Court Opinion

ID: 9469792
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 02:49:23.461317+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:41:34.351987
License: Public Domain

ALLEN, District Judge,
dissenting.
This is an appeal from a judgment entered after a nonjury trial in which the District Court held that appellant, Jerry Sawyer (Sawyer) was not entitled to recover $25,000 from appellee, Bob Arum, because of an alleged breach of contract by Arum.
The testimony indicates that Sawyer was a trust officer in a Detroit bank administering funds for heavyweight boxer Leon Spinks when he met with Arum and Spinks’ attorney on April 12,1979 to discuss future boxing matches involving Spinks. Arum is, and was then, a full-time boxing promoter. On that date Arum presented to Sawyer a letter which obligated Arum and Top Rank, Inc. and Bob Arum Enterprises, Inc., his corporations, to pay Sawyer the sum of $25,000 if Spinks should lose his fight to Gerrie Coetzee, or if he should win that fight and did not participate in a championship match in September or October, and Arum’s corporations nevertheless promoted a heavyweight championship. This sum was to be paid for promotional and other services which Sawyer had agreed to render to Top Rank, Inc. and Bob Arum Enterprises, Inc. in connection with bouts in which Spinks would participate, including a bout with Coetzee.
In addition to this letter, Spinks’ attorney, Sanford Roth, and the parties to this action, discussed a document entitled “Bout Agreement” which, at that time, called for Spinks to fight Coetzee in June, 1979 in Monte Carlo for $100,000 and 50% of all revenues in excess of $250,000. In addition, another document was presented in the form of a letter purporting to grant to Bob Arum Enterprises, Inc., the option to promote a heavyweight championship bout between Spinks and another contender in the event Spinks defeated Coetzee.
Following the discussion of these documents and the acceptance by Sawyer of the letter agreement obligating Arum to pay him $25,000, the Bout Agreement and the Agreement to grant Arum the sponsorship of a championship bout were taken to Spinks, who insisted on receiving $250,000 as a guarantee for fighting Coetzee. The Bout Agreement was then changed to reflect acceptance of the $250,000 demand *595made by Spinks and fully executed on April 24, 1979.
In addition, a written supplement was added to the option to promote a heavyweight championship bout, and that document was signed by Arum in two places and by Spinks. Also, it should be noted that the Bout Agreement was not rewritten and prepared on a new document but remained as it was, subject to interlineations made by Spinks and approved by Arum. The letter agreement between Sawyer and Arum is not ambiguous and obligates Arum to pay Sawyer $25,000 in the event that he renders the services called for in the document.
No evidence was produced as to any discussion between Arum and Spinks which would reflect that it was their understanding that Sawyer would receive the $25,000 only in the event that Spinks signed the Bout Agreement in its original form providing for him the $100,000 minimum. The testimony upon which the District Judge did rely in this respect in his opinion was that of Arum, wherein Arum stated that the three documents were related and were one package. Arum did not testify that he at any time told Sawyer this was the case or that any discussion was had to this effect.
The District Judge and Judge Krupansky, in his opinion, rely to some extent upon testimony by Arum to the effect that he instructed Spinks’ lawyer to tear up the three documents of April 12, 1979 on the day following the meeting between the parties and Roth. This testimony does not reflect or indicate in any way a meeting of minds between Arum and Sawyer. It adds nothing in the way of substantial evidence to Appellant’s contention that the $25,000 letter agreement was contingent upon acceptance of the other two documents in their original form. It is interesting to observe that, in fact, the three documents remained in their original form subject to the interlineations and addenda described above.
While it is true that Michigan law allows the Court to consider parol evidence in determining whether an agreement was only partially integrated because essential elements were not reduced to writing, see Brady v. Central Excavators, Inc., 316 Mich. 594, 25 N.W.2d 630 (1947), the fact remains that the parol evidence which Arum produced was simply conclusory and unilateral in nature (i.e. not communicated to Sawyer) and did not in any way reflect an understanding between the parties that the $25,-000 document was not a separate document standing on its own.
Recognizing the force of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 52(a), that the findings of a trial court should not be reversed unless clearly erroneous, and recognizing that Judge Joiner had the right to disregard completely the testimony of Sawyer, I am left with the fact that the Agreement which purports to be a separate Agreement has not been shown to be anything but that by the testimony of Arum. Therefore, I would reach the conclusion that the District Judge erred in finding that there was no contract between Sawyer and Arum.
Since no findings were made by the District Court with respect to whether or not Sawyer performed the services that were required of him under the contract, I would have remanded to the District Court for decision on this issue.