Roach v. Cnty. of Becker

• Citation: 962 N.W.2d 313
• Decision Date: 21 July 2021
• Docket Number: A19-2083
• Parties: Joseph ROACH, et al., Respondents, v. COUNTY OF BECKER, Defendant, Thomas Alinder, et al., Appellants, and Gary Heitkamp Construction, Inc., et al., Appellants.
• Court: Minnesota Supreme Court

962 N.W.2d 313

Joseph ROACH, et al., Respondents,

v.COUNTY OF BECKER, Defendant,Thomas Alinder, et al., Appellants,andGary Heitkamp Construction, Inc., et al., Appellants.

A19-2083

Supreme Court of Minnesota.

Filed: July 21, 2021

Denis E. Grande, Zachary P. Armstrong, DeWitt LLP, Minneapolis, Minnesota, for respondents.

Steven F. Lamb, Vogel Law Firm, Fargo, North Dakota, for appellants Thomas Alinder, et al.

Michael J. Morley, Victoria A. Thoreson, Morley Law Firm, Grand Forks, North Dakota, for appellants Gary Heitkamp Construction, Inc., et al.

OPINION

ANDERSON, Justice.

This dispute involves the violation of a Pelican River Watershed District rule during the construction of a home on lakeside property owned by appellants Thomas and Sandra Alinder, which resulted in damage to property owned by their neighbors, respondents Joseph and Jennifer Roach. Appellants Gary Heitkamp and Gary Heitkamp Construction, Inc. (collectively Heitkamp) built the Alinder home.

The Roaches brought nuisance, negligence per se, and trespass claims against the Alinders and Heitkamp. After years of litigation, a jury trial was held to address certain unresolved issues, primarily damages. The jury awarded the Roaches damages, including $300,000 in future damages. The Roaches moved for attorney fees, which the district court denied based on the conclusion that the watershed statute under which fees were sought, Minn. Stat. § 103D.545, subd. 3 (2020), did not apply. In response to posttrial motions by the Alinders and Heitkamp, the district court also conditionally ordered a new trial unless the Roaches accepted a remittitur of the future damages award to zero.

The Roaches accepted the remittitur on future damages, then appealed several issues to the court of appeals, including the denial of attorney fees. The Alinders and Heitkamp argued that the Roaches’ acceptance of the remittitur barred the appeal. The court of appeals determined that the Roaches’ appeal was not barred by acceptance of the remittitur and held that the Roaches could seek attorney fees under Minn. Stat. § 103D.545, subd. 3. We agree with the conclusion that the Roaches are permitted to appeal issues separate and distinct from the subject of the remittitur order, but we conclude that attorney fees are not authorized under the statute. We therefore affirm in part and reverse in part the decision of the court of appeals.

FACTS

The Roaches own property on the shoreline of Lake Melissa in Becker County. The Alinders own adjacent property, also on the shoreline of Lake Melissa, directly south of the Roaches’ property. In 2003, the Alinders applied to Becker County for a permit to construct a home on their property and hired Gary Heitkamp Construction, Inc. for the project. In 2004, the Roaches filed a zoning complaint with Becker County, asserting that fill was improperly added to the Alinders’ property during construction, raising the elevation of the property and increasing water runoff to neighboring properties. No permit to add fill was obtained, in violation of Becker County zoning ordinances and Pelican River Watershed District rules.

In 2005, during ongoing zoning proceedings, the Roaches began litigation against Becker County, the Alinders, and Heitkamp. This litigation has a lengthy procedural history that includes multiple appeals to the court of appeals and a significant volume of motion practice.¹ We include only those facts that are directly relevant to the issues before us. In the litigation, the Roaches sought declaratory relief, petitioning for a writ of mandamus directing Becker County to enforce the zoning ordinances by compelling the Alinders to remove the added fill; they also sought damages from Becker County for a claim of inverse condemnation. The Roaches brought nuisance, negligence per se, and trespass claims against the Alinders and Heitkamp.

In 2015, the district court bifurcated the matter and held a bench trial on the declaratory relief claim. The court found that the Alinders failed to obtain the required permits from Becker County and from the Pelican River Watershed District for the placement and movement of fill on their property during the construction of the home. The court ordered Becker County to enforce its zoning ordinance with the consultation and participation of the Pelican River Watershed District. The court required certain restoration work on the Alinders’ property but concluded that the Alinders were not required to remove the completed home.

In 2017, the district court partially granted a motion for summary judgment brought by the Roaches. The court held that the Roaches had sufficiently proven the elements of nuisance and negligence per se against the Alinders.

In 2019, the remaining issues, including damages, were addressed at a jury trial—the events that followed paved the way for this appeal. The jury awarded the Roaches $564,800 in damages, including $300,000 for future damages. Following the trial, the Roaches moved for attorney fees under a statute that permits fees to be awarded in a dispute that arises from or is related to a rule made by a watershed district; the Roaches also moved for costs and disbursements and preverdict interest. In separate motions, the Alinders and Heitkamp challenged the jury's future damages award and requested a remittitur of those damages or, in the alternative, a new trial. The Roaches moved for judgment as a matter of law as to their right to preverdict and postverdict interest.

In an order addressing the various posttrial motions, the district court denied the Roaches’ motion for attorney fees on the basis that the statute under which the Roaches sought fees, Minn. Stat. § 103D.545, subd. 3, "is not intended to apply to a situation like this case" because a watershed district was never a party and "it would be a stretch" to say that this dispute was related to a rule made by a watershed district. The court granted in part the Roaches’ motion for costs and disbursements, reducing as unreasonable the charges from one expert. The court also granted in part the Roaches’ motion for preverdict interest but determined that the period of accrual should end in 2015 when the court bifurcated the proceedings.

The district court also conditionally granted the motions for a new trial brought by Heitkamp and the Alinders on the ground that the Roaches failed to prove future damages to a reasonable certainty. The court ordered a "new trial on the issue of damages" unless the Roaches "accept[ed] a remittitur of the future damages award from $300,000 to $0.00 and of costs and disbursements from $93,213.08 to $74,574.20." The court calculated the final award as $514,885.77, not including postjudgment interest.² If the Roaches did not accept the remittitur, the court would order a new trial "on all issues" because the court could not determine whether the future damages award was attributed to the completed house or to the lake lot.

The Roaches petitioned the court of appeals for discretionary review of the district court's order conditionally granting a new trial unless the remittitur was accepted, which the court of appeals denied. Roach v. County of Becker , No. A19-1445, Order at 4 (Minn. App. filed Oct. 8, 2019). The Roaches ultimately accepted the remittitur, and the district court filed an amended and final order for judgment. The order specified that the final award for the Roaches was $514,885.77, which included costs and disbursements as well as preverdict interest.³ The order also repeated that no attorney fees were awarded to any party.

The Roaches appealed from the final judgment, challenging the district court's rulings on attorney fees, preverdict interest, and several other issues not relevant to the matters before us. The court of appeals affirmed in part and reversed in part. Roach v. County of Becker , No. A19-2083, 2020 WL 4281003, at *1 (Minn. App. July 27, 2020). The court of appeals first concluded that the appeal was proper despite acceptance of the remittitur because the record contained "no evidence that the Roaches intentionally relinquished any known right to appeal" and "the [district court's] order did not specify that acceptance of the remittitur" would operate as a waiver of their right to appeal other issues. Id. at *3. The court of appeals next held that the district court erred by limiting the time period for accrual of the Roaches’ preverdict interest because there was no basis in Minnesota law to support a reduction in the accrual timeframe. Id. at *4. Finally, as is relevant here, the court of appeals held that section 103D.545, subdivision 3, authorized attorney fees in this case because "the statute broadly and unambiguously" allows fees in any civil case that "has a connection, association, or logical relationship" to a watershed rule and "[t]his civil action relates to a watershed-district rule." Id. at *6–7. The court of appeals remanded for a determination by the district court of whether attorney fees are appropriate under the circumstances here. Id. at *7.

Heitkamp and the Alinders subsequently sought review in separate petitions. We granted review of two issues.

ANALYSIS

The first issue presented by this appeal is whether the Roaches could appeal after accepting the district court's remittitur in lieu of a new trial. The second issue presented is whether the court of appeals correctly concluded that Minn. Stat. § 103D.545, subd. 3, authorizes attorney fees here.

I.

We first address whether the Roaches could pursue an appeal after accepting the remittitur that reduced the future damages award to zero. The appeal challenged numerous orders of the district court, including the reduction in the period of accrual for preverdict interest and the denial of attorney fees.

Remittitur is relief ordered by a district court after determining that a jury award was excessive. See Daly v. McFarland , 812 N.W.2d 113, 127 (Minn. 2012). The objective of remittitur " ‘is to avoid the delay and...