Renaissance Tech. v. Speaker Components, Unpublished Decision (1-15-2003)
Renaissance Tech. v. Speaker Components, Unpublished Decision (1-15-2003)
Opinion of the Court
This cause was heard upon the record in the trial court. Each error assigned has been reviewed and the following disposition is made: {¶ 1} Appellant, Speaker Components, Inc., appeals from the order of the Summit County Municipal Court which rendered a verdict in favor of Appellee, Renaissance Technologies, Inc. We affirm.
{¶ 2} Appellee filed a complaint against Appellant on March 2, 2001. Appellant subsequently filed an answer and counterclaim. A bench trial was held on November 8, 2001. The court found in favor of Appellee and Appellant was ordered to pay the sum of $6,079.72. Appellee was required to return all materials supplied by Appellant. Appellant timely appealed raising two assignments of error for our review.
{¶ 4} In its first assignment of error, Appellant asserts that the trial court incorrectly concluded that R.C. 1302 did not apply to the contract between Appellant and Appellee. We disagree.
{¶ 5} Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code, is codified in R.C.
{¶ 6} The Ohio Supreme Court has stated that an appellate court should not reverse factual findings of the trial court if there is "some competent, credible evidence" in support of the trial court's findings.Wisintainer,
{¶ 7} In the instant case, the court found that the predominant purpose of the oral agreement between the parties was the performance of engineering services and was thus governed by common law principles of contract law. The court considered the following: the amount paid by Appellant for engineering services greatly exceeded the amount paid for electronic components; the "testers" Appellant sought to acquire were "novel and tailored" to Appellant's products; the "testers" did not previously exist in the market; Appellant compensated Appellee at an hourly rate; Appellee was unable to guarantee that the "testers" would work as Appellant desired due to their novel nature; and also evidence presented that tended to show that Appellant expected Appellee to maintain and continually develop the "testers."
{¶ 8} Upon review of the record, we find that there was some competent, credible evidence to support the trial court's conclusion. The predominant purpose of the contract, according to Appellant's representative, Michael Griffith ("Griffith"), was "to do electronic design work for us in various items[.]" Appellant explained that over time a "more specific need" evolved; Appellee was to develop and design new "testers." Griffith provided Appellee with parameters similar to: "this is what I want the tester to do. This is what my product does, and this is what I want the tester to test on my product." Furthermore, Appellant viewed the project as "breaking new ground," and stated that he was "trying to use [Appellee's] expertise as an engineer to get this done[.]"
{¶ 9} Additionally, Steven Hebrock ("Hebrock"), president of Renaissance Technologies, Inc., testified at trial. Hebrock stated that Griffith hired him at an hourly wage to perform various tasks for the company. Hebrock explained that he worked on the conversion of files, designed several printed circuit boards, contacted vendors and potential vendors, created drawings, and worked on designing and developing "testers."
{¶ 10} In light of the above testimony, the trial court could correctly conclude that the purpose of the contract was to design and develop a tester and not merely to supply goods. Consequently, the court properly determined that R.C. 1302 did not apply to the contract between the parties.
{¶ 11} Appellant's first assignment of error is overruled.
{¶ 13} In its second assignment of error, Appellant maintains that the trial court's judgment was against the manifest weight of the evidence. We disagree.
{¶ 14} The appellate court applies the same standard of review when determining whether a criminal or civil judgment is against the manifest weight of the evidence. Frederick v. Born (Aug. 21, 1996), 9th Dist. No. 95CA006286, at 14. "[A]n appellate court must review the entire record, weigh the evidence and all reasonable inferences, consider the credibility of the witnesses and determine whether, in resolving conflicts in the evidence, the trier of fact clearly lost its way and created such a manifest miscarriage of justice that the [judgment] must be reversed and a new trial ordered." State v. Otten (1986),
{¶ 15} The existence of a contract is dependent upon an offer, an acceptance, and consideration. Carlisle v. T R Excavating, Inc.
(1997),
{¶ 16} At trial, Hebrock testified that he performed "straight clock work in exchange for money." Hebrock stated that he would work on various projects assigned by Griffith. Hebrock explained that he eventually began designing four "testers" for Griffith. He stated that he did not guarantee the "testers" performance at a specific point in time because "[he] believed [he] would work on them until they worked *** [as he] was on an hourly basis working on many projects besides testers[.]" Hebrock further explained that the guidelines for the performance of the "testers" were nebulous and were constantly changed. Hebrock recalled remarking to Griffith that "it was almost a certainty that those testers wold need some fine tuning *** to accommodate the range of products that they were supposed to test." Hebrock stated that he did not contract to have the "testers" completed on a specific date. Furthermore, there is no writing containing the terms of an agreement; Griffith simply expressed his desire to have the "testers" completed by a date-certain, and Hebrock "had given [Griffith] dates in which [he] earnestly believed that [he] could have them completed based on the knowledge [he] had at that time[.]"
{¶ 17} Thomas Milan ("Milan") testified that he was present at a meeting between Hebrock and Griffith. Milan recalled Griffith requesting the "testers" by a certain date. Milan further testified that Hebrock stated he could not have the "testers" completed by the requested date but "they [had] agreed on a certain time frame that yes, it would be done."
{¶ 18} Lastly, Griffith testified that "[t]here w[ere] not any specific specifications per se laid out," but Hebrock had indicated that he understood how they were supposed to work in regards to electronics. He explained that Hebrock was hired on an hourly basis to work on numerous projects. Griffith acknowledged that there were no specifics in writing; the terms and parameters were verbal. He remarked that although they were "breaking new ground" he needed the "testers" completed within a reasonable time. Griffth stated that he informed Hebrock that the "testers" were needed before he was leaving for Thailand. Griffith maintained that he requested the "testers" be completed by June 25, 1999, but Hebrock had given him a date of completion as August 3 or 4, 1999. He testified that Hebrock supplied him with only two of the four "testers" on August 4, 1999. The third "tester" was shipped to Thailand shortly thereafter. Griffith stated that Hebrock "told [him] there might be some program glitches in it, but they did work, and we actually took units from the back and put [them] in the tester and they passed it." However, Griffith explained that defective units were not tested and the "testers" were later discovered to be unreliable. Upon this discovery, Griffith contacted Hebrock and identified the difficulties encountered. Griffith was notified by Hebrock that he would fix the machines if he was compensated. Griffith testified that another individual then fixed the "testers" as Griffith was not further compensating Hebrock.
{¶ 19} In the case sub judice, the judge had the opportunity to view the witnesses' testimony and adjudge their credibility; therefore, we are to give deference to the court's judgment as matters of credibility are primarily for the trier of fact. See State v. Lawrence
(Dec. 1, 1999), 9th Dist. No. 98CA007118, at 13; State v. DeHass (1967),
{¶ 20} Appellant's assignments of error are overruled. The judgment of the Summit County Municipal Court is affirmed.
CARR, J., WHITMORE, J., CONCUR
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.