Wingate Land & Dev. LLC v. Robert C. Walker Inc.

Robert C. Walker, Inc. “Walker” sued Wingate Land & Development, LLC, William Douglas Wingate, and Mary Wingate collectively “Wingate” alleging that Wingate owed Walker compensation for golf course architectural services. Following trial, the jury found in favor of Walker. After a separate bench trial on Walker’s claim for litigation expenses, the court also found in Walker’s favor. Wingate appeals, asserting the trial court erred in instructing the jury, admitting certain evidence, denying its motion for directed verdict, and entering judgment nunc pro tunc. For reasons that follow, we affirm.

Walker’s claims stem from Wingate’s development of the Stonebridge Golf and Country Club. In the planning stages, Wingate solicited golf course design proposals from architects, including Walker. In March 1994, Walker submitted a proposed design to Wingate for consideration. The proposal included Walker’s standard services contract, which was dated March 29, 1994. The contract proposed a “Total Design Fee” of $165,000 and covered six phases of “Architectural Services,” which included “Frequent Construction Inspection Visits & Quality Control” during phase six.