Gruenhagen v. Larson

• Decision Date: 08 October 1976
• Docket Number: No. 46190,46190
• Citation: 246 N.W.2d 565,310 Minn. 454
• Parties: Richard GRUENHAGEN, Respondent, v. Cedric LARSON, d.b.a. Larson Auto Wrecking, defendant and third-party plaintiff, Appellant, Gary Luverne FIFE, et al., third-party defendants.
• Court: Minnesota Supreme Court

Page 565

246 N.W.2d 565

310 Minn. 454

Richard GRUENHAGEN, Respondent, v. Cedric LARSON, d.b.a. Larson Auto Wrecking, defendant and third-party plaintiff, Appellant, Gary Luverne FIFE, et al., third-party defendants.

No. 46190.

Supreme Court of Minnesota.

Oct. 8, 1976.

Syllabus by the Court

1. Assignments of error which have not been presented to the trial court for consideration will not be reviewed on appeal.

2. The judgment in this case is sustained by the evidence and the general and punitive damages awarded were not excessive.

3. The trial court correctly denied appellant's motion to vacate the judgment on the ground of newly discovered evidence because such evidence was available and known to appellant during the trial, and furthermore, it was merely collateral, impeaching, or cumulative.

4. The inadequate representation of his interests provided by appellant, defending himself pro se, does not constitute a ground for affording him relief from the judgment pursuant to Rule 60.02, Rules of Civil Procedure.

McPherson Law Offices and Jeffrey S. Ronbeck, Crystal, for appellant.

Fallon, Green, Battis & Wolf, J. Peter Wolf and Timothy W. J. Dunn, St. Paul, for respondent.

Heard before TODD, YETKA and SCOTT, JJ., and considered and decided by the court en banc.

TODD, Justice.

In this case, respondent, Richard Gruenhagen, bought used cars from appellant, Cedric Larson, for resale. Several of the vehicles were subsequently discovered to have been stolen. Gruenhagen was obligated to repay his customers and claimed he lost his business as a result of these transactions. Gruenhagen recovered judgment for general and punitive damages. Larson moved for an order vacating the judgment and granting a new trial, based on alleged newly discovered evidence. The motion was denied. Larson appeals from the denial of his motion and from the judgment. We affirm.

Larson operated a wrecking and salvage yard. The record discloses that he would acquire stolen automobiles, replace the serial numbers and license plates with those held in his name, and resell the vehicles. Gruenhagen testified that he had no knowledge, at the time he purchased automobiles from Larson, that such vehicles had been stolen. Gruenhagen took the vehicles to his automobile repair business in Mikana, Wisconsin. There he invested money and time in reconditioning them prior to offering them for resale. Upon being notified by law enforcement officials that the vehicles were stolen property at the time he acquired them, Gruenhagen cooperated by turning over to them those stolen vehicles still in his possession and assisting in locating those which he had already sold.

Gruenhagen testified that as a result of Larson's fraudulent actions several judgments were obtained against him by persons who had purchased the stolen vehicles from him, and that he was unable to maintain employment thereafter because of levies on his wages as a result of these judgments. In addition, he testified that he was forced to sell his business since the community ceased to patronize it. Gruenhagen submitted evidence of general damages totaling $10,965.80, and also sought to recover punitive damages on the grounds that his credit and reputation were severely injured and that he suffered mental anguish. The jury returned a verdict in Gruenhagen's favor of $10,000 general damages and $3,500 punitive damages.

Larson was represented by private counsel at the time of the commencement of the action. His first answer to the complaint denied any knowledge that the automobiles in question were stolen. Later, an amended answer was filed admitting Larson's knowledge that the automobiles were stolen, but alleging that Gruenhagen also knew the automobiles were stolen property at the time he purchased them. During the interim between the original answer and the amended answer, Larson had pled guilty to Federal criminal charges of transporting and selling stolen automobiles in interstate commerce and was sentenced to the Federal prison at Sandstone, Minnesota.

While incarcerated, Larson dismissed his private counsel in this civil action, whereupon Legal Assistance to Minnesota Prisoners (LAMP) assumed his defense. LAMP attorneys negotiated a settlement of this claim to which Larson initially acceded, but Larson subsequently changed his mind and rejected the proposed settlement. LAMP thereupon withdrew as his counsel. Larson then defended himself pro se, drafting the remainder of the pleadings and pretrial motions, and representing himself at the trial which commenced after his release from prison. Larson sought to proceed in forma pauperis, but this motion was properly denied by the trial court on the basis of Larson's ownership of nonhomestead property. Larson never sought to be represented by appointed counsel or complained in any way about his self-representation.

During the trial, Larson sought and obtained a 1-day continuance in order that he might produce witnesses to testify that Gruenhagen knew at the time he purchased the automobiles from Larson that they had been stolen. One such possible witness was confined in a Federal penitentiary at the time, and Larson claims he was not aware of the procedures to be followed in securing his testimony in court, but three other witnesses he produced specifically testified that Gruenhagen was aware at the time of his purchases that the vehicles in question were 'hot' or stolen.

Following entry of judgment, Larson retained a private attorney who moved the court to vacate the judgment on the basis of newly discovered evidence. This evidence consisted of an affidavit of the aforementioned unavailable witness to the effect that Gruenhagen knew the automobiles were stolen at the time he purchased them. The trial court denied the motion for relief from the judgment, and Larson contends this motion should have been granted.

In addition, Larson raises some alleged errors for the first time during this litigation: (1) Whether the trial court's admission of evidence of Larson's Federal court conviction for the interstate transportation of stolen vehicles was erroneous and prejudicial, and (2) whether Larson is entitled to relief from the judgment under Rule 60.02(6), Rules of Civil Procedure, for the reason that he was not adequately prepared for trial because he had no professional legal advice.

The issues for our consideration are:

(1) Should Larson be permitted to raise alleged errors of law for the first time on appeal?

(2) Is the judgment sustained by the evidence?

(3) Did the trial court err in denying Larson's motion to vacate the judgment on the ground of newly discovered evidence?

(4) Should the judgment be vacated because of the inadequate defense of pro se counsel?

1. A well-established, fundamental tenet of appellate jurisdiction is that assignments of error which have not been presented to the trial court for consideration will not be reviewed on appeal. The plethora of Minnesota cases upholding this basic rule are cited in 1B Dunnell, Dig. (3 ed.) § 384(2). This court has consistently applied this general principle to preclude the initial consideration on appeal of the specific alleged error which Larson seeks to raise for the first time on the present...