MOTORSPORTS RACING PLUS v. ARCTIC CAT SALES
Decision Date | 19 November 2002 |
Docket Number | No. C4-02-530.,C4-02-530. |
Citation | 653 N.W.2d 204 |
Parties | MOTORSPORTS RACING PLUS, INC., Appellant, v. ARCTIC CAT SALES, INC., Respondent, Polaris Sales, Inc., Respondent, Bombardier Motor Corporation of America, a Delaware corporation, Respondent, Yamaha Motor Corporation, a California corporation, Respondent, International Snowmobile Racing, a Wisconsin corporation, Respondent, International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association, a Michigan corporation, Respondent, XYZ Corporation, ABC Partnership, John Doe and Mary Roe, whose names are unknown to Plaintiff. |
Court | Minnesota Court of Appeals |
Wood R. Foster, Jr., Jordan M. Lewis, Steven J. Weintraut, Vickie L. Loher, Siegel, Brill, Greupner, Duffy & Foster, P.A., Minneapolis, MN, for appellant.
Annamarie A. Daley, Gary L. Wilson, Christopher A. Seidl, Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, L.L.P., Minneapolis, MN, for respondent Arctic Cat Sales, Inc.
George W. Soule, Bowman & Brooke, L.L.P., Minneapolis, MN, for respondent Polaris Sales, Inc. Robert A. Schwartzbauer, Paul J. Robbennolt, Dorsey & Whitney, L.L.P., Minneapolis, MN, for respondent Bombardier Motor Corporation of America.
James L. Volling, Jason K. Walbourn, Jessica R.F. Grassley, Faegre & Benson, L.L.P., Minneapolis, MN, for respondent Yamaha Motor Corporation.
Stephen C. Rathke, Kay N. Hunt, Stacy A. DeKalb, Lommen, Nelson, Cole & Stageberg, P.A., Minneapolis, MN, for respondent International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association.
Considered and decided by KALITOWSKI, Presiding Judge, KLAPHAKE, Judge, and HARTEN, Judge.
Appellant brought both antitrust and business tort claims against respondents, who challenged appellant's standing to assert the claims. The district court found that appellant had standing and granted respondents summary judgment on the claims. Appellant challenges the summary judgment; respondents notice review of the determination that appellant had standing. Because we conclude that appellant did not have standing to bring its claims against respondents, we reverse the district court determination that appellant had standing, vacate as moot the summary judgment for respondents on other grounds, and remand to the district court with directions to order summary judgment for respondents on the issue of standing.
Appellant Motorsports Racing Plus, Inc. (MRP), a Minnesota corporation, was formerly in the business of organizing and promoting snowmobile races. In June 1998, after two MRP employees decided to leave and form a rival corporation, World Snowmobile Association (WSA), MRP's owner decided to sell its assets to WSA.
In the "Agreement To Acquire Snowmobile Racing Program," (the Agreement) these assets were defined as:
The Snowmobile Racing Program, and all right to promote, sanction and operate MRP race dates; information regarding racers, officials, sponsors and site officials, including all electronic database information; all permits, all sponsor rights and any intangibles and goodwill related to the Snowmobile Racing Program.
"Excluded Assets" were "[MRP]'s cash, the Receivables, and the specific assets listed on Exhibit B attached hereto." The list of assets provided that MRP's owner would keep only a Suburban, and the owner testified that, after the sale, MRP's property "might be some file cabinets or office furniture."
Almost two years after the sale, in June 2000, MRP brought this action involving antitrust and common law claims against respondents, snowmobile manufacturers Arctic Cat Sales, Inc., Polaris Sales, Inc., Bombardier, Inc., and Yamaha Motor Corporation, and the International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association, a Michigan corporation they formed.
Respondents moved for summary judgment, alleging as a threshold matter that appellant lacked standing to bring the action. The district court found that appellant had standing, and respondents now seek review of that finding. Appellant challenges summary judgment for respondents on the antitrust and common law claims.
Did MRP have standing to bring this action against respondents?
Respondents contend that MRP lacked standing to sue them. Whether a party has standing to sue is a question of law, which this court reviews de novo. Schiff v. Griffin, 639 N.W.2d 56, 59 (Minn. App.2002).
To continue reading
Request your trial-
In re Linerboard Antitrust Litigation
...Milk Products Antitrust Litig., 195 F.3d 430 (8th Cir.1999) (applying Minnesota law) and Motorsports Racing Plus, Inc. v. Arctic Cat Sales, Inc. ("Motorsports I"), 653 N.W.2d 204 (Minn.Ct.App.2002). The Court does not agree with FAC's interpretation of Minnesota law. The Minnesota Supreme C......
-
Motorsports Racing Plus v. Arctic Cat Sales
...facts on causation of antitrust injury was a decision on the merits, not on standing. See Motorsports Racing Plus, Inc. v. Arctic Cat Sales, Inc., 653 N.W.2d 204, 205-06 (Minn.App.2002) (MRP). We will adopt the same nomenclature, using the term "standing" to refer to the argument that MRP a......