Darby v. SWENSON, INC.

2009 ND 103, 767 N.W.2d 147, 2009 N.D. LEXIS 111, 2009 WL 1677809
CourtNorth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedJune 17, 2009
Docket20080215
StatusPublished
Cited by31 cases

This text of 2009 ND 103 (Darby v. SWENSON, INC.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering North Dakota Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Darby v. SWENSON, INC., 2009 ND 103, 767 N.W.2d 147, 2009 N.D. LEXIS 111, 2009 WL 1677809 (N.D. 2009).

Opinion

MARING, Justice.

[¶ 1] Craig Darby appeals a district court’s summary judgment in favor of Swenson Inc. We affirm, concluding the district court did not err in granting summary judgment because even if Darby had been permitted to amend his complaint, his added claim would not survive a motion for summary judgment and would have been futile. We further conclude the district court did not err in dismissing Darby’s complaint with prejudice.

I

[¶ 2] Craig Darby purchased a motor home from Swenson Inc. for $243,845. Per Darby’s instructions, at approximately midnight on July 6, 2006, at the Canadian border, Swenson delivered the motor home to Darby, and Darby signed the purchase documents for the motor home. Included in the purchase documents were documents entitled “Warranty Rights,” “Ac-knowledgement of Receipt of Motorized Warranty/Product Information,” “Holiday Rambler Motorhome 2006 Limited Warranty,” and “Roadmaster Chassis 2006 Limited Warranty.”

[¶ 3] Darby sued Swenson on February 15, 2007, requesting relief under N.D.C.C. *149 § 51-07-18, North Dakota’s “Lemon Law.” Darby alleged the motor home was defective and Swenson had not replaced or repaired the motor home. In its answer, Swenson denied Darby’s claims, raised affirmative defenses, and specifically asserted “that it reasonably, appropriately, timely, and conspicuously disclaimed any and all express and implied warranties, including the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose.”

[¶ 4] Swenson moved for summary judgment on April 8, 2008, arguing the motor home was not a vehicle covered under N.D.C.C. § 51-07-18. Swenson argued N.D.C.C. § 51-07-18 only applied to “passenger motor vehicles,” the statute’s definition specifically excluded “house cars,” and Darby’s motor home met the statutory definition of a house car under N.D.C.C. § 39-01-01(27). Swenson also argued the statute only provided a remedy against vehicle manufacturers and did not provide a remedy against vehicle dealers. Swenson attached an affidavit from a Swenson employee, stating Swenson did not manufacture motor homes. Swenson also attached a certificate of origin for Darby’s vehicle, showing the vehicle was manufactured by Monaco Coach Corporation.

[¶ 5] Darby responded to Swenson’s motion for summary judgment, arguing the motor home was a recreational vehicle, not a house car, and Darby should be allowed to use N.D.C.C. § 51-07-18 against a vehicle dealer. Darby claimed his original complaint was “sufficiently broad to also include the possible problems under both express and implied warranty” and Swenson’s disclaimers were unconscionable. Darby also moved for leave to amend his complaint to include claims for breach of express warranties and implied warranty of fitness and marketability and a brief in support of the motion. In his proposed amended complaint, Darby acknowledged signing the disclaimers of warranties, but claimed, “[tjhere was no discussion of what the documents were as he was in a hurry to get the vehicle into Canada” and “[Darby] relied on [Swen-son’s] promises and the superior knowledge of the employee of Swensons [sic] Inc.”

[¶ 6] In response to Swenson’s motion for summary judgment, Darby asserted that an amended complaint was needed to ensure that all issues were raised, and the initial complaint was sufficiently broad to also include warranty claims. Darby stated, “not wishing to have this case tied up in technicalities!,] we are making a motion to amend the complaint to make sure that there is no question that the other issues are expressed as well as the lemon law.”

[¶ 7] Swenson replied in support of summary judgment, arguing that Darby did not plead any claims beyond his claim under N.D.C.C. § 51-07-18. However, Swenson argued the newly-added claims in the proposed amended complaint also had no basis in fact or law because the purchase documents showed Swenson disclaimed all implied warranties and made no express warranties when it sold Darby the motor home. Swenson also opposed Darby’s motion for leave to amend the complaint, arguing the amended claims of action could not survive summary judgment.

[¶ 8] The district court held a hearing on the motion for summary judgment and the motion for leave to amend on June 3, 2008. Darby did not introduce any affidavits or deposition testimony in opposition to the summary judgment motion. The district court granted Swenson’s motion for summary judgment, dismissed Darby’s action with prejudice, and denied Darby leave to amend his complaint. The district court concluded N.D.C.C. ch. 51-07 did not *150 apply to the motor home purchased and, even if the motor home had been a passenger vehicle under the statute, Darby could not have prevailed in his claim against Swenson because Swenson did not manufacture the motor home. The court also rejected Darby’s motion for leave to amend. The district court concluded N.D.C.C. § 51-07-20 is an exclusive remedy and precludes any further relief.

[¶ 9] On appeal, Darby argues he should have been permitted to amend his complaint, summary judgment was not an appropriate remedy under the amended complaint, and the district court erred in dismissing the complaint with prejudice.

II

[¶ 10] Darby argues the district court abused its discretion in denying his motion to amend the complaint because the motion was timely and Swenson did not claim the proposed amended complaint would cause it inconvenience. Darby contends he could have proven Swenson’s disclaimers were unconscionable.

[¶ 11] Rule 15(a), N.D.R.Civ.P., provides that once a responsive pleading has been served, a complaint may only be amended by leave of the court or by written consent of the opposing party. In this case, a responsive pleading had been served. Thus, the district court had the discretion to grant or deny Darby’s motion. See Isaac v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 547 N.W.2d 548, 551 (N.D.1996). A district court has wide discretion in deciding matters relating to amending pleadings after the time for an amendment as a matter of course has passed. Grandbois and Grandbois, Inc. v. City of Watford City, 2004 ND 162, ¶ 11, 685 N.W.2d 129. This Court will not reverse a district court’s grant or denial of a motion to amend unless the district court abused its discretion. Id.

[¶ 12] A district court abuses it discretion when it acts arbitrarily, unconscionably, or unreasonably, or when its decision is not the product of a rational mental process leading to a reasoned determination. Farmers Alliance Mut. Ins. Co. v. Hulstrand Const., Inc., 2001 ND 145, ¶ 10, 632 N.W.2d 473. A district court does not abuse its discretion in denying a motion to amend the complaint when such an amendment would be a futile act. Id. We have not previously addressed the standard to be applied when a party moves to amend his complaint in response to an opponent’s motion for summary judgment. We find guidance in an opinion from the First Circuit Court of Appeals. In Hatch v. Dep’t for Children, Youth and Their Families, 274 F.3d 12

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2009 ND 103, 767 N.W.2d 147, 2009 N.D. LEXIS 111, 2009 WL 1677809, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/darby-v-swenson-inc-nd-2009.