Ron Shepherd Ins. Inc. v. Shields
| Decision Date | 20 September 1994 |
| Docket Number | No. 930475,930475 |
| Citation | 882 P.2d 650 |
| Parties | RON SHEPHERD INSURANCE, INC., a Utah corporation, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. William Scott SHIELDS, Jeffrey G. Shields, Donald R. Mayer, and Universal Business Insurance, Inc., a Utah corporation, Defendants and Appellees. RONALD SHEPHERD INSURANCE, INC., a Utah corporation, and Ron Shepherd, an individual, Plaintiffs and Appellants, v. William Gerald SHIELDS, Marilyn Shields, Jeffrey Shields, William Scott Shields, Jack Turner, and Universal Business Insurance, Inc., a Utah corporation, Defendants and Appellees. |
| Court | Utah Supreme Court |
Thomas R. Blonquist, Salt Lake City, for plaintiffs.
M. David Eckersley, Salt Lake City, for defendants.
Plaintiffs Ronald Lee Shepherd and Ron Shepherd Insurance, Inc. (RSI), appeal from the trial court's denial of their motion entitled "Motion for Reconsideration" and its entry of summary judgment in favor of defendants William Gerald Shields, Marilyn Shields, William Scott Shields, Jeffrey Shields, Donald R. Mayer, and Universal Business Insurance, Inc. 1 We reverse and remand.
On December 13, 1988, Shields Insurance, Inc., entered into a written agreement with a company called Insurance, Inc., 2 in which Insurance, Inc., agreed to assume $200,000 of debts owed to the creditors of Shields Insurance, Inc., in exchange for an agreement that the agents of Shields Insurance, Inc., would (1) transact no further business under the name of Shields Insurance, Inc., and (2) sign over all checks to and write all new business through Insurance, Inc. The agreement further stated:
6. Amendment. Neither this Agreement nor any term [or] provision hereof may be changed, waived, discharged or terminated orally or in any manner other than by an instrument in writing signed by the parties hereto.
The agreement was signed by William Gerald Shields, Marilyn Shields, William Scott Shields, and Jeffrey Shields on behalf of Shields Insurance, Inc., and by Ron Shepherd on behalf of Insurance, Inc.
Shortly thereafter, due to Insurance, Inc.'s inability to obtain appointments from major insurance companies to write insurance, Ron Shepherd and the Shieldses orally agreed that (1) RSI would assume Insurance, Inc.'s rights and responsibilities under the above agreement, and (2) the agents of Shields Insurance, Inc., would write all new business through RSI, instead of Insurance, Inc. From December 13, 1988, to May 26, 1990, all of the Shieldses' insurance transactions showed RSI as the "agent of record."
On May 26, 1990, William Scott Shields, Jeffrey Shields, and another insurance agent, Donald R. Mayer, removed over 600 files from the offices of RSI and transported them to Universal Business Insurance, Inc., an insurance agency established by the two Shieldses and Mayer. In response to the removal of the files, plaintiffs filed two actions against defendants: one for a writ of replevin ordering the two Shieldses and Mayer to return the files; the second for breach of contract against all defendants. On December 31, 1990, the trial court granted the writ of replevin for the pendency of the action or until further order of the court and ordered the return of the files to RSI. The two actions were subsequently consolidated.
On January 14, 1993, defendants moved for summary judgment on the ground that plaintiffs lacked standing because they were not parties to, and had no rights under, the December 13, 1988, written agreement between Insurance, Inc., and Shields Insurance, Inc. On February 26, 1993, following a hearing before Third District Judge Leslie A. Lewis, an unsigned minute entry was made which reads in pertinent part:
This case is before the court for hearing on defendant's motion for summary judgment, appearances as shown above.
The motion is argued to the court by counsel and submitted. The court being fully advised grants the motion for summary judgment, as read into the record.
On March 4, 1993, with neither a signed order granting defendants' motion nor a signed judgment entering summary judgment in favor of defendants, plaintiffs filed a "Motion for Reconsideration" of the trial court's bench ruling. Plaintiffs based their motion on Utah Rule of Civil Procedure 59, asserting that they had obtained "newly discovered evidence." 3 This new evidence was set forth in two affidavits filed with the motion: one by William Schmitt, a former employee of both RSI and Shields Insurance, Inc., and one by Ron Shepherd. Both affidavits supported plaintiffs' claim that there was an oral agreement among the parties that RSI would assume Insurance, Inc.'s rights and responsibilities under the December 1988 agreement.
Defendants filed a memorandum in opposition to plaintiffs' motion, but before the trial court could consider the matter, plaintiffs moved for the recusal of Judge Lewis on the basis of alleged feelings of animosity between Ron Shepherd and Judge Lewis's brother. In an unsigned minute entry, Judge Lewis found that she "could be impartial and fair, but to avoid even the appearance of impropriety," recused herself from the case. At no time did Judge Lewis sign an order granting defendants' motion for summary judgment or a judgment entering summary judgment in favor of defendants.
The case was subsequently reassigned to Third District Judge John A. Rokich. On September 7, 1993, following a hearing on plaintiffs' motion for reconsideration, Judge Rokich denied the same in a signed order which reads:
Plaintiffs' Motion for reconsideration of the summary judgment previously granted in this matter, came before the Court for hearing on August 24, 1992.... After reviewing the memoranda of the parties and hearing the arguments of counsel, the Court hereby enters the following:
ORDERPlaintiffs' Motion for reconsideration of the summary judgment previously entered is hereby denied and defendants are granted judgment against plaintiff.
Plaintiffs appeal, challenging (1) Judge Lewis's February 26, 1993, bench ruling granting defendants' motion for summary judgment and (2) Judge Rokich's September 7, 1993, order denying their motion for reconsideration and entering summary judgment in favor of defendants.
As an initial matter, we address plaintiffs' attempt to challenge Judge Lewis's February 26, 1993, bench ruling on defendants' motion for summary judgment. That ruling appeared only as an unsigned minute entry. It is well settled that "[a]n unsigned minute entry does not constitute an entry of judgment, nor is it a final judgment for purposes of [appeal]." Wilson v. Manning, 645 P.2d 655, 655 (Utah 1982); accord State v. Crowley, 737 P.2d 198, 198-99 (Utah 1987); South Salt Lake v. Burton, 718 P.2d 405, 406 (Utah 1986); Steadman v. Lake Hills, 20 Utah 2d 61, 63, 433 P.2d 1, 3 (1967); Hartford Accident & Indem. Co. v. Clegg, 103 Utah 414, 419, 135 P.2d 919, 922 (1943). Because Judge Lewis never signed an order granting defendants' motion for summary judgment nor entered judgment thereon, there is not a final order or judgment by Judge Lewis to be considered. The only appealable order in this case is Judge Rokich's September 7, 1993, order denying plaintiffs' motion for reconsideration and granting summary judgment in favor of defendants.
On appeal, plaintiffs argue that Judge Rokich erred in denying their motion for reconsideration of Judge Lewis's bench ruling on defendant's motion for summary judgment. 4 Defendants respond that (1) plaintiffs' motion was not properly before the trial court because plaintiffs did not meet any of the circumstances specified in rule 59 that permit relief under that rule, and (2) even considering plaintiffs' "newly discovered evidence," the trial court nonetheless correctly denied plaintiffs' motion for reconsideration.
Rule 59, according to its plain language, applies only to motions for new trials or amendments of judgments. 5 Plaintiffs' motion for reconsideration of Judge Lewis's bench ruling was therefore not properly brought under that rule since no signed order or judgment was ever entered as a consequence of that ruling. There was no order or judgment signed by Judge Lewis to be reviewed under rule 59.
It is settled law that a trial court is free to reassess its decision at any point prior to entry of a final order or judgment. Bennion v. Hansen, 699 P.2d 757, 760 (Utah 1985). In the present case, because no final order awarding defendants summary judgment was signed and entered, the matter was still pending when plaintiffs' motion for reconsideration was filed in Judge Lewis's court. She had every right to fully reassess the matter and, if deemed appropriate, to receive additional evidence. When Judge Lewis recused herself and the matter was assigned to Judge Rokich, he likewise had every right to fully review the matter.
Pursuant to his authority to hear this matter, Judge Rokich heard plaintiffs' motion for reconsideration on August 23, 1993, and on September 7, 1993, issued an order denying the same. However, that order fails to state his grounds for denying the motion. While Utah Rule of Civil Procedure 52(a) does not require findings of fact in regard to summary judgments, the rule does require a written statement by the court of the grounds for its decision. 6 This was not done in the present case. This is especially significant here because, due to the lack of a transcript, we cannot ascertain whether Judge Rokich considered all of the issues concerning defendants' motion for summary judgment or simply the "new evidence" presented by plaintiffs in their motion for reconsideration or whether Judge Rokich based his order and judgment solely on defendants' argument in their memorandum opposing plaintiffs' motion for reconsideration that our rules of civil procedure do not provide for such a motion, which, while true, is irrelevant to the case at bar. See supra note 4. Because failure to issue a statement of...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Harper v. Summit County
...of material fact exist and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See Utah R. Civ. P. 56; Ron Shepherd Ins., Inc. v. Shields, 882 P.2d 650, 654 (Utah 1994). Because an appeal from summary judgment involves only legal issues, "we do not defer to the trial court's rulings." Ro......
-
State v. Mace
...conclusions of law. Ordinarily, an unsigned minute entry lacks the finality to constitute an appealable order. Ron Shepherd Ins., Inc. v. Shields, 882 P.2d 650, 652 (Utah 1994). Logically, it would seem that an unsigned minute entry likewise could not constitute a sufficient "adverse determ......
-
Buzas Baseball, Inc. v. Salt Lake Trappers, Inc.
...grant of summary judgment. By definition, summary judgment cannot be granted where there are disputed facts. Ron Shepherd Ins., Inc. v. Shields, 882 P.2d 650, 654 (Utah 1994) ("Summary judgment is proper only when no genuine issues of material fact remain....").4 The Trappers also argue tha......
-
Bennett v. Bigelow
...of law or fact that would require the assistance of counsel.9 Utah R. Civ. P. 54(b)10 Id. (emphasis added).11 Ron Shepherd Ins. Inc. v. Shields, 882 P.2d 650, 653 n.4 (Utah 1994).12 Id.13 We decline to resolve this issue on appeal as we recognize that the trial court will be in a far better......