Plante v. Jacobs

103 N.W.2d 296 (1960).

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Plante (P) contracted with Frank and Carol Jacobs (D) to build a house upon their lot. During the course of construction, P was paid $20,000. P failed to furnish the kitchen cabinets, gutters, sidewalk, closet clothes poles, and entrance seat as promised, but more importantly, misplaced the wall between the living room and the kitchen. D, alleging faulty workmanship and incomplete construction, refused to continue payment. P sued to establish a lien on the property to recover the unpaid balance of the contract price. The costs to deal with these problems amounted to $5,601.95 with $4,000 of those costs to deal with moving the wall. Real-estate experts testified that the smaller width of the living room would not affect the market price of the house. The trial court allowed the $1,601.95 to D. The trial court found that D suffered no legal damages and ruled for P with the offsets. D appealed.