A Blaine County 5th District Court judge has barred further arbitration claims by Hollywood couple Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson against a construction contractor that built their $10 million home north of Ketchum in 2002.
Judge Robert J. Elgee ruled late last Thursday in favor of Ketchum contractor Storey Construction in a longstanding dispute over alleged construction defects at the Hanks and Wilson home and three surrounding guest cottages.
Elgee employed a legal principle called res judicata in determining that the matter was settled in 2004 when the American Arbitration Association ruled in favor of Storey Construction and awarded the company $1.85 million in unpaid contract balance, interest and legal fees. Res judicata is a Latin phrase that means the "matter is already judged."
Hanks and Wilson filed their first arbitration claim in 2003. The couple filed a new $2.5 million arbitration claim last November alleging that "latent" construction defects had been discovered. Specifically, Hanks and Wilson claimed that the home has faulty snow dams, roof failures, improper ventilation, water intrusion, underground leakage, improper surface drainage, improper structural connections and sheer-wall failures.
Miles Stanislaw, a Ketchum attorney representing Storey Construction, has maintained that the couple has failed to show that the new claims are any different from the allegations that Hanks and Wilson made in the original arbitration claim. To prevent further arbitration, Stanislaw filed a lawsuit in Blaine County last December.
Stanislaw told the Idaho Mountain Express last Friday that Elgee's decision is a total victory for his client.
"What that means is there isn't going to be any trial, there isn't going to be any claim against Storey—it's over," said Stanislaw.
"The judge essentially ruled that they had their chance in the prior arbitration," he said. "So unlike the movies where you get to do it over again, in Blaine County you don't get a do-over if you don't like the results the first time around."
Meanwhile, an attorney for Hanks, Wilson and Sun Valley Trust, the entity that technically owns the Hanks and Wilson property, indicated that an appeal is likely. A statement attributed to John Hanover, an attorney with Los Angeles-based Peckar and Abramson, was released on Monday by 42 West, a New York public relations firm that represents Hanks and Wilson.
"The court ruled against Sun Valley Trust, but also admitted that its decision was harsh," says the Hanover statement. "Idaho law in this technical area is not clearly established and everyone, including the judge, knew that this issue was headed for the Idaho Court of Appeals regardless of how Thursday's hearing turned out.
"We think that the right result here is for my clients' case to be heard and decided on its merits, and we trust that the Court of Appeals will ultimately agree," the statement continued.
Stanislaw and Storey Construction issued their own press release on Monday, which states that "Storey has already successfully defended against the defendant's false accusations of construction defects—accusations made to avoid paying Storey money that was due."
"I am happy that this nightmare is finally over," Storey Construction owner Gary Storey is quoted as saying in the press release. "This ongoing harassment from Hanks and Wilson has put tremendous stress on me, my family and my business."
Storey's lawsuit to prevent further arbitration also alleges that Hanks and Wilson filed their second arbitration claim out of "desire for revenge."
The press release states that the company will seek monetary damages from Hanks and Wilson for what Storey alleges is "abuse of process."
Stanislaw is quoted in the press release as saying that "damages are potentially in the millions since Idaho law allows for the award of punitive damages against those who use the legal system for spiteful or improper purposes."
Tom Hanks
