Opinion ID: 2278218
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Lack of Proof of a Breach of Duty

Text: DeHaven first argues that the trial court erred in finding lack of proof of a breach of duty due to the fact that DeHaven did not sign the Pledge and Mortgage Agreements upon which the court relied to find a breach of contract. DeHaven argues that the escrow agreements it signed with the Trustee were incorporated into the Pledge and Mortgage agreements, thus making it a party to those documents through incorporation by reference. As the Trustee suggests, we cannot find where DeHaven argued during the discussion on the directed-verdict motion that these contracts were incorporated by reference so that it was included in the Pledge and Mortgage agreements as a party to those agreements. During the discussion regarding the motion for directed verdict the court discussed DeHaven's lack of proof as to damages sustained, but did not discuss how DeHaven planned to dovetail its participation into the Pledge and Mortgage agreements. As such, this argument is raised for the first time on appeal, and we, therefore, will not consider it. Hurst v. Holland, 347 Ark. 235, 61 S.W.3d 180 (2001); Ghegan & Ghegan, Inc. v. Barclay, 345 Ark. 514, 49 S.W.3d 652 (2001). 2. Lack of Proof of Damages DeHaven next argues that the trial court erred in finding that DeHaven did not prove that it was damaged by the money paid for attorney's fees to the Trustee's attorneys. DeHaven argued below that because the money was taken out of the bond accounts to pay for fees, this delayed the retirement of the bonds, which delayed the release of the escrow agreements as security for the bonds. DeHaven notes that its Collateral Assignment and Security Agreement lays out the procedure for the Trustee's ability to collect DeHaven's proceeds from the escrow accounts to pay a portion of the bond amounts. As part of that procedure, as soon as the bonds are retired and nothing is left owing under the Pledge and Mortgage agreements, DeHaven's and the Trustee's agreement becomes void, and DeHaven then resumes the right to collect all income due under the escrow accounts. Therefore, the sooner the bonds are paid, the sooner DeHaven begins to receive money from the escrow accounts. However, as noted above, the Trustee did not breach an agreement with DeHaven and, therefore, DeHaven has no cause of action on which it was the prevailing party to recover fees under Ark.Code Ann. § 16-22-308. Therefore, fees are not warranted. Affirmed.