Ernster v. Scheele

895 N.W.2d 262, 2017 WL 1375299, 2017 Minn. App. LEXIS 51
CourtCourt of Appeals of Minnesota
DecidedApril 17, 2017
DocketA16-1169
StatusPublished

This text of 895 N.W.2d 262 (Ernster v. Scheele) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ernster v. Scheele, 895 N.W.2d 262, 2017 WL 1375299, 2017 Minn. App. LEXIS 51 (Mich. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

OPINION

PETERSON, Judge

In this appeal from a judgment that awarded respondents disbursements following a jury trial on the issue of damages, appellant argues that the district court erred by (1) denying appellant disbursements as the prevailing party under Minn. Stat. § 549.04; and (2) awarding respondents disbursements incurred after service of the first of two offers of judgment under Minn. R. Civ. P. 68.01, instead of disbursements incurred after service of the second offer. We reverse and remand.

FACTS

Appellant Steven Ernster brought this negligence action against respondents Ted-di M. Scheele and Terrance M. Scheele, seeking damages for injuries sustained in a motor-vehicle accident. On July 31, 2015, respondents served upon appellant under Minn. R. Civ. P. 68.01 a total-obligation offer of judgment in the amount of $50,000. On August 17, 2015, respondents served upon appellant under Minn. R. Civ. P. 68.01 a second total-obligation offer of judgment in the amount of $100,000. Appellant did not accept either offer.

Before trial, respondents admitted to liability and to appellant’s past health-care expenses of $23,859.03. The issues of damages for past and future pain, disability, and emotional distress were tried to a jury. At trial, appellant asked the jury to award him $500,000, and respondents argued that appellant’s recovery should be limited to $25,000.

The jury awarded appellant $15,000 for past pain, disability, and emotional distress and $5,000 for future pain, disability, and emotional distress, which, together with the $23,859.03 for admitted past healthcare expenses, resulted in a total verdict of $43,859.03 for appellant.1 After reducing the verdict amount by the amount of collateral-source benefits that appellant received, a judgment of $23,959.03 was entered in favor of appellant.

Both parties applied for costs and disbursements. Respondents argued that because the verdict for appellant was less than either of their offers of judgment and because the $20,000 that the jury awarded for past and future pain, disability, and emotional distress was less than the amount proposed by either party at trial, they were the prevailing parties and, therefore, they were entitled to recover all of their costs and disbursements. Alternatively, respondents argued that they were entitled to recover costs and disbursements that they incurred after their first offer of judgment was served on July 31, 2015.

The district court determined that because appellant obtained a judgment in his favor of more than $100, appellant was entitled to recover from respondents costs of $200.2 But the court further determined [265]*265that because appellant was not the prevailing party, he was not entitled to recover his disbursements. The district court then determined that because the jury’s verdict was less favorable to appellant than either of respondents’ offers of judgment, respondents were the prevailing parties and appellant must pay respondents for the disbursements they incurred after service of their first offer of judgment on July 31, 2015.

This appeal followed.

ISSUES

I. Did the district court err in determining that appellant was not entitled to recover disbursements because he was not the prevailing party?

II. Did the district court err in awarding respondents disbursements incurred after service of their July 31, 2015 offer of judgment?

ANALYSIS

I.

Appellant argues that the district court erred in determining that he was not the prevailing party and, therefore, he was not entitled to recover his disbursements. We first address respondents’ argument that appellant did not preserve the prevailing-party issue for appeal because he did not object to respondents’ prevailing-party argument before the district court. Generally, this court will address only those issues that the record shows were presented to and considered by the district court. Thiele v. Stich, 425 N.W.2d 580, 582 (Minn. 1988).

Appellant applied for costs and disbursements. Although his application did not refer to Minn. Stat. § 549.04, that statute governs disbursements and provides that “[i]n every action in a district court, the prevailing party ... shall be allowed reasonable disbursements paid or incurred.” By applying for disbursements, appellant raised the issue of whether he was the prevailing party. The district court considered the issue and specifically determined that appellant was not the prevailing party-

In the district court, appellant did not specifically object to respondents’ theory as to why they were the prevailing parties. But in objecting to respondents’ application for disbursements, appellant argued that respondents were not entitled to disbursements because the district court had not determined that they were the prevailing parties and that, if the court determined that respondents were the prevailing parties, an award should be limited to disbursements incurred after the second offer of judgment was served on August 17, 2015. We, therefore, conclude that appellant preserved the prevailing-party issue for appeal.

The district court has “discretion to determine which party, if any, qualifies as a prevailing party.” Benigni v. County of St. Louis, 585 N.W.2d 51, 54-55 (Minn. 1998). This court will reverse the district court’s prevailing-party determination if the district court “abused its discretion, exercised its discretion in an arbitrary or capricious maimer, or based its ruling on an erroneous view of the law.” Posey v. Fossen, 707 N.W.2d 712, 714 (Minn. App. 2006) (quotation omitted). The party chal[266]*266lenging the district court’s decision has the burden to show that “no reasonable person would agree” with the decision. Id. (quotation omitted).

The right to recover disbursements depends on the final result on the merits of the action, not on “intermediate motions or preliminary proceedings.” Elsenpeter v. St. Michael Mall, Inc., 794 N.W.2d 667, 673 (Minn. App. 2011) (quotation omitted). “In determining who qualifies as the prevailing party in an action, the general result should be considered, and inquiry made as to who has, in the view of the law, succeeded in the action.” Borchert v. Maloney, 581 N.W.2d 838, 840 (Minn. 1998) (quotation omitted). The prevailing party is the party “in whose favor the decision or verdict is rendered and judgment entered.” Id.

In BorcheH, a passenger in an uninsured motor vehicle was injured when the vehicle was involved in a collision. Id. at 839. Borchert, the passenger, brought a negligence action against Maloney, the driver of the other vehicle, and rejected a $10,000 rule-68 settlement offer. Id. The case was tried to a jury, which awarded Borchert $11,651 in damages and attributed fault at 60% to Maloney and 40% to the uninsured driver. Id.

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Related

Vandenheuvel v. Wagner
690 N.W.2d 753 (Supreme Court of Minnesota, 2005)
Benigni v. County of St. Louis
585 N.W.2d 51 (Supreme Court of Minnesota, 1998)
Rush v. Jostock
710 N.W.2d 570 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2006)
Thiele v. Stich
425 N.W.2d 580 (Supreme Court of Minnesota, 1988)
Posey v. Fossen
707 N.W.2d 712 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2006)
Borchert v. Maloney
581 N.W.2d 838 (Supreme Court of Minnesota, 1998)
Elsenpeter v. St. Michael Mall, Inc.
794 N.W.2d 667 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2011)
TC/American Monorail, Inc. v. Custom Conveyor Corp.
840 N.W.2d 414 (Supreme Court of Minnesota, 2013)

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Bluebook (online)
895 N.W.2d 262, 2017 WL 1375299, 2017 Minn. App. LEXIS 51, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ernster-v-scheele-minnctapp-2017.