11 Appellants Linda and Cliff Price argue two main points on appeal in this land-sale case. First they claim that the trial court erred in its decision to admit the testimony of an expert witness for appellees Jerrie and Walter Willbanks who was not identified during the discovery; second they argue that the trial court erred in its conclusion that the writing was an enforceable land contract. We see no reversible error and affirm the decision of the trial court.
This case involves a written agreement entered into by the parties concerning a tract of real property. According to the Prices, on February 23, 2005, they entered into preliminary negotiations to sell a portion of their land to the Willbankses. The Prices claim that their “hastily drafted” agreement merely “memorialize^] the privilege of the Willbankses to come onto [the Prices’] property [to care for the Prices’ horses] as well as the future intent of the Prices to possibly sell land to the Willbanks[es].” The Willbankses claim that the contract was not preliminary in nature and that it did in fact memorialize the land-sale agreement between the two loparties. The writing
LAND CONTRACT
THIS CONTRACT IS BETWEEN WALTER AND JERRY WILLBANKS & CLIFF AND LINDA PRICE I CLIFF AND LINDA PRICE BOUGHT 30.24 ACRES FOR 60,000.00 DOLLARS, PAYMENTS 600.00 (595.00) DOLLARS A MONTH.
WALTER WILLBANKS AND JERRY WILLBANKS WHO TAKE’S CARE OF OUR LIVE STOCK (HORSES). WILL HAVE TO MOVE ON THE 30.24 ACRES IN ORDER TO RUN THE RANCH..
THEY WILL BE BUYING 15 ACRES OF SAID LAND..THEY WILL BE BUYING THE AREA MENTION IN THIS CONTRACTOR WHICH IS THE FRONT HALF OF THE PROPERTY NORTH/SOUTH WITH GRAND AVE.. WITH EAST/WEST HARTZEL LAND AND EAST/WEST OF GRIFFITH LANE ... ADDRESS IS 502 SOUTH GRAND MCRAE, AR. WE THE OWNER AND SELLER CLIFF AND LINDA PRICE WILL BE SELLING TO THE BUYER WALTER AND JERRY WILLBANKS THE SAID 15 ACRES FOR 300.00 PER MOTH (handwritten notation of “$30,000 total”), IF THEY DEFAULT ON PAYMENTS AFTER 90 DAYS IT WILL BE RETURNED TO THE SELLER WHICH IS CLIFF AND LINDA PRICE ... IN THE EVENT OF UNFOR SENT PROBLEM CODY WILLBANKS CAN COMPLETE..THIS CONTRACT..
THIS IS JUST A ROUGH DRAFT..IN-CASE SOMETHING HAPPENS TOTHE OWNER.. WALTER AND JERRY WILLBANKS WILL BE PER-TECTED..
SIGN: CLIFF PRICE DATE 2-23-2005
SIGN: LINDA PRICE DATE 2-23-2005
SIGN WALTER WILLBANKS DATE 2-23-2005
SIGN JERRIE WILLBANKS DATE 2-23-2005
On July 18, 2007, the Prices filed an action for ejectment and unlawful detainer against the Willbankses. On November 7, 2007, the Prices filed a motion for summary judgment asserting that the writing was not a land contract because it lacked a legal description of the real | sproperty and was missing essential terms. Following a hearing in October 2008, the trial court ruled that the proof did not support a writ of prohibition (as ultimately requested by the Prices). The Willbankses filed a counterclaim for declaratory judgment and specific performance on October 13, 2008.
A hearing on the Willbankses’ counterclaim was scheduled for November 24, 2008. At this hearing, the Willbankses called surveyor Kenneth Hazlewood as an expert witness to testify about how he used the property description in the writing to perform a survey on the fifteen acres of property. The Prices objected to the witness being called, claiming that they were not put on notice of his testimony through discovery. The trial court allowed the testimony but afforded the Prices a recess to become familiar with the survey that Hazlewood had prepared. On December 8, 2008, the trial court issued an order granting the Willbankses the relief they requested. That order is the subject of this timely appeal.
At the outset we note that this case was heard as a bench trial, so we must consider only whether the trial court’s findings were clearly erroneous or clearly against the preponderance of the evidence. Crooked Creek III, Inc. v. City of Greenwood,
We first consider the Prices’ primary point on appeal — the validity and effect of their |4self-titled “Land Contract.” They argue that the document was not a contract; the Willbankses counter that it was. These converse positions are both predicated on a mutual understanding of Arkansas law requiring that a contract include these essential elements: (1) competent parties, (2) subject matter, (3) legal consideration, (4) mutual agreement, and (5) mutual obligations. Simmons v. Simmons,
We believe that the trial court’s resolution of the matter was both logical and consistent with the common principles
However, the writing must also contain a property description that is adequate to satisfy the statute of frauds; but if a writing furnishes a means by which the realty can be identified, it need not describe the property with the particularity required for deeds. Boensch v. Cornett,
| (¡As to the Prices’ claim that the contract fails for lack of mutuality, our laws require that if uncertainty or ambiguity exists within the terms of a contract, or if it is susceptible to more than one reasonable construction, then the courts must construe the contract most strongly against the party who drafted it. Elcare, Inc. v. Gocio,
The Prices also argue that they were prejudiced by the Willbankses’ failure to disclose their surveyor as an expert witness. Certainly Arkansas Rule of Civil Procedure 26(e)(1) imposed a legal duty on the Willbankses to supplement their discovery responses relating to the surveyor’s testimony. “A party is under a duty seasonably to amend a prior response to an interrogatory, request for production, or request for admission if the party learns that the response is in some material respect incomplete or incorrect and if the additional or corrective information has not | .¡otherwise been made known to the other parties during the discovery process or in writing.” Ark. R. Civ. P. 26(e). The Willbankses acknowledge their Rule 26 duty to supplement (and concede then-breach of duty) but argue that their failure to supplement did not prejudice the Prices.
We are persuaded by the argument. Although inadequate discovery responses can amount to an act of “constructive fraud,” the facts of this case did not produce a prejudicial result. See Battles v. Morehead,
Affirmed.
Notes
. The writing is reproduced — verbatim—as drafted by the Prices.
. It is worthy of note that this amount is exactly half of the price paid per month and half of the total purchase price paid by the Prices when they purchased the original 30.24-acre tract.
