S-22-0622 Northwest Crossings, LLC, A Nebraska Limited Liability Company v. Bruce Lavalleur PC and Bruce Lavalleur (Appellants/Cross-Appellees) v. Northwest Crossings LLC, Guarantee Group, LLC, Sean O’Conner, and Raymond J. O’Conner (Appellees/Cross-Appellants)
Appeal from the District Court for Hall County, Judge Patrick M. Lee
Attorneys: Siegfried H. Brauer (Brauer Law Office for Appellants/Cross-appellees) and Tanya J. Hansen and Kevin P. Walsh (Smith, Johnson, Allen, Connick & Hansen for Appellees/Cross-appellants).
Civil: Contracts, Statute of Frauds, Directed Verdict, and Motion for New Trial
Proceedings below: The trial court dismissed the lawsuit after sustaining a Motion for Directed Verdict. The trial court then overruled a Motion for New Trial. On its own motion, the Supreme Court ordered this case to be transferred from the docket of the Court of Appeals to its docket.
Issue: Appellant makes the following assignments of error: 1) The District Court erred in dismissing the claim of Lavalleur for damages for unpaid fees for services to Guaranty; 2) The District Court erred in finding that the agreement between the parties for payment of fees for services rendered by Lavalleur to Guaranty was unenforceable and subject to the Statute of Frauds; 3) The District Court erred in finding that the agreement between the parties for payment of fees for services rendered by Lavalleur to Guaranty was unenforceable and subject to the Statute of Frauds under NRS sec. 36-105 for the reason such defense is an affirmative defense and was not pled; 4) The District Court erred in finding that “[n]one of the evidence presented by Lavalleur (Appellant) provided a written contract, or a legal mechanism to have an oral contract taken out of the Statute of Frauds. . . .,” (T148) (Emphasis added), for the reason that Appellant fully performed under the parties’ agreement and thereby removed the agreement from Sec. 36-202 and 36- 105 of the said statute; 5) Orders sustaining objections to offered evidence at (134:16); and 6) The District Court erred in denying Lavalleur’s motion for new trial.
Appellee/Cross-appellant makes the following assignments of error: 1) The District Court erred in failing to direct a verdict on the ground that this was a contingent fee arrangement which was void under the Rules of Professional Conduct Applicable to Certified Public Accountants; and 2) The District Court erred in failing to direct a verdict on the ground Bruce Lavalleur, P.C. did not meet its burden of proof to show a contract with Guarantee Group.