Jamie Gerold v. Charlene Annette Waller

── Jamie Gerold v. Charlene Annette Waller ── Court: Court of Appeals of Arkansas Date: March 18, 2026 Category: General Cite as 2026 Ark. App. 185 ARKANSAS COURT OF APPEALS DIVISION II No. CV-24-511 JAMIE GEROLD Opinion Delivered March 18, 2026 APPELLANT APPEAL FROM THE RANDOLPH COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT V. [NO. 61CV-20-74] CHARLENE ANNETTE WALLER HONORABLE ROB RATTON, JUDGE APPELLEE AFFIRMED BART F. VIRDEN, Judge Jamie Gerold appeals the Randolph County Circuit Court’s order denying his claim of unjust enrichment and awarding Waller $6,639.71 in damages. Gerold also appeals the court’s award of attorney’s fees to Waller. We affirm. I. Relevant Facts On September 21, 2020, Gerold filed a complaint against Waller alleging breach of contract, promissory estoppel, and unjust enrichment. He contended that because of Waller’s conduct, he suffered $23,173.31 in damages. Gerold stated that in 2018 and 2019, he and Waller were in a relationship. Waller was having financial difficulty operating her farm, and they entered into a contract that would allow Waller to keep the farm going. The terms of the contract were that Gerold agreed to pay off her car note and pay the cost of feeding Waller’s cows and horse and various other costs associated with running a farm; in return, Waller agreed to repay him. Pursuant to this contract, Waller borrowed $23,173.31 from him. Waller told him numerous times that she would repay him; however, she never did. Gerold attached to the complaint copies of checks he had written for various expenses. Gerold also claimed that his complaint to recover his expenses from Waller was based on promissory estoppel, asserting that he relied on Waller’s promise to repay him to his detriment, and he did not get the benefit of the bargain. Gerold claimed that Waller was unjustly enriched by his monetary contribution toward the farming costs. Gerold contended that this was a contract action; thus, he was statutorily entitled to attorney’s fees. In her response, Waller denied his allegations and affirmatively pleaded setoff, waiver, release, breach by opposing party, failure of consideration, laches, unclean hands, estoppel, statute of frauds, and statute of limitations. At the bench trial, Gerold testified that he and Waller had been in a romantic relationship, and around January 2018, he moved to Arkansas, though not necessarily at Waller’s request. After initially staying in a hotel, he moved in with Waller. Gerold described Waller’s home as “nearly unlivable,” dirty, and “dilapidated” and recalled that the bathroom upstairs where he lived was unusable because the sinks did not work, and the bathtub leaked. Gerold testified that Waller was having financial trouble and promised to reimburse him for his expenses related to working the farm when she sold her herd of cattle. They had a verbal contract in which he would take care of the farm by baling hay and feeding the cattle in exchange for room and board. He stated that he never paid rent or utilities. He explained 2 that he paid off Waller’s car note so she could buy a truck. Gerold recalled that sometimes he repaired farm equipment, including a hay spear that he broke, a bearing on the hay cutter, a fence post that he accidentally burned, and the exhaust system on the tractor that he damaged. He also added gravel to Waller’s driveway after a rainstorm caused potholes and ruts. He denied that the driveway had to be repaired because he had hauled his horses and trailer up and down it. Gerold testified that Waller wanted to rebuild her herd, and with her c