Court Opinion

ID: 9492101
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 14:32:07.216464+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:55:06.660386
License: Public Domain

CLAY, Circuit Judge,
concurring in part and dissenting in part.
Because I would affirm the ruling below in all respects, I dissent from Part III.B of the court’s opinion. 'Even if we conclude that the approval of the contract extension by Larry DiNardo, Gerry DiNardo’s brother and attorney, was a condition precedent to the enforceability of the Addendum, a grant of summary judgment on behalf of Vanderbilt was appropriate because relevant circumstantial and direct evidence support the conclusion that the contract was agreed upon. This evidence, combined with Larry DiNardo’s failure to object to the contract extension, causes me to conclude that summary judgment was properly granted.
The Court’s opinion correctly notes that in Disney v. Henry, 656 S.W.2d 859 (Tenn.Ct.App.1983), the state court held that where enforcement of a sales contract was expressly conditioned on the sellers’ final approval, the sellers’ failure to object to the terms and conditions of the contract within a reasonable time validated the acceptance. Disney, 656 S.W.2d at 861. However, the Court’s opinion fails to note that in determining that a reasonable time had lapsed, the state court relied exclusively on the fact that the sellers had allowed the buyers to take concrete steps in reliance on the contract. Id. at 860-61.
Particularly in this light, the facts on record establish that Larry DiNardo’s failure to object validated his brother’s acceptance of the contract. Following lopsided losses by Vanderbilt’s football team to close out the 1993 season, there was rampant speculation that Gerry DiNardo would be fired. The magazine 'Sports Illustrated listed him as a coach on the “hot seat.” By early 1994, Vanderbilt’s athletic department became aware that the coach’s status was becoming “more and more of an issue in recruiting.” This evidence indicates that due to this concern about the coach’s status, Vanderbilt initiated contract extension discussions specifically in order to *762quiet speculation of instability in the football program.
As a result, Vanderbilt announced the signing of the Addendum almost immediately — presumably to quell the rumors of Gerry DiNardo’s impending dismissal. Local sports columnists applauded the move precisely because it put to rest rumors of the coach’s firing and the possibility of ensuing instability. Even more significantly, the coach himself confirmed that the deal was done. In remarks published on August 20, 1994, Gerry DiNardo expressed his happiness with the contract extension and his relief that this issue had been settled. Among other things, the coach said:
[The extension] sends a message publicly that I’ve known right along, that [the athletic director] and the chancellor are very supportive of us.... I want less distraction, less public controversy, and the best way to do that is to keep myself out of the picture with the public as much as possible. I don’t want people talking about me, about external parts of football. I want our players to be the focus.
I always felt they were committed, but actually having it makes me feel big time happy. I remember when we were at Colorado and they gave [the head coach an extension] after three years. It means a lot to our assistants. It’s pretty important when someone does that for you. Then, it’s easy to circle the wagons and identify the enemy. There is no second-guessing.
Vanderbilt and Gerry DiNardo thus both took steps immediately in rebanee on the Addendum by moving forcefully to put to rest any uncertainty about the coach’s job security and potential instability in the football program.
Indeed, Gerry DiNardo’s pronouncement embracing the contract extension renders Larry DiNardo’s failure to object to Vanderbilt’s announcement of the extension particularly significant. Vanderbilt asked Larry DiNardo in late August and again in late September of 1994 for any comments he might have on the Addendum. (This occurred after Gerry DiNardo had already signed the Addendum extending his contract on August 17, 1994, but had informed Vanderbilt that notwithstanding the fact that he had signed the extension, he still would like to have his brother review it.) Larry DiNardo said nothing — even though the coach had already pubbely expressed his happiness that the extension was complete and Vanderbilt had announced the extension to the world.
Taking all of these facts into account, and viewing this evidence in the light most favorable to the defendant, I would hold that Larry DiNardo’s failure to object to the Addendum validated the coach’s acceptance, even assuming that Gerry DiNar-do’s acceptance was initially conditional in nature, and so put the Addendum into effect. Accordingly, I concur in the Court’s opinion with the exception of Part III.B, from which I dissent for the reasons set forth above.