Justus Wallace Peppertree Park etc. v. Peppertree Village-VII CA4/1

INTRODUCTION

Peppertree Village-VII, LLC (Peppertree Village 7) sold two parcels of land to a buyer that planned to develop the land into a residential housing community. When escrow closed, Peppertree Village 7 refused to cooperate with the buyer to satisfy certain government-mandated conditions necessary for the buyer to develop the land as intended. Therefore, the buyer sued Peppertree Village 7 and several related parties, including Northern Capital Inc., LLC (Northern Capital), which served as the managing member of Peppertree Village 7, and Duane Urquhart, who served as the managing member of Northern Capital. After a bench trial, the trial court found the defendants liable for breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, intentional interference with contractual relations, and promissory estoppel, and awarded the buyer $4,610,911.40 in compensatory damages. The buyer then assigned its interests in the lawsuit to Justus Wallace Peppertree Park Villages (Justus Wallace), which substituted into the case as the plaintiff. Peppertree Village 7, Northern Capital, and Urquhart appeal the judgment against them. They argue the trial court erred in…