Marina Management Serv. v.Vessel My Girls

• Decision Date: 29 March 2000
• Docket Number: 99-7018,No. 99-7017,99-7017
• Citation: 202 F.3d 315
• Parties: (D.C. Cir. 2000) Marina Management Services, Inc.,and Lisa Petti Ellis, Appellants/Cross-Appellees v. Vessel My Girls, and John N. Singleton, Appellees/Cross-Appellants
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — District of Columbia Circuit

Page 315

202 F.3d 315 (D.C. Cir. 2000)

Marina Management Services, Inc.,and Lisa Petti Ellis, Appellants/Cross-Appellees v. Vessel My Girls, and John N. Singleton, Appellees/Cross-Appellants

No. 99-7017, 99-7018

United States Court of Appeals FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT

Argued December 2, 1999

Decided February 11, 2000

Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc Denied March 29, 2000

Appeals from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia(No. 97cv00423)

Lisa P. Ellis argued the cause and filed the briefs for appellants/cross-appellees.

Thomas J. Whalen argued the cause and was on the briefs for appellees/cross-appellants.

Before: Edwards, Chief Judge, Rogers and Tatel, Circuit Judges.

Opinion for the Court filed by Circuit Judge Rogers.

Rogers, Circuit Judge:

In this appeal and cross appeal from the grant of summary judgment to Marina Management Services, Inc., and the dismissal of John N. Singleton's counterclaims, we confront a long-pending dispute arising from efforts to collect money due by Singleton for the lease of a boat slip in the James Creek Marina in the Southwest quadrant of the District of Columbia. Regrettably, various settlement efforts did not succeed, and our review results in a remand of the case to the district court. The district court previously addressed Singleton's contention that the original plaintiff, James Creek Marina, was not the real party in interest under Fed. R. Civ. P. 17(a). James Creek Marina v. Vessel My Girls, 964 F. Supp. 20, 21 (D.D.C. 1997). Notwithstanding the filing of an amended complaint with a new plaintiff, Rule 17(a) concerns remain because the record does not indicate that the new plaintiff--"Marina Management Services, Inc., as agent for MIF Realty, LP"--is the real party in interest or authorized to sue on behalf of the real party in interest; hence the district court erred in dismissing Singleton's motion to dismiss the amended complaint under Rule 17(a). In addition, the district court's finding of a bad faith misrepresentation by Marina Management is unsupported by evidence sufficient for imposition of a sanction of a $20,000.00 reduction in the attorneys' fee award. Accordingly, although the district court did not err in finding that Singleton's contract extended beyond June 1996, or abuse its discretion in dismissing Singleton's counterclaims, we affirm in part and reverse in part.

I.

John N. Singleton entered into an Annual Boat Storage License Agreement ("License Agreement") to lease a slip for his boat at the James Creek Marina. The License Agreement, which was signed by Singleton and the manager of the James Creek Marina, was for the period April 1, 1994 to March 31, 1995, and was extended by the parties. Under the License Agreement, Singleton, the Licensee, agreed to make monthly payments of $181.50 for the boat slip, and by the terms of § 19, upon 15 days' delinquency of a monthly installment, he would become, at the Licensor's option, "subject to a day-to-day license at the Transient (Daily) Rate posted in the Marina's offices, with such changes to take effect automatically and without further notice to Licensee."The transient rate charges were substantially higher than the monthly payment.¹ It is undisputed that Singleton became delinquent in paying his slip fees as early as 1995.²

On March 3, 1997, the James Creek Marina filed a verified complaint under 46 U.S.C. § 31342(a)³ for a lien against Singleton's boat and a money judgment of $26,015.67, plus future daily lease charges, marina fees, legal fees, and costs. Exhibit C to the complaint reflected as of February 28, 1997, both past due monthly slip fees and transient rate charges. By ex parte order, the district court directed the arrest of Singleton's boat. After a hearing, the court set the bond at $20,542.67 (plus 12% for interest and court costs), "based only upon the unpaid monthly fees and subsequent unpaid transient fees." When the district court became aware that Exhibit C did not reflect the invoices that the marina had actually sent to Singleton before the lawsuit was filed, the court reduced the bond to $6,728.17 (plus 12% for interest and court costs) and reduced the attorneys' fee award under the License Agreement by $20,000.00 as a sanction against Marina Management for having mislead the court. In the meantime, Singleton filed five counterclaims, which the district court dismissed as harassing and designed to delay resolution of the litigation.

We address in Part II, the real party in interest claim and the contract issues, in Part III, the sanction for misleading the court, and in Part IV, the dismissal of Singleton's counterclaims.

II.

Following the district court's ruling that the James Creek Marina was not the real party in interest under Fed. R. Civ. P. 17(a),⁴ see James Creek Marina, 964 F. Supp. at 22, an amended verified complaint was filed in which the plaintiff was identified as "Marina Management Services, Inc., as agent for MIF Realty, L.P., d/b/a James Creek Marina."Singleton renewed his motion to dismiss the complaint on several grounds. The district court denied the motion by summary order. On cross appeal, Singleton contends that the district court erred in denying his motion and in granting summary judgment to Marina Management on the debt because an agent cannot sue for a disclosed principal, and there is no evidence that MIF Realty, LP had acquired the contract rights between Singleton and the James Creek Marina for any preexisting debt, or that there was an outstanding contract after June 1996.

A.

Rule 17(a) protects a defendant against a subsequent claim for the same debt underlying a previously entered judgment. See, e.g., United Fed'n of Postal Clerks, AFL-CIO v. Watson, 409 F.2d 462, 470-71 (D.C. Cir. 1969). That understanding was reflected in the district court's opinion addressing Singleton's motion to dismiss the original complaint under Rule 17(a). See James Creek Marina, 964 F. Supp. at 22. Although there is a lack of consensus in the case law regarding whether an "agent" authorized to sue based solely on a power of attorney is a real party in interest under Rule 17(a),⁵ the operative question is whether the plaintiff "possesses the right to be enforced." Best v. Kelly, 39 F.3d 328, 329 (D.C. Cir. 1994) (quoting Charles A. Wright, Law of Federal Courts 490 (1954)); see also Joyner v. F & B Enterprises, Inc., 448 F.2d 1185, 1186 (D.C. Cir. 1971); ⁶A Wright, Miller, and Kane, Fed. Prac. and Proc. Civ.2d §§ 1545, 1553.

As the caption of the amended complaint and the record appears to show, the stakeholder vis-a-vis Singleton's boat slip debt is MIF Realty, LP.6 Marina Management purports only to be acting as an agent for MIF Realty, LP, which as principal allegedly "possesses the right to be enforced."Best, 39 F.3d at 329. Assuming MIF Realty, LP is the stakeholder for Singleton's debt, there is nothing in the record to show that Marina Management is authorized to prosecute the instant lawsuit. Under the terms of a 1997 operating agreement, MIF Realty, LP authorized Marina Management to enforce license obligations of James Creek Marina tenants and "at the direction of Owner take such actions as may be necessary to effectuate Owner's rights under any such license agreement." The operating agreement further provides that "[o]perator acknowledges that, except as otherwise expressly provided for herein, the initiation and prosecution of lawsuits shall require the prior written consent of Owner...." Id. p 2.5. The record provides no evidence of written consent by MIF Realty, LP for Marina Management to sue Singleton for his boat slip debts. Neither is there an affidavit from MIF Realty, LP indicating consent or ratification of this lawsuit. See, e.g., Associated Ins. Mgmt. Corp. v. Arkansas Gen. Agency, Inc., 149 F.3d 794, 797 (8th Cir. 1998) (citing Fed. R. Civ. P. 17(a)). Nor is there a statement in the judgment of the district court that would protect Singleton against a subsequent claim by MIF Realty, LP for the debt that Marina Management seeks to recover. Cf. Watson, 409 F.2d at 470-71.

Accordingly, we reverse the denial of Singleton's motion to dismiss the amended complaint for noncompliance with Rule 17(a), and remand the case to allow Marina Management to supplement the record or file a second amended complaint.

B.

Singleton also contends that the district court erred in granting summary judgment to Marina Management on the debt because there is no evidence that MIF Realty, LP had acquired the contract rights for any preexisting indebtedness for the boat slip and no evidence of an outstanding contract between Singleton and the real party in interest after the License Agreement expired in June 1996. Marina Management, in turn, contends that the district court erred in denying its claim for transient rate charges. Our review of the grant of summary judgment is de novo, viewing the record in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party to determine whether there is a genuine issue of material fact as would make summary judgment inappropriate. See Aka v. Washington Hosp. Ctr., 156 F.3d 1284, 1288 (D.C. Cir. 1998) (en banc).

As to the past due slip fees, Singleton maintains that there is no evidence that either Marina Management or MIF Realty, LP was the party to whom he is indebted for the slip fees, or that MIF Realty, LP had acquired the past debts of the James Creek Marina. In his motion to dismiss the amended complaint, Singleton argued that there was no evidence that MIF Realty purchased debts owed Washington, D.C. Associates or that Washington D.C. Associates assigned MIF Realty, LP the rights in its contracts with Singleton. In opposing the motion, Marina Management submitted Exhibit D purporting to list the owners and managers of James Creek Marina since September 1988.⁷ Further, Marina Management recited its efforts to provide Singleton's attorney with direct access to documents and persons who...