A decision without a published opinion is authority only in the case in which such decision is rendered and should not be cited in any other case in any court for any other purpose, nor should any court consider any such decision for any purpose except in
the case in which such decision is rendered. See Rule of Appellate Procedure 30 (e)(3).
NO. COA01-1545
NORTH CAROLINA COURT OF APPEALS
Filed: 15 October 2002
JOYCE HALL-ALSTON,
Plaintiff-appellant,
v
.
Wilson County
No. 00-CVS-854
RICHARD T. SMITH, III,
Defendant-appellee.
Appeal by plaintiff from order entered 26 September 2001 by
Judge Frank R. Brown in Wilson County Superior Court. Heard in the
Court of Appeals 11 September 2002.
Charles Everett Robinson, for plaintiff-appellant.
Rose, Rand, Orcutt, Cauley, Blake & Ellis, PA, by T. Slade
Rand, Jr., for defendant-appellee.
BRYANT, Judge.
Plaintiff appeals from the trial court's order granting
defendant's motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon
which relief can be granted. In her complaint, plaintiff alleged
the following:
Plaintiff, Joyce Hall-Alston, owned a mobile home in Wilson,
North Carolina. On 3 May 1995, she executed a "rent-to-own"
contract in favor of Anthony Edwards and Janice Leveston whereby
Edwards and Leveston would pay plaintiff $250 per month for ninety-
six months. Edwards took possession of the mobile home the same
day. Edwards rented a lot at Carver Mobile Home Park in Wilson
through Bissette Realty, Inc., which plaintiff alleged acted asdefendant Richard T. Smith's agent. Plaintiff was not a party to
this rental agreement. Edwards and Leveston rented the mobile home
to Derrice Edwards, who failed to pay rent.
On 4 June 1999, defendant had the mobile home removed from the
mobile home park to Wayne County. Plaintiff demanded that Smith
return the mobile home and its contents, some of which belonged to
plaintiff. When the mobile home was not returned, plaintiff sought
a court order in Wayne County to recover possession. Plaintiff
regained possession on or about 15 October 1999.
On 1 June 2000, plaintiff filed this action for conversion and
punitive damages. On 29 August 2001, defendant filed a motion to
dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the North Carolina Rules of
Civil Procedure on the grounds that plaintiff was not a party to
the contract between defendant and Edwards, and that plaintiff did
not reside in the mobile home. On 26 September 2001, the trial
court granted defendant's motion and dismissed plaintiff's claim
with prejudice. Plaintiff appealed.
_________________
Plaintiff presents two questions for review: 1) whether her
complaint stated a cognizable claim for conversion; and 2) whether
the trial court erred in dismissing the complaint for failure to
state a claim for the tort of conversion. When ruling on a motion
to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be
granted, this Court determines
"whether, as a matter of law, the allegations
of the complaint, treated as true, are
sufficient to state a claim upon which relief
may be granted under some legal theory...." Harris v. NCNB National Bank, 85 N.C. App.
669, 670, 355 S.E.2d 838, 840 (1987). "In
ruling upon such a motion, the complaint is to
be liberally construed, and the court should
not dismiss the complaint 'unless it appears
beyond doubt that [the] plaintiff could prove
no set of facts in support of his claim which
would entitle him to relief.'" Sinning v.
Clark, 119 N.C. App. 515, 517, 459 S.E.2d 71,
73 (quoting Dixon v. Stuart, 85 N.C. App. 338,
340, 354 S.E.2d 757, 758 (1987)), disc. review
denied, 342 N.C. 194, 463 S.E.2d 242 (1995).
Sharp v. Miller, 121 N.C. App. 616, 617, 468 S.E.2d 799, 801
(alteration in original), review denied, 343 N.C. 309,
471 S.E.2d 76, cert. denied, 519 U.S. 871, 136 L. Ed. 2d 125
(1996).
Conversion is "'an unauthorized assumption and exercise of the
right of ownership over goods or personal chattels belonging to
another, to the alteration of their condition or the exclusion of
an owner's rights.'" Peed v. Burleson's, Inc., 244 N.C. 437, 439,
94 S.E.2d 351, 353 (1956) (quoting 89 C.J.S., Trover & Conversion
§ 1); Lake Mary Ltd. P'ship v. Johnston, 145 N.C. App. 525, 551
S.E.2d 546, review denied, 354 N.C. 363, 557 S.E.2d 539 (2001)
(quoting Peed, supra). To state a claim for conversion, the
plaintiff must show: 1) ownership in the plaintiff; and 2)
wrongful conversion by the defendant. Lake Mary, 145 N.C. App. at
532, 551 S.E.2d at 552.
Here, plaintiff alleged in her complaint that she purchased
the mobile home on or about 25 September 1987. Plaintiff further
alleged that she is the registered title owner, and that the North
Carolina Department of Transportation Division of Motor Vehicles
issued in her name a Certificate of Title of a Motor Vehicle. Finally, plaintiff alleged that she executed a rent-to-own contract
with Anthony Edwards and Janice Leveston. Liberally construing the
allegations in plaintiff's complaint and treating the facts as
true, we conclude that plaintiff has shown that she is the owner of
the mobile home in question.
We next turn to the question of whether defendant wrongfully
converted the mobile home. Specifically, plaintiff argues that
"'removal' of the mobile home was not done in accord with any
statutorily mandated procedures." Plaintiff, however, fails to
state what statutorily mandated procedures were violated by
defendant in the instant case. Plaintiff cites to cases involving
warehouseman's and materialmen's liens, as well as trade fixtures,
but fails to identify a statutory provision the violation of which
made defendant's removal of the mobile home wrongful. In her claim
for punitive damages, plaintiff alleges that defendant's actions
were wrongful in that defendant "knew he had no, and could not
present any, writ of possession, or judgment, or permit, or other
documents or papers showing he had legal authority to have the
mobile home removed to Wayne County." This claim, however, assumes
the existence of a landlord-tenant relationship between plaintiff
and defendant. N.C.G.S. § 44A-2(e2) (2001), states:
Any lessor of a space for a manufactured home
. . . has a lien on all furniture,
furnishings, and other personal property
including the manufactured home titled in the
name of the tenant if (i) the manufactured
home remains on the demised premises 21 days
after the lessor is placed in lawful
possession by writ of possession and (ii) the
lessor has a lawful claim for damages against
the tenant. If the lessor has received ajudgment for possession of the premises which
has been executed, then all property remaining
on the premises may be removed and placed in
storage.
The ejectment of residential tenants is governed by N.C.G.S. § 42-
25.9(g) (2001), which states:
Ten days after being placed in lawful
possession by execution of a writ of
possession, a landlord may throw away, dispose
of, or sell all items of personal property
remaining on the premises, except that in the
case of the lease of a space for a
manufactured home as defined in G.S.
143-143.9(6), G.S. 44A-2(e2) shall apply to
the disposition of a manufactured home with a
current value in excess of five hundred
dollars ($500.00) and its contents by a
landlord after being placed in lawful
possession by execution of a writ of
possession.
In the case sub judice, plaintiff alleges in her complaint
that Edwards rented lot space at a mobile home park through
Bissette Realty, Inc., defendant's agent. Plaintiff further
alleged that she "is not now and has never been, in regards to all
matters referred to herein, a party to any lot fee, or rental[]
agreement between Defendant Smith or Bissette Realty, Inc. and
Anthony Edwards for lot space for the mobile home." Finally,
plaintiff argues that defendant wrongfully removed her mobile home
because defendant "could not present any, writ of possession, or
judgment, or permit, or other documents or papers showing he had
legal authority to have the mobile home removed . . . ."
Defendant points out that, according to the complaint, Edwards
and Leveston held a leasehold interest in the mobile home pursuant
to the rent-to-own contract, and that plaintiff was not a party tothe lease for lot space at the mobile home park. Taking
plaintiff's facts as true and liberally construing her complaint,
we conclude that as to plaintiff, defendant did not convert the
mobile home by wrongfully evicting Edwards for failure to pay rent.
We therefore conclude that plaintiff's complaint failed to state a
cognizable claim. Based on our conclusion, we hold that the trial
court did not err in dismissing plaintiff's complaint for failure
to state a legal claim.
AFFIRMED.
Judges McCULLOUGH and TYSON concur.
Report per Rule 30(e).
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