg's second preliminary plans, the registered plans, had been in his hands for nearly one year, and publicly available for about the same amount of time. Isbitski also had had possession of the construction drawings from Timberpeg for nearly six months. VTW completed final revisions to its shop drawings of the timberframe design in May 2002. The shop drawings showed a bent-style frame which was in some ways similar to, and in other ways different from, the timberframed portion of the main house in Timberpeg's registered preliminary plan. We consider these similarities and differences in detail below. 28 By June 2002, Isbitski had completed the foundation and the three-car garage with the loft. VTW erected, on that foundation, the frame as provided for in the shop drawings. The parties assume that the erected frame reflected the shop drawings. 29 In September 2002, Isbitski informed Timberpeg that he was not going to be purchasing a Timberpeg package. According to Timberpeg, Isbitski said the reason was that he was going to build a stick-built, rather than a timberframed, house. Timberpeg in response asked for the remainder of the design fees due (which fees had, by that point, exceeded Isbitski's total deposit), amounting to approximately $1000. It is unclear whether Isbitski ever paid this amount. Soon thereafter, Timberpeg learned that Isbitski was building a house, using VTW's timberframe, that looked like the house it had designed.