The Idaho Supreme Court has denied a rehearing request from Storey Construction in a long-standing and continuing dispute with actor Tom Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson.
In an opinion issued last week, the court declined to reconsider part of its decision against the Ketchum contractor. In October, the court overturned a 5th District ruling by Judge Robert J. Elgee and instead determined that arbitration could continue in a dispute over alleged construction defects at Hanks and Wilson's home north of Ketchum.
Storey attorney Miles Stanislaw said in an interview Monday that Storey asked for the rehearing to convince the Supreme Court to allow procedural questions in the case to be settled by Elgee rather than by the American Arbitration Association. In its opinion denying the request, the court justices explained that legal precedence has been established requiring that procedural issues be settled by the Arbitration Association rather than in court.
Stanislaw said Hanks and Wilson did not follow the proper procedures when they filed their claim with the Arbitration Association in 2007.
Hanks and Wilson are seeking about $1.5 million in their arbitration claim, alleging that latent construction defects, particularly a leaking roof, were discovered after the house was completed in 2002. Hanks and Wilson also have an arbitration claim for about $1.5 million against the home's designer, Lake/Flato, a San Antonio, Texas, architectural firm.
Storey won an earlier arbitration claim against Hanks and Wilson in 2003 for $1.85 million. But Hanks and Wilson took their case to the Idaho Supreme Court in 2008 after Elgee ruled that the issue was settled in the earlier arbitration and that no further arbitration could take place.
Stanislaw said he filed the motion for a rehearing with the Supreme Court because he would prefer that the procedural issues be settled in 5th district Court.
"Judge Elgee has a great deal of background on this case and we have a great deal of confidence in Judge Elgee's fairness and understanding of the process," Stanislaw said. "Apparently, Tom Hanks has no confidence in a local judge because he's been fighting for two years to keep everything away from Judge Elgee."
Stanislaw also said hearings before the Arbitration Association cost about $900 an hour, while there is no charge in a public court.
"It's just an effort by Hanks to destroy Storey financially," Stanislaw said. "This is just another example of the big rich guy trying to bury the little guy."
42West, a New York City public relations firm, released the following statement Tuesday on behalf of Hanks and Wilson:
"This dispute began with Storey Construction's shoddy work. The contract requires that any dispute be arbitrated and not decided by a court. Storey Construction has taken the homeowners on a very expensive detour in an effort to avoid having its defective work examined and fixed at its expense in the way that the contract requires."
The statement continues: "The Supreme Court for the second time has decided that Storey Construction's effort to avoid having the arbitrators decide the dispute is groundless. The homeowners have tried to keep this very simple, while Storey Construction has played a shell game to duck its responsibilities."
Terry Smith: tsmith@mtexpress.com
Tom Hanks
