DOUG MARTIN, Judge.
This dispute is between a law firm, appellant Grayson & Grayson, P.A., whose principals are Melanie Grayson and Keith Grayson, and an attorney, appellee David Couch. The circuit court granted summary judgment against both parties. Grayson & Grayson brought this appeal, and Couch filed a cross-appeal. We reverse the summary judgment entered against Grayson & Grayson on its claims
According to Grayson & Grayson, the law firm invited Couch to enter into an "of counsel" relationship with it in early fall 2003, after Couch's former partner had ended their association. The precise terms of the parties' oral agreement are disputed; however, it is not disputed that Couch moved into Grayson & Grayson's law office and was given access to its staff, equipment, and supplies, in exchange for his splitting fees with Grayson & Grayson on some nursing-home cases. On October 8, 2003, Couch formed David A. Couch, PLLC. The parties worked together on some cases and separately on others. A number of clients signed engagement contracts with Grayson & Grayson and Couch; Couch opened probate proceedings for some of them, signing some of the pleadings "Grayson & Grayson, P.A., by David A. Couch." He signed some settlement agreements in the nursing-home cases as "David A. Couch, Grayson & Grayson," and used Grayson & Grayson's letterhead. Some fees were paid to the client and Couch. In December 2005, Couch and Keith Grayson met to "square up" some matters; precisely what was discussed is in dispute. In January 2006, however, Grayson & Grayson terminated its relationship with Couch, who moved out of Grayson & Grayson's office space at the end of that month.
On August 24, 2006, Grayson & Grayson filed this action against Couch, individually, and his PLLC, alleging breach of contract and unjust enrichment for their failure to properly split fees collected in settling five lawsuits. Couch's PLLC filed a counterclaim against Grayson & Grayson for one-half of the fee paid to Grayson & Grayson in settling a lawsuit brought by Leister Dewey against Beverly Enterprises. Grayson & Grayson responded that it was holding that fee in trust as a set-off against the amount Couch owed the firm. Grayson & Grayson filed a first amended complaint against Couch and his PLLC in August 2007. In their answer, Couch and his PLLC denied that they had practiced with Grayson & Grayson but stated, "The only affiliation is that the defendants held themselves out to the general public as `Of Counsel.'" As before, Couch and the PLLC raised several affirmative defenses, including accord and satisfaction, set-off, and the statute of frauds. In its first amended counterclaim, the PLLC listed other resolved cases for which Grayson & Grayson allegedly owed it fees. In its answer, Grayson & Grayson admitted that "there were agreements between itself and David A. Couch, PLLC concerning work on cases" and that the PLLC was entitled to one-half of the fees from the Dewey case but denied the other allegations.
Grayson & Grayson failed to serve the PLLC with process. Couch and the PLLC moved for partial summary judgment, alleging that Grayson & Grayson did not perform any work on three of the cases; that Melanie Grayson attended two hearings in the probate proceeding in another case; and alternatively, that Grayson & Grayson was barred by accord and satisfaction from sharing fees in four of the cases. Couch and the PLLC also argued that all agreements were with the PLLC, and not Couch, individually. To support the summary-judgment motion, Couch submitted an affidavit in which he stated that he was the president and an employee of the PLLC and that all business conducted with Grayson & Grayson was done on behalf of the PLLC and not himself, individually. To further support his claim that
In support of its response to Couch's motion for summary judgment, Grayson & Grayson filed affidavits from Melanie and Keith Grayson; a letter from Couch to the Chief Counsel at DHS; the affidavit of Rebecca Hepler, a client; engagement contracts with various clients; and a pleading in a probate case that Couch signed on behalf of Grayson & Grayson.
In her affidavit, Melanie Grayson stated:
Keith Grayson's affidavit contained similar statements; in addition, Keith averred the following:
In her affidavit, Rebecca Hepler, the administrator of the estate of her mother, Barbara Hepler, stated that Melanie Grayson had represented her and her father at her mother's guardianship and probate hearings and that, in her capacity as guardian and administrator, she had signed a contract hiring Grayson & Grayson and Couch to pursue litigation against Beverly Enterprises for her mother's injuries. Hepler emphasized that both Grayson & Grayson and Couch were her attorneys.
The PLLC filed a second amended counterclaim against Grayson & Grayson and a third-party complaint against Keith and Melanie Grayson in August 2008. In its third amended counterclaim and first amended third-party complaint, filed in September 2008, the PLLC asserted claims for breach of contract and constructive fraud concerning the fees from the settlement of Dovie Hogue's estate's lawsuit against Beverly Enterprises, stating as follows:
The PLLC asserted that, as parties to the joint-venture agreement, Keith Grayson and Grayson & Grayson owed it a fiduciary duty to correct this mistake. The PLLC also asserted that it had been damaged by $280,000 concerning the Forrest estate because Keith Grayson had not informed the PLLC that Grayson & Grayson would no longer continue their business relationship when they met to discuss fees in the fall of 2005. Again, Grayson & Grayson and the Graysons admitted that
In October 2008, Couch and his PLLC supplemented their motion for partial summary judgment, asserting that no genuine issue of material fact existed regarding the fees earned in several of the cases and submitting a supporting affidavit. In response, Grayson & Grayson again stated that it had an agreement with Couch and his PLLC to share fees but disputed a number of facts, including Couch's claim that he was entitled to a fee from the Hogue case.
Melanie and Keith Grayson subsequently moved for summary judgment on the third-party claims against them. In their supporting affidavits, they stated that they had not entered into any agreement in their individual capacities with Couch or his PLLC. Couch and his PLLC then filed a second motion for summary judgment in February 2009, alleging that the PLLC had never been served with a copy of the summons and complaint, and that, under Arkansas Rule of Civil Procedure 4(i) and the statute of limitations, all of the claims against the PLLC should be dismissed.
In March 2009, Couch filed a counterclaim against Grayson & Grayson for breach of contract and constructive fraud. Couch moved for summary judgment, asserting that, at all times, he was acting as an employee and agent of the PLLC, his disclosed principal, and that, as a matter of law, he was not liable for any breach of contract. He also stated that, even if he had contracted individually, he could not be held liable for a breach because he had not resolved any cases individually; that all of the cases were resolved by the PLLC; and that all fees were received by the PLLC, and not himself, individually. In an affidavit offered in support of his summary-judgment motion, Couch stated that he had practiced law as an employee of the PLLC, and never as an individual, since October 8, 2003; that he had received wages and dividends from the PLLC; that the PLLC had maintained bank accounts and filed state and federal income tax returns; that he had moved to Grayson & Grayson's office on October 23, 2003, after the PLLC was incorporated; that he had conducted all business as "David A. Couch, PLLC"; and that his business cards listing the PLLC were kept in the lobby of Grayson & Grayson's office.
On April 9, 2009, the circuit court granted the PLLC's second motion for summary judgment and dismissed the complaint against it as well as its counterclaims and third-party complaints. This order left Grayson & Grayson's claims against Couch, and Couch's counterclaim, pending.
Grayson & Grayson raised the statute of limitations in its answer to Couch's counterclaim and filed a motion to dismiss on this ground and others. In response to Couch's motion for summary judgment, Grayson & Grayson argued that numerous questions of material fact remained to be tried; that the PLLC did not even exist when they agreed that Couch would join the firm "of counsel"; that Couch could not breach his agreement with impunity by hiding behind a corporate facade; that Couch individually entered into their oral agreement; that Couch acted as an agent of Grayson & Grayson in certain matters; that the PLLC was not an agent of Grayson & Grayson; and that the PLLC was Couch's alter ego. Grayson & Grayson supported this response with Melanie Grayson's affidavit, in which she stated that, "[a]t the time this agreement was
Respectfully submitted,
By:
The affidavit went on to state that David A. Couch, PLLC, was never an agent for Grayson & Grayson, P.A., and that "David A. Couch, PLLC, did not have authority to sign on behalf of Grayson & Grayson, P.A." although "David A. Couch, individually did have the authority to sign on behalf of Grayson & Grayson, P.A. since he was `Of Counsel.'"
Melanie's affidavit further asserted that Couch used Grayson & Grayson, P.A. letterhead to correspond with various persons. That letterhead listed "David A. Couch" as "of Counsel," not "David A. Couch, PLLC," and, according to Melanie, David Couch never requested that the firm list his PLLC as "of Counsel" on its letterhead. Regarding the client representation agreements that were executed by Couch on behalf of Grayson & Grayson, Melanie noted that contracts signed by each client at issue in the lawsuit provided as follows:
The client contracts were then executed as follows:
Melanie further asserted that Couch used his own contract for those cases that were joint-ventured with David A. Couch, PLLC, and she noted that the settlement checks for the Hepler, Barnett, and Hawley cases were not made payable to "David Couch, PLLC," but were rather made payable to the client and to David Couch personally.
In December 2009, Grayson & Grayson moved for partial summary judgment on Couch's constructive-fraud claim, arguing that the claim was barred by the statute of limitations, because it was based on Couch's assertion that Keith Grayson had a duty to correct an error that Couch had made in the December 14, 2005 memorandum. Noting that Couch had moved out of its office on January 30, 2006, Grayson & Grayson argued that Couch had alleged no act of fraudulent concealment that would toll the three-year statute of limitations.
The same day, Couch filed a renewed motion for summary judgment based on an IRS Form 1099 that Grayson & Grayson issued the PLLC in January 2005. In response, Grayson & Grayson produced the affidavit of Melanie Grayson, who explained that, in dividing the attorney's fees received in a lawsuit, she had asked Couch to submit an IRS Form W-9 indicating how he wanted his portion of that fee to be handled for tax purposes; that Couch had directed her to pay his portion of the fee to the PLLC; and that how the check or the Form 1099 were written did not indicate
In July 2010, Grayson & Grayson filed yet another motion for summary judgment on all of Couch's claims on the basis of the statute of limitations. On October 22, 2010, the circuit court granted Grayson & Grayson's motion for partial summary judgment on the statute of limitations and also granted Couch's renewed motion for summary judgment. Grayson & Grayson filed a motion for reconsideration, on which the court did not rule. Grayson & Grayson filed a timely notice of appeal, and Couch filed a notice of cross-appeal.
Summary judgment may be granted by a trial court only when the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with affidavits, if any, clearly show that there are no genuine issues of material fact to be litigated and the party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Lee v. Martindale, 103 Ark.App. 36, 286 S.W.3d 169 (2008). When the movant makes a prima facie showing of entitlement, the respondent must meet proof with proof by showing a genuine issue as to a material fact. Dodson v. Allstate Ins. Co., 365 Ark. 458, 231 S.W.3d 711 (2006). On appeal, we need only decide if summary judgment was appropriate based on whether the evidentiary items presented by the moving party in support of the motion left a material question of fact unanswered. Id. In making this decision, we view the evidence in a light most favorable to the party against whom the motion was filed, resolving all doubts and inferences against the moving party. Id. Summary judgment should be denied if reasonable minds might reach different conclusions from the undisputed facts. Worley v. City of Jonesboro, 2011 Ark.App. 594, 385 S.W.3d 908.
Although the trial court did not expressly state the basis for its grant of summary judgment, the primary argument advanced below by Couch was that he could not be held liable to Grayson & Grayson because he was an agent of David A. Couch, PLLC, during his association with Grayson & Grayson, and Grayson & Grayson had notice of this agency relationship. Grayson & Grayson asserts that summary judgment was improper because whether Couch was acting as an agent for David A. Couch, PLLC, was an issue of fact.
Grayson & Grayson also contends that it did not enter into an "of counsel" agreement with David A. Couch, PLLC, but with Couch individually. Questions of fact relating to the formation of contracts are for the trier of fact to determine, Ingersoll-Rand Co. v. El Dorado Chem. Co., 373 Ark. 226, 283 S.W.3d 191 (2008), and conclusions concerning the true
In the present case, there were numerous questions of material fact as to whether Couch was acting as an agent for David L. Couch, PLLC, and whether Grayson & Grayson entered into a contract with Couch individually or with David A. Couch, PLLC. Indeed, in Couch's "Statement of Undisputed Facts" in support of his motion for summary judgment, Couch as much as concedes that fact: "Grayson [& Grayson] claims that the arrangement was with David Couch individually. Couch claims that the arrangement was with the PLLC. The terms of this arrangement are unclear and disputed." (Emphasis added.) Where the terms of the agreement and the identities of the parties thereto are the crux of the complaint, it is inconceivable that the circuit court granted summary judgment in the face of this statement by the party moving for summary judgment. See, e.g., IC Corp. v. Hoover Treated Wood Prods., Inc., 2011 Ark.App. 589, 385 S.W.3d 880 (we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the party against whom the motion was filed, resolving all doubts and inferences against the moving party) (emphasis added).
Other material questions of fact were presented below, rendering summary judgment inappropriate. For example, Grayson & Grayson contends that it offered the of-counsel position to Couch individually, not to David A. Couch, PLLC, and that it did so before Couch created the PLLC; Couch, on the other hand, maintained that all business conducted with Grayson & Grayson was "conducted on behalf of the corporate entity David A. Couch PLLC and not David Couch individually" and that the of-counsel agreement was between Grayson & Grayson and David A. Couch, PLLC. Further, despite Couch's claims that he was always acting on behalf of his corporate entity, Grayson & Grayson points out that Couch's name on the Grayson & Grayson letterhead was simply "David A. Couch," not "David A. Couch, PLLC," and that Couch signed both employment contracts with clients and various court pleadings in his individual — not corporate — capacity.
A material fact is one that is "significant or essential to the issue or matter at hand." Black's Law Dictionary 670 (9th ed.2009). The major issues in this litigation were the identities of the parties to the of-counsel agreement and whether Couch could be held individually liable to Grayson & Grayson, or whether he was insulated from individual liability by the fact that he was working as an agent for his corporation. As is evident from the facts discussed above, presented by Grayson & Grayson in its responses to Couch's motions for summary judgment, there were clearly numerous genuine issues of material fact that rendered summary judgment inappropriate.
Couch argues that, in the event this court agrees with Grayson & Grayson on the disclosed-agent issue, the summary judgment can nonetheless be affirmed for
Finally, Couch devotes over six pages of his brief to his argument that this court could also affirm on the ground that the terms of the parties' agreement were uncertain. We disagree; in fact, as explained above, this uncertainty demonstrates that there were questions of fact to be tried. See Reiss, supra; Holland, supra.
Couch argues on cross-appeal that, if this court reverses the summary judgment against Grayson & Grayson,
Couch argues that the statute did not begin to run because Keith Grayson failed to tell Couch that Couch had erroneously calculated the fee percentage that Grayson & Grayson received in the Hogue matter on a 40% contingent fee rather than the 45% contingent fee that Grayson & Grayson's contract with its client provided. Silence can be the basis of a constructive fraud; generally, however, liability for a nondisclosure may be found only in special circumstances. Downum v. Downum, 101 Ark.App. 243,
Ordinarily, the question of fraudulent concealment is one of fact and unsuited for summary judgment, Bomar v. Moser, 369 Ark. 123, 251 S.W.3d 234 (2007), and the running of the statute of limitations is largely a question of fact. Nw. Ark. Recovery, Inc. v. Davis, 89 Ark.App. 62, 200 S.W.3d 481 (2004). Here, however, Grayson & Grayson presented evidence that it was not aware of the erroneous fee percentage until after this litigation began, and Couch failed to meet that proof with proof, rendering summary judgment proper. See Dye v. Anderson Tully Co., 2011 Ark.App. 503, 385 S.W.3d 342 (affirming summary judgment where party opposing the motion failed to meet proof with proof).
Reversed and remanded on direct appeal; affirmed on cross-appeal.
HART and GLOVER, JJ., agree.