Kayser v. McClary

Citation875 F.Supp.2d 1167
Decision Date22 June 2012
Docket NumberCase No. CV 10–00119–REB.
PartiesDonald KAYSER and Mary Kay Kayser, Plaintiffs, v. Pam Jane McCLARY, Defendant.
CourtUnited States District Courts. 9th Circuit. District of Idaho

OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE

Anna E. Eberlin, Jeff R. Sykes, Wayne V. Meuleman, Meuleman Mollerup LLP, Boise, ID, for Plaintiffs.

Shelli D. Stewart, Julie Klein Fischer, Morrow & Fischer, PLLC, Nampa, ID, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER RE: POST TRIAL MOTIONS

RONALD E. BUSH, United States Magistrate Judge.

Currently pending before the Court are the following motions: (1) the Kaysers' Motion to Amend Judgment (Docket No. 148), (2) the Kaysers' Motion for an Award of Costs (Docket No. 151, Att. 1), (3) the Kaysers' Motion for an Award of Attorneys' Fees (Docket No. 152), and (4) McClary's Renewed Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law and Alternative Motion to Alter or Amend the Judgment (Docket No. 153). Having carefully reviewed the record and otherwise being fully advised, the Court enters the following Memorandum Decision and Order:

I. BACKGROUND

Through their Second Amended Complaint, the Kaysers asserted the following substantive claims against McClary: (1) breach of contract, (2) tortious interference with contract, (3) trespass, and (4) quiet title/injunction. See Second Am. Compl. (Docket No. 69). Following a five-day jury trial in October 2011, the jury found that McClary's father, James McClary, was competent at the time he executed the underlying Grant of Easement and that there was valid consideration for that same Grant of Easement. See Special Verdict Form, p. 1 (Docket No. 145). In turn, the jury also found that McClary breached the Grant of Easement, trespassed upon the easement, and tortiously interfered with Plaintiff's contract to sell their property to the Richardsons—all by constructing the at-issue fence. See id. at pp. 2–3. 1

Although finding that McClary breached the Grant of Easement and trespassed upon the easement by building the fence, the jury concluded that the Kaysers suffered no resulting damage on those claims. See id. However, the jury found that, in tortiously interfering with the Kaysers' contract to sell their property to the Richardsons, McClary damaged the Kaysers in the amount of $15,000. See id. at pp. 3–4. The jury additionally assessed punitive damages against McClary in the amount of $8,000. See id. at p. 4.

Through their Motion to Amend Judgment, the Kaysers ask that this Court quiet title to the Grant of Easement in their favor by decreeing the validity of the Grant of Easement; ordering McClary to remove the fence; and, permanently enjoining McClary from taking any action in violation of the Grant of Easement. See Mem. in Support of Mot. to Am. J., pp. 2, 5–9 (Docket No. 148, Att. 1). Separately, the Kaysers request that the punitive damages award be increased to an amount equal to their attorneys' fees. See id. at pp. 2, 9–13. In other motions, the Kaysers also seek to recover their litigation costs and attorneys' fees. See Mot. for an Award of Costs (Docket No. 151, Att. 1); Mot. for an Award of Attys' Fees (Docket No. 152).2

McClary presents no directed opposition to the Kaysers' Motion to Amend Judgment, submitting instead a “Renewed Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law or, alternatively, Motion to Alter or Amend the Judgment that naturally stands as a de facto opposition on its own. See Renewed Mot. for J. (Docket No. 153). Therein, McClary argues that the so-called Economic Loss Doctrine prohibits any recovery of economic losses under a tortious interference with contract theory and, therefore, the jury's $15,000 damage award was improper. See Mem. in Supp. of Renewed Mot. to Am. J., pp. 2, 4–10 (Docket No. 153, Att. 1). McClary further contends that the jury incorrectly found that the Grant of Easement was supported by valid consideration and, as such, argues that judgment should actually be entered in her favor. See id. at pp. 2, 10–15.

Because the Kaysers' post-trial requests for relief necessarily turn on the adequacy of the jury's verdict, McClary's Renewed Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law/Motion to Alter or Amend the Judgment will be taken up first. If the verdict remains intact, the Court will then consider the Kaysers' Motion to Amend Judgment and related Motion for an Award of Costs and Motion for an Award of Attorneys' Fees.

II. DISCUSSION

A. McClary's Renewed Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law and Alternative Motion to Alter or Amend the Judgment (Docket No. 153)

Presented orally at the close of the Kaysers' case-in-chief on October 6, 2011 and, later, through a formal filing, McClary made a Rule 50(a) Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law. See Mot. for J. as a Matter of Law (Docket No. 138). At that time, McClary made two arguments: (1) the Kaysers' breach of contract claim (and, presumably, the Kaysers' other claims that are dependent upon the existence of a contract, i.e., the Grant of Easement) fails as a matter of law due to the absence of any consideration; and (2) the Kaysers' request for punitive damages should be stricken because there is no basis to support such a claim. See id. The Court denied the motion when it was raised during trial, and the jury returned a verdict in the Kaysers' favor. McClary now moves to renew her Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law, pursuant to F.R.C.P. 50(b).

1. Legal Standard for Rule 50(b) Motion

Renewed motions for judgment as a matter of law are made pursuant to Rule 50(b), which states:

If the court does not grant a motion for judgment as a matter of law made under Rule 50(a), the court is considered to have submitted the action to the jury subject to the court's later deciding the legal questions raised by the motion. No later than 28 days after the entry of judgment—or if the motion addresses a jury issue not decided by a verdict, no later than 28 days after the jury was discharged—the movant may file a renewed motion for judgment as a matter of law and may include an alternative or joint request for a new trial under Rule 59. In ruling on the renewed motion, the court may:

(1) allow judgment on the verdict, if the jury returned a verdict;

(2) order a new trial; or

(3) direct entry of judgment as a matter of law.

Fed.R.Civ.P. 50(b).

“Pursuant to Rule 50 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a court may grant a motion for judgment as a matter of law ... against a party on a claim or issue where the party has been ‘fully heard on [that] issue during a jury trial’ and the court finds that a ‘reasonable jury would not have a legally sufficient evidentiary basis' to find for that party.” Funai Elec. Co., Ltd. v. Daewoo Elecs. Corp., 593 F.Supp.2d 1088, 1092–93 (N.D.Cal.2009) (citing Fed.R.Civ.P. 50(a) & (b)). “Where a party moves for [a motion for judgment as a matter of law] in a case that has been tried to a jury, the court must determine whether ‘there exists evidence of record upon which a jury might properly have returned a verdict in [the non-movant's] favor when the correct legal standard is applied.’ Id. (citations omitted). “The test is whether the evidence, construed in the light most favorable to the non[-]moving party, permits only one reasonable conclusion, and that conclusion is contrary to that of the jury.” White v. Ford Motor Co., 312 F.3d 998, 1010 (9th Cir.2002); see also E.E.O.C. v. Go Daddy Software, Inc., 581 F.3d 951, 961 (9th Cir.2009) (We review a jury's verdict for substantial evidence in ruling on a properly made motion under Rule 50(b) The test applied is whether the evidence permits only one reasonable conclusion, and that conclusion is contrary to the jury's verdict.”). Therefore, first, the court must determine the correct law; second, the court must review the jury's factual findings to determine whether they are supported by substantial evidence. See Funai Elec., 593 F.Supp.2d at 1092 (citation omitted). While the jury's factual findings are given “substantial deference,” the legal standards the jury applies are considered de novo to determine, as a matter of law, whether the correct standards have been used. Id. at 1092–93 (citation omitted).

A Rule 50(b) motion for judgment as a matter of law is not a freestanding motion; rather, it is a renewedRule 50(a) motion. See Go Daddy, 581 F.3d at 961. That is, under Rule 50(a), a party must make a Rule 50(a) motion for judgment as a matter of law before a case is submitted to a jury and, if the judge denies or defers ruling on the motion, and the jury then returns a verdict against the moving party, the party may renew its motion under Rule 50(b). See id. “Because it is a renewed motion, a proper post-verdict Rule 50(b) motion is limited to the grounds asserted in the pre-deliberation Rule 50(a) motion.” Id. “Thus, a party cannot properly raise arguments in its post-trial motion for judgment as a matter of law under Rule 50(b) that it did not raise in its pre-verdict Rule 50(a) motion.” Id.; see alsoFed.R.Civ.P. 50(b) Adv. Comm. Notes 1991 (“A post[-]trial motion for judgment can be granted only on grounds advanced in the pre-verdict motion.”); Fed.R.Civ.P. 50(b) Adv. Comm. Notes 2006 (“Because the Rule 50(b) motion is only a renewal of the pre[-]verdict motion, it can be granted only on grounds advanced in the pre[-]verdict motion.”).

Still, in ruling on a Rule 50(b) motion based on grounds not previously asserted in a Rule 50(a) motion, [courts] are limited to reviewing the jury's verdict for plain error, and should reverse only if such plain error would result in a manifest miscarriage of justice.’ Go Daddy, 581 F.3d at 961 (quoting Janes v. Wal–Mart Stores, Inc., 279 F.3d 883, 888 (9th Cir.2002)). ‘This exception ... permits only extraordinarily deferential review that is limited to whether there was any evidence to support the jury's verdict.’ Go Daddy, 581 F.3d at 961 (quoting Yeti by Molly, Ltd. v. Deckers Outdoor Corp., 259 F.3d 1101, 1109 (9th Cir.2001)).

2. Idaho's Economic Loss Doctrine and Claims for Claims for...

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