Philip C. Tobin v. Philip N. Barter , 89 A.3d 1088 ( 2014 )

MAINE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT Reporter of Decisions
Decision: 2014 ME 51
Docket: Han-13-286
Submitted
On Briefs: February 27, 2014
Decided: April 1, 2014
Panel: ALEXANDER, LEVY, SILVER, MEAD, GORMAN, and JABAR, JJ.
PHILIP C. TOBIN
v.
PHILIP N. BARTER
JABAR, J.
[¶1] Philip C. Tobin appeals from a judgment entered in the Superior Court
(Hancock County, Cuddy J.) denying his claims for breach of contract, unjust
enrichment, and promissory estoppel against Philip N. Barter. Tobin argues that
the court erred in granting Barter’s motion for a judgment as a matter of law,
notwithstanding the verdict of the jury, which had found that Barter had breached
the parties’ contract and awarded Tobin $10,000. See M.R. Civ. P. 50(b). We
agree and vacate the court’s judgment, and we remand the case to the Superior
Court for reinstatement of the jury’s verdict. See M.R. Civ. P. 50(c).
I. BACKGROUND
[¶2] The evidence in the record supports the following facts, viewed in the
light most favorable to Tobin as the party opposing the Rule 50 motion. See Lewis
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v. Knowlton, 1997 ME 12, ¶ 6, 688 A.2d 912. In December 2009, Barter, who has
been an artist in Maine for fifty years, hired Tobin to “produce a book for
publication and sale encompassing Barter’s artistic work product over the years.”
The parties entered into a written agreement, which provided that Tobin would
write the “text requisite to presenting the scope of Barter’s many artistic
creations . . . subject to Barter’s final approval” in a book titled Philip Barter,
Forever Maine, and that he would make arrangements with a photography studio
in Ellsworth to obtain print-quality images of Barter’s paintings. The agreement
provided that Tobin would “receive fifty percent (50%) of the net proceeds from
the sale of the aforementioned[] publication” in exchange for his “time and effort
in producing said book for publication.” Additionally, the agreement stated that
Barter would provide Tobin with funds up to $5000 and the photographs of his
artwork “necessary for accomplishing Tobin’s . . . agreed-upon manuscript
responsibilities.” Barter testified that, once the book was published, he anticipated
that the parties would receive “$35,000 each in the first year” of profit from the
sales of the book.
[¶3] At the outset, Tobin and Barter agreed to select approximately 200
images of Barter’s paintings to include in the book. To start the selection process,
the parties first sent 1490 images of Barter’s paintings to have them digitally
rescanned to improve the image quality. From those images, Barter then selected
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403 images that the photography studio in Ellsworth enhanced to print quality.
While the images were being processed, Tobin consulted with Barter weekly to
notify him of the progress of the image enhancement. Although Barter believed
that the image selection process was incomplete, he selected 208 of the images for
possible inclusion in the book and gave Tobin the titles and dimensional
descriptions of those images.
[¶4] Using those 208 images, Tobin drafted a manuscript of the book. On
December 13, 2010, Tobin went to Barter’s home in Franklin, gave him a draft of
the manuscript, and informed him that Barter could make changes if “he stayed in
context” of the book’s title. After not having received a response from Barter
Tobin sent a letter to Barter on February 11, 2011, in an attempt to “explain the
tension that has [a]risen between [the parties] with regard to the selection of the
works to be included in the book.” Barter did not respond to the letter.
[¶5] On August 15, 2011, Tobin filed a complaint in the Hancock County
Superior Court alleging that Barter had breached the parties’ contract, or,
alternatively, that Tobin was entitled to relief on the basis of promissory estoppel
or unjust enrichment. Tobin requested $50,000 in damages. Barter moved for
summary judgment on all three counts, but the court denied the motion, reasoning
that “whether a contract exists and whether a breach has occurred are all questions
of fact for the jury to decide as fact finder.”
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[¶6] The court held a jury trial on May 13, 2013, during which Tobin,
Barter, and Barter’s wife testified. When Tobin rested his case, Barter moved
pursuant to M.R. Civ. P. 50(a) for a judgment as a matter of law on Tobin’s claim
for breach of contract, arguing that, although the parties agreed that there was a
contract, Tobin had presented no evidence that Barter had breached it. The court
reserved its judgment on the motion to “allow the jury to decide the underlying
factual question subject to the Court’s decision on the Rule 50 motion.” See M.R.
Civ. P. 50(b). Barter did not present any evidence, and renewed his motion for
judgment as a matter of law pursuant to Rule 50(b). The jury returned a verdict in
favor of Tobin, finding that there was an enforceable contract, and that Barter had
breached the contract. The jury awarded Tobin $10,000 in damages.
[¶7] The next day, May 14, 2013, the court issued a written decision
granting Barter’s motion for a judgment as a matter of law. The court concluded
that, with respect to the breach-of-contract claim, Tobin and Barter “had a very
different understanding of what their agreement was,” and that Tobin had failed to
present sufficient evidence that the parties had a meeting of the minds necessary to
form a legal contract. The court also denied Tobin’s unjust-enrichment and
promissory-estoppel claims, concluding that Tobin had failed to present sufficient
evidence of an enforceable promise and of damages. Tobin timely appealed. M.R.
App. P. 2(b)(3).
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II. DISCUSSION
[¶8] On appeal from a judgment entered as a matter of law pursuant to
Rule 50(b), “we examine the jury’s verdict to determine if any reasonable view of
the evidence and those inferences that are justifiably drawn from that evidence
supports the jury’s verdict.” Me. Energy Recovery Co. v. United Steel Structures,
Inc., 1999 ME 31, ¶ 6, 724 A.2d 1248 (quotation marks omitted). A motion for a
judgment as a matter of law after the jury has rendered a verdict “should not be
granted if any reasonable view of the evidence could sustain a verdict for the
opposing party.” Lewis, 1997 ME 12, ¶ 6, 688 A.2d 912 (quotation marks
omitted). Rather, “[v]iewing the evidence and all justifiable inferences therefrom
in the light most favorable to [the nonmoving party],” the court should grant a
Rule 50(b) motion only if the jury was “rationally compelled” to conclude that the
moving party is entitled to judgment in its favor, and should deny the motion if
“[b]ased on all the evidence, reasonable minds could reach different conclusions
on dispositive questions of fact.” Me. Energy Recovery Co., 1999 ME 31, ¶ 8,
724 A.2d 1248.
[¶9] To demonstrate that the parties had a legally binding contract, the
plaintiff must establish that there was a meeting of the minds between the parties—
or “mutual[] assent to be bound by all [the] material terms” of the contract.
Sullivan v. Porter, 2004 ME 134, ¶ 13, 861 A.2d 625; see also Restatement
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(Second) of Contracts § 17 & cmt. c (1981). “The existence of an agreement,
involving as it does so intricately the conduct of the parties, is appropriately a
question for the trier of fact.” Agway, Inc. v. Ernst, 394 A.2d 774, 777 (Me. 1978).
[¶10] In order to obtain relief for a breach of that contract, the plaintiff must
also demonstrate that the defendant breached a material term of the contract, and
that the breach caused the plaintiff to suffer damages. See Me. Energy Recovery
Co., 1999 ME 31, ¶¶ 7-8, 724 A.2d 1248. “Similarly, the question of whether
there has been a breach of contract is a question of fact,” VanVoorhees v. Dodge,
679 A.2d 1077, 1080 (Me. 1996), and “[t]he assessment of damages is within the
sole province of the factfinder,” Down E. Energy Corp. v. RMR, Inc.,
1997 ME 148, ¶ 7, 697 A.2d 417.
[¶11] Here, the court erred when it entered a judgment in favor of Barter,
notwithstanding the jury’s verdict in favor of Tobin, based on its determination that
there was no “meeting of the minds.” See M.R. Civ. P. 50(b). Barter had informed
the court in making his Rule 50 motion that “both of the parties agreed that there
was a contract.” Additionally, a rational jury could have found that the parties’
agreement was “sufficiently definite to enable [it] to ascertain its exact meaning
and fix exactly the legal liabilities of each party” based on the record evidence.
Sullivan, 2004 ME 134, ¶ 13, 861 A.2d 625. Thus, the court erred in issuing its
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judgment in favor of Barter as a matter of law. See Me. Energy Recovery Co.,
1999 ME 31, ¶¶ 5-8, 724 A.2d 1248; Agway, Inc., 394 A.2d at 777.
[¶12] Moreover, the evidence in the record supports the jury’s verdict on the
remaining elements of Tobin’s breach-of-contract claim. A jury rationally could
have found that Barter had materially breached the contract by failing to respond to
Tobin. See Associated Builders, Inc. v. Coggins, 1999 ME 12, ¶¶ 6-7 & n.1,
722 A.2d 1278 (enumerating factors relevant in determining if a failure to render
performance is a material breach); Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 241 (1981)
(same). Additionally, the evidence in the record reasonably supports the jury’s
award of $10,000 in damages to Tobin. See Down E. Energy Corp., 1997 ME 148,
¶ 7, 697 A.2d 417 (stating that a jury is permitted to award damages based on
“judgmental approximation” if the “amount of damages may be determined to a
probability” (quotation marks omitted)).
[¶13] Because a reasonable view of the evidence supports the jury’s verdict,
we remand the case for entry of a judgment reinstating the jury’s verdict in favor of
Tobin. See M.R. Civ. P. 50(c).
The entry is:
Judgment vacated. Remanded for entry of a
judgment reinstating the jury verdict in favor of
Tobin.
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On the briefs:
Philip C. Tobin, appellant pro se
Peter R. Roy, Esq., Roy, Beardsley, Williams & Granger, LLC,
Ellsworth, for appellee Philip N. Barter
Hancock County Superior Court docket number CV-2011-54
FOR CLERK REFERENCE ONLY