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Whaley v. Perkins7/21/2005
rial judge and the parties presented their arguments to the trial judge regarding jury instructions.
After a jury trial, the jury returned a verdict for the Whaleys. The jury found Ms. Perkins, Mr. and Ms. Beshires, Jim and Barbara Thompson d/b/a Thompson Real Estate , Shirley Perkins McKee and Mary Jean Smith d/b/a Banyan Tree Realtors, and Stephen Brandon to be at fault. The jury apportioned fault as follows: Jim Ann Perkins was found to be 30% at fault; Albert Beshires was found to be 20% at fault; Terry Lynn Beshires was found to be 40% at fault; Jim Thompson and Barbara Thompson d/b/a Thompson Real Estate were found to be 1% at fault; Shirley Perkins McKee and Mary Jean Smith d/b/a Banyan Tree Realtors were found to be 8% at fault, and Stephen Brandon was found to be 1% at fault. The jury further found that the actions of Jim Ann Perkins, Albert Beshires, and Terry Lynn Beshires constituted intentional misrepresentation. The jury awarded compensatory damages to the Whaleys in the amount of $170,000.00. After the punitive damages phase of the trial, the jury awarded the Whaleys punitive damages against Jim Ann Perkins in the amount of $2,000.00, Terry Beshires in the amount of $2,000.00, and Albert Beshires in the amount of $1,000.00. On May 10, 2004, a Judgment on Jury Verdict was entered.
On June 8, 2004, Perkins and Beshires filed separate Motions for Judgment N.O.V., for New Trial, or in the Alternative, for Remittitur. On July 20, 2004, after conducting a hearing, the trial court entered orders denying these motions. On August 11, 2004, Perkins and the Beshires filed a timely notice of appeal to this Court.
II. FACTS
This appeal concerns a parcel of real property located in the eastern part of Shelby County, Tennessee. The parcel was originally part of a 500-acre farm that had been in the family of one of the Appellants, Jim Ann Perkins ("Ms. Perkins"), since approximately 1938. Ms. Perkins and her sisters inherited shares of the family farm after their parents died. Ms. Perkins' daughter, Terry Beshires, married Albert Beshires in 1975. In 1985, Terry Beshires asked Perkins if she could give the Beshires some land on the family farm so that they could build a home. Perkins gave the Beshires two acres as a place to build a home. In 1985, Albert Beshires was 33 years of age, and neither had built a home before.
In July, the Beshires obtained a sidewalk permit to construct a driveway on the property, and on August, the Beshires obtained approval to install a septic line. On August 28, 1985, Ms. Beshires went to the Memphis and Shelby County Office of Construction Code Enforcement to obtain a building permit. Beshires stated that she gave information to a clerk in that office who prepared the permit. Mrs. Beshires called Perkins and asked if she could sign Perkins' name to the building permit. While the Beshires were to be owners of the property upon which the residence was to be constructed, the building permit was issued to Perkins as "owner" and reflected the "owner" to be the contractor for the purpose of construction. Perkins testified that she played no role in the construction of the house, in installing the septic line, or obtaining the building permit.
On October 29, 1985, a warranty deed prepared by Earl Daley, a Memphis attorney, was executed by Perkins, transferring the two-acre parcel described in the October 24, 1985 survey to the Beshires. That deed was recorded in the Office of the Register of Shelby County, Tennessee on October 30, 1985 at Instrument No. X1 6715.
Sometime later, Earl Daley, who had prepared the warranty deed for the property, told Perkins that the Beshires would need two more acres, so Per
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