Behrens v. Gateway Court, LLC

• Decision Date: 27 September 2013
• Docket Number: No. 31,439.,31,439.
• Citation: 311 P.3d 822
• Parties: Elizabeth BEHRENS, Plaintiff–Appellant, v. GATEWAY COURT, LLC, Defendant–Appellee.
• Court: Court of Appeals of New Mexico

311 P.3d 822

Elizabeth BEHRENS, Plaintiff–Appellant,

v.GATEWAY COURT, LLC, Defendant–Appellee.

No. 31,439.

Court of Appeals of New Mexico.

July 31, 2013.

Certiorari Granted, Sept. 27, 2013, No. 34,300.

Law Office of Barry Green, Barry Green, Santa Fe, NM, for Appellant.

Riley, Shane & Keller, P.A., Courtenay L. Keller, Albuquerque, NM, for Appellee.

OPINION

WECHSLER, Judge.

{1} Plaintiff Elizabeth Behrens appeals from a judgment entered in her favor against Defendant Gateway Court, LLC, following a jury trial held on the issue of damages. The jury awarded Plaintiff compensatory damages for the fair market value of personal property destroyed in a fire that occurred at her home. We hold that the district court (1) did not err in determining that Plaintiff could not seek loss of use damages for completely destroyed property; (2) did not err in determining that Plaintiff was not entitled to punitive damages; and (3) did not abuse its discretion in not awarding prejudgment interest to Plaintiff. Accordingly, we affirm the district court on these issues. However, the district court did abuse its discretion by not utilizing the lodestar method or any objective analysis of the facts to determine Plaintiff's reasonable attorney fees. Accordingly, we reverse the district court's award of attorney fees and remand for recalculation.

BACKGROUND

{2} Plaintiff appeals from a judgment entered in her favor against Defendant following a jury trial held on the issue of damages. The jury awarded Plaintiff $25,000 in compensatory damages. This case arose from a fire that destroyed a mobile home that Plaintiff rented from Defendant.

{3} Defendant owns and operates a mobile home park. Plaintiff began renting mobile home units from Defendant in 2003, and, in 2007, she signed a new one-year lease for one of the units. On March 2, 2008, Plaintiff left her mobile home to go to a friend's home. While there, Plaintiff received a telephone call informing her that her mobile home was on fire. Plaintiff rushed back to her home and found that the fire had destroyed the home and its contents. The Alamogordo Department of Public Safety investigated the fire and determined that it was caused by an electrical short in the wiring of an old air conditioner that had been left under the porch of the mobile home when Defendant installed or had a new air conditioner installed in the mobile home.

{4} Plaintiff filed a complaint against Defendant, alleging five violations of the Uniform Owner–Resident Relations Act (UORRA), NMSA 1978, Sections 47–8–1 to –52 (1975, as amended through 2007). In her complaint, Plaintiff alleged that Defendant breached several provisions of the UORRA: (a) failing to substantially comply with the requirements of the applicable minimum housing codes materially affecting health and safety; (b) failing to make repairs and do whatever was necessary to put and keep the premises in a safe condition as provided by applicable law and rules and regulations; (c) failing to keep common areas of the premises in a safe condition; (d) failing to maintain in good and safe working order and condition electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and other facilities and appliances; and (e) refusing to provide a written rental agreement upon request. In addition to compensatory damages, Plaintiff alleged that Defendant's conduct was willful, wanton, malicious, reckless, oppressive, grossly negligent, fraudulent, in bad faith, and done with utter disregard for the rights of Plaintiff, and, therefore, she sought punitive damages.

{5} Defendant originally filed a motion to dismiss Plaintiff's punitive damages claim, arguing that the complaint alleged only negligent conduct on Defendant's part in causing the fire and that the punitive damages claim was based on deceptive post-fire conduct regarding a cover up of the cause of the fire, an event that was not directly related to the harm suffered by Plaintiff in this case. Plaintiff argued that the motion to dismiss was untimely under Rule 1–012(B) NMRA because Defendant had already filed a responsive pleading to the complaint, that the complaint stated a claim under New Mexico notice pleading standards, or, in the alternative, that the motion should be treated as a motion for summary judgment and that it was premature because Plaintiff was still conducting discovery regarding the cause of the fire. The district court granted the motion, dismissing Plaintiff's punitive damages claim, but did so without prejudice.

{6} Plaintiff filed a motion for reconsideration. Along with her motion for reconsideration, Plaintiff submitted an affidavit and curriculum vitae of a proposed expert witness, William C. Richardson, an electrical contractor and journeyman electrician, as well as deposition testimony from the owner/manager Shirley Fambrough. Plaintiff proposed that Richardson would testify that: (1) his investigation of the fire was hampered by Defendant's destruction of evidence; (2) he concluded that Defendant violated eight provisions of the New Mexico electrical code and the mobile home's electrical wiring did not conform to the specific article relating to mobile homes; (3) any licensed electrician working on the mobile home would have recognized the safety violations and would have corrected the electrical problems and prevented the fire; (4) a licensed electrician was required to install the new air conditioner under the electrical code; and (5) if a licensed electrician would have installed the new air conditioner, the electrician would have disconnected the old air conditioner and would have prevented the fire that destroyed Plaintiff's property. Plaintiff claims that Fambrough's deposition testimony showed a “cavalier attitude” toward Plaintiff's safety and compliance with the electrical code. Plaintiff cited deposition testimony from Fambrough that she (1) knew that electricians had to be licensed in New Mexico but did not believe that New Mexico law required a licensed electrician to install the new air conditioner because “it's not that complicated”; (2) did not ask anyone whether New Mexico law required a licensed electrician to install the new air conditioner; (3) did not know which of Defendant's employees installed the new air conditioner or whether they were licensed electricians; and (4) misled Plaintiff's counsel about who installed the new air conditioner and the cause of the fire and then failed to retract her statements concerning the identity of this person when she became aware of this misinformation. Plaintiff contended that these facts uncovered during discovery presented issues of material fact as to whether Defendant's actions in causing the fire were malicious, willful, reckless, wanton, fraudulent, or in bad faith. The district court denied the motion for reconsideration.

{7} Additionally, Defendant filed a motion for summary judgment asking that the district court grant judgment against itself on the issue of liability and stipulating to two of Plaintiff's UORRA counts. In its motion, Defendant admitted that it installed a new air conditioner on the mobile home in January 2005, it failed to disconnect the electrical wiring on the old air conditioner from the breaker, and left the old air conditioner under the porch of the mobile home. Defendant further admitted that its failure to disconnect the wiring was a breach of ordinary care and that it breached its duty to keep the premises in a safe condition and to maintain the premises in a good and safe working condition pursuant to Section 47–8–20(A)(2), (4). Defendant therefore stipulated that it was liable for damages caused by the fire that are recoverable under New Mexico law, including the fair market value of Plaintiff's personal property lost in the fire. The district court granted the motion for summary judgment on liability and entered a finding of liability against Defendant. The only issue left for trial was the amount of Plaintiff's damages.

{8} Prior to the trial, Defendant filed an objection to Plaintiff's exhibits, arguing that Plaintiff seemed to be seeking the rental costs for temporary replacement of personal possessions and that allowing such loss of use damages would be a duplication of her damages. Defendant's motion noted that Plaintiff's proposed exhibits included print-outs from a rental company's website for renting personal property, including items such as a television, a desktop computer, a stove, a refrigerator, a dining table, chairs, a television console, a mattress set, a washer/dryer, a recliner, coffee and end tables, and a surround sound system. Defendant argued that Plaintiff's claim for loss of use damages is not supported by New Mexico law. Defendant also argued that Plaintiff had not pled or previously indicated that she would be seeking loss of use damages for her personal property contained in the mobile home, noting that the complaint only states a claim for the “loss of use of [Plaintiff's] rental home and the costs of securing comparable housing.” The district court ruled in Defendant's favor, determining that loss of use damages are only available for reparable property and not wholly damaged property under New Mexico law.

{9} After a jury trial, the jury awarded Plaintiff $25,000 in compensatory damages. Plaintiff appeals, arguing that the district court erred in (1) denying Plaintiff's claim for loss of use damages, (2) granting Defendant's motion to dismiss Plaintiff's claim for punitive damages, (3) refusing to award prejudgment interest, and (4) determining the amount of attorney fees awarded to Plaintiff.

LOSS OF USE DAMAGES

{10} Plaintiff argues that the district court committed reversible error by denying her proposed jury instruction and claims for loss of use damages. Plaintiff notes that the uniform jury instructions and New Mexico case law allow for loss of use damages for reparable property and asserts that no distinction should be made...