Montana Metal Bldgs., Inc. v. Shapiro, No. 96-661
| Docket Nº | No. 96-661 |
| Citation | 283 Mont. 471, 942 P.2d 694, 54 St.Rep. 731 |
| Case Date | July 15, 1997 |
| Court | United States State Supreme Court of Montana |
Page 694
v.
David A. SHAPIRO, Individually and d/b/a Bridger Aviation
Services, Defendant and Appellant.
Decided July 15, 1997.
Page 695
[283 Mont. 472] Robert Cameron, Gregory O. Morgan; Morgan, Cameron & Weaver, Bozeman, for Defendant and Appellant.
Steven R. Milch; Crowley, Haughey, Hanson, Toole & Dietrich, Billings, Terry B. Cosgrove, Michael E. Frank; Crowley, Haughey, Hanson, Toole & Dietrich, Helena, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
[283 Mont. 473] GRAY, Justice.
David A. Shapiro (Shapiro) appeals from the order and decree entered by the Eighteenth Judicial District Court, Gallatin County, which granted the cross-motion for summary judgment filed by Montana Metal Buildings, Inc. (MMB) and foreclosed its construction lien. We reverse.
The issue on appeal is whether the District Court erred in granting MMB's cross-motion for summary judgment.
On April 14, 1994, MMB submitted a bid proposal to Shapiro, doing business as Bridger Aviation Services, for the construction of a 60' X 80' metal building on premises leased by Shapiro at the Three Forks Airport. Shapiro accepted the bid proposal and MMB began construction. Thereafter, MMB served a Notice of Claim and Construction Lien (Lien) on Shapiro on July 31, 1995. It specified that MMB claimed a lien against Shapiro's property in the amount of $26,889.43, as the balance due for materials and labor used in the construction of the metal building.
MMB subsequently sued Shapiro in District Court, seeking judgment in the amount of $26,889.43, plus interest on that amount from July 31, 1995, and an order of foreclosure on the Lien. In his answer to the
Page 696
complaint, Shapiro denied that MMB was entitled to the relief requested and affirmatively alleged that he did not owe MMB any additional payments.Shapiro subsequently moved for summary judgment, asserting that the Lien was fatally flawed and, therefore, unenforceable as a matter of law. The bases for his motion were that the Lien insufficiently described the property to which it purported to attach and that statutory notice requirements had not been met. He filed affidavits in support of his motion. MMB opposed Shapiro's motion, contending that the Lien sufficiently described the property and that the notice provisions did not apply. MMB also filed a cross-motion for summary judgment, relying on its brief in opposition to Shapiro's motion and the affidavit of its president and requesting entry of judgment in its favor against Shapiro for the amounts prayed for in its complaint.
At the hearing on the summary judgment motions, the attorneys for both parties presented their arguments for and against the validity of MMB's Lien. Neither party presented testimony, although [283 Mont. 474] MMB entered a photograph of the Bridger Aviation Services building it had constructed for Shapiro into evidence.
The District Court subsequently entered a written order denying Shapiro's motion and granting MMB's motion. The court determined that no issues of material fact existed in the case and decreed that the amounts listed in MMB's complaint were due and owing, that they were a first and prior lien on the property and that MMB's Lien be foreclosed. The District Court certified its order as a final judgment for purposes of appeal pursuant to Rule 54(b), M.R.Civ.P., and Shapiro appeals that portion of the order which granted MMB's cross-motion for summary judgment and ordered foreclosure of the Lien.
Our standard in reviewing a district court's summary judgment ruling is de novo; we use the same Rule 56, M.R.Civ.P., criteria as the district court. Clark v. Eagle Systems, Inc. (1996), 279 Mont. 279, ----, 927 P.2d 995, 997 (citations omitted). Rule 56(c), M.R.Civ.P., provides, in pertinent part, that
[t]he judgment sought shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.
Summary judgment is an extreme remedy which should never be substituted for a trial if a material factual controversy exists. Clark, 927 P.2d at 997 (citations omitted).
The party seeking summary judgment must establish, in light of the pleadings and other evidence before the court, the absence of any genuine issue of material fact which would allow the nonmoving party to recover and entitlement to judgment as a matter of law. Clark, 927 P.2d at 997-8 (citations omitted). If, but only if, the party seeking summary judgment meets this burden, the nonmoving party must come forward with substantial and material evidence raising a genuine issue of material...
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Dorwart v. Caraway, No. 95-446
...the moving party established the absence of disputed and material fact issues. See Montana Metal Buildings, Inc. v. Shapiro (1997), 283 Mont. 471, 475, 942 P.2d 694, 696-97. Here, however, the material facts are undisputed and the parties' assertions of error relate only to the District Cou......
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Mary J. Baker Revoc. Trust v. Cenex Harvest, No. 04-333.
...Dorothy W. Stevens Revocable Trust, 2005 MT 106, ¶ 13, 327 Mont. 39, ¶ 13, 112 P.3d 972, ¶ 13; Montana Metal Buildings, Inc. v. Shapiro, 283 Mont. 471, 474, 942 P.2d 694, 696 (1997). 164 P.3d 857 DISCUSSION ¶ 18 The breadth and scope of an easement are determined by the actual terms of the ......
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Delaware v. K-Decorators, Inc., K-DECORATOR
...1998 MT 187, p 9, --- Mont. ----, p 9, 962 P.2d 590, p 9, 55 St.Rep. 762, p 9 (citing Montana Metal Buildings, Inc. v. Shapiro (1997), 283 Mont. 471, 474, 942 P.2d 694, 696). Moreover, all reasonable inferences which can be drawn from the evidence presented should be drawn in favor of the n......
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Williams v. Plum Creek Timber Co. Inc., No. DA 11–0026.
...controversy exists. Spinler v. Allen, 1999 MT 160, ¶ 16, 295 Mont. 139, 983 P.2d 348 (citing Montana Metal Buildings, Inc. v. Shapiro, 283 Mont. 471, 474, 942 P.2d 694, 696 (1997)). Fact finding is the province of the jury at trial, not that of the district court on summary judgment. “ ‘[W]......
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Dorwart v. Caraway, No. 95-446
...the moving party established the absence of disputed and material fact issues. See Montana Metal Buildings, Inc. v. Shapiro (1997), 283 Mont. 471, 475, 942 P.2d 694, 696-97. Here, however, the material facts are undisputed and the parties' assertions of error relate only to the District Cou......
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Mary J. Baker Revoc. Trust v. Cenex Harvest, No. 04-333.
...Dorothy W. Stevens Revocable Trust, 2005 MT 106, ¶ 13, 327 Mont. 39, ¶ 13, 112 P.3d 972, ¶ 13; Montana Metal Buildings, Inc. v. Shapiro, 283 Mont. 471, 474, 942 P.2d 694, 696 (1997). 164 P.3d 857 DISCUSSION ¶ 18 The breadth and scope of an easement are determined by the actual terms of the ......
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Delaware v. K-Decorators, Inc., K-DECORATOR
...1998 MT 187, p 9, --- Mont. ----, p 9, 962 P.2d 590, p 9, 55 St.Rep. 762, p 9 (citing Montana Metal Buildings, Inc. v. Shapiro (1997), 283 Mont. 471, 474, 942 P.2d 694, 696). Moreover, all reasonable inferences which can be drawn from the evidence presented should be drawn in favor of the n......
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Williams v. Plum Creek Timber Co. Inc., No. DA 11–0026.
...controversy exists. Spinler v. Allen, 1999 MT 160, ¶ 16, 295 Mont. 139, 983 P.2d 348 (citing Montana Metal Buildings, Inc. v. Shapiro, 283 Mont. 471, 474, 942 P.2d 694, 696 (1997)). Fact finding is the province of the jury at trial, not that of the district court on summary judgment. “ ‘[W]......