Opinion
No. 14–0165.
2015-07-9
Donna CANAVAN, Plaintiff–Appellant, v. Joe W. CONLAN, Michael Sauser, and CS & R, LLC d/b/a Cornerstone Homes, Defendants–Appellees.
The court ruled the fact the house was in foreclosure was irrelevant to the defective construction or the breach of contract claim, “[s]o we won't hear anything about that.” Steenhoek testified the house was not saleable. On cross-examination, defendants' counsel questioned Steenhoek about having had only one open house in trying to sell the property. At Canavan's counsel's behest, a discussion was held outside the presence of the jury. Canavan's counsel asserted that defense counsel “knew full well the reason why she hadn't had any open houses” was because the house was in foreclosure, and argued, “I believe [defense counsel] has opened the door on the fact that it is in short sale and in foreclosure ... but she's prohibited from giving that explanation because of the court's order in limine.” The trial court ordered a recess. Upon resuming the proceedings, the court stated: