Grassie v. Roswell Hospital Corp.

185 P.3d 1091
New Mexico Court of Appeals·Decided May 28, 2008·No. 28,050·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

185 P.3d 1091 (2008)
2008-NMCA-076

Phillip GRASSIE, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Walter Grassie, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
ROSWELL HOSPITAL CORPORATION, d/b/a Eastern New Mexico Medical Center, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 28,050.

Court of Appeals of New Mexico.

April 3, 2008.
Certiorari Granted May 28, 2008.

*1092 Law Office of Stephen Durkovich, Stephen Durkovich, Garcia & Vargas, LLC, Ray M. Vargas, II, Santa Fe, NM, for Appellee.

Montgomery & Andrews, PA, Sarah M. Singleton, Santa Fe, NM, for Appellant.

Certiorari Granted, No. 31,079, May 28, 2008.

OPINION

BUSTAMANTE, Judge.

{1} Eastern New Mexico Medical Center (Defendant) filed a motion in this Court seeking review of the supersedeas bond set by the district court. See Rule 12-207(B) NMRA (providing for appellate review of the district court's ruling on a supersedeas bond). Because the purpose of the supersedeas bond is to "maintain the status quo during the pendency of the appeal," Khalsa v. Levinson, 2003-NMCA-018, ¶ 7, 133 N.M. 206, 62 P.3d 297, we resolve the supersedeas bond issue by formal opinion while the merits of the underlying appeal remain pending on the general calendar.

{2} Defendant argues that the district court erred in requiring that it post a bond for "double the amount of the judgment," as provided by NMSA 1978, § 39-3-22(A) (2007), and argues instead that the district court should have required it to post a bond pursuant to Rule 1-062(D) NMRA in an amount that "shall be such sum as will cover the whole amount of the judgment remaining unsatisfied, plus costs, interest and damages for delay." Id.

{3} We hold that the district court did not abuse its discretion in setting the amount of the supersedeas bond at twice the amount of the judgment.

FACTS

{4} A judgment on jury verdict was entered against Defendant for approximately $22 million on Plaintiff's wrongful death and Unfair Practices Act claims. The judgment included compensatory and punitive damages. In conjunction with its appeal, Defendant filed with the district court a "Motion for a Stay of Execution and for Approval of a Letter of Credit in Lieu of a Bond." Defendant requested both that it be allowed to secure a letter of credit in lieu of a bond from a surety and that the amount of the security be determined by Rule 1-062 rather than Section 39-3-22. Specific to the amount of the security, Defendant argued that $30 million was an adequate amount *1093 "which represents the total damages awarded in the Judgment plus approximately three years' [estimated time pending on appeal] interest on the Judgment at fifteen percent." After a hearing, the district court granted the stay of execution, denied Defendant's approval of a letter of credit in lieu of a bond, and required Defendant to post bond in the amount of twice the judgment entered plus twice the attorneys' fees awarded.

DISCUSSION

{5} On appeal Defendant does not further contest the district court's ruling that Defendant must post a bond rather than secure a letter of credit from a bank. Thus, we consider only Defendant's argument that the district court erred in setting the amount of the supersedeas bond for double the amount of the judgment. See City of Santa Fe v. Komis, 114 N.M. 659, 665, 845 P.2d 753, 759 (1992) (recognizing that issues are abandoned when not briefed on appeal). Also, to the extent that Plaintiff argues that Defendant did not preserve its challenge to the amount of the bond, we disagree. Defendant clearly argued below that the amount of the security should be dictated by Rule 1-062(D) rather than by Section 39-3-22(A), irrespective of whether the security was provided in the form of a bond or letter of credit.

{6} As provided by Rule 12-207(D), "[t]he decision of the district court shall be set aside only if it is shown that the decision: (1) is arbitrary, capricious or reflects an abuse of discretion; (2) is not supported by substantial evidence; or (3) is otherwise not in accordance with law." Defendant argues that the district court's decision should be set aside as not in accordance with the law because the district court relied on the statute rather than the rule in setting the amount of the bond. For the reasons that follow, we disagree with Defendant's argument that the district court failed to honor the Supreme Court's judicial supremacy in matters relating to practice and procedure by relying on the statutory formula for setting the amount of the supersedeas bond.

{7} At first glance, Rule 1-062(D) and Section 39-3-22(A) appear to provide different methods for determining the amount of a supersedeas bond. The provisions are in relevant part as follows:

Rule 1-062(D) states:
When an appeal is taken, the appellant by giving a supersedeas bond may obtain a stay. . . . When the judgment is for the recovery of money, the amount of the bond shall be such sum as will cover the whole amount of the judgment remaining unsatisfied, plus costs, interest and damages for delay.

(Emphasis added.)

Section 39-3-22(A) states:

There shall be no supersedeas or stay of execution upon any final judgment or decision of the district court in any civil action in which an appeal has been taken or a writ of error sued out unless the appellant or plaintiff in error, or some responsible person for the appellant or plaintiff in error . . . executes a bond to the adverse party in double the amount of the judgment complained of. . . .

(Emphasis added.)

{8} We agree with Defendant's argument that the setting of the amount of a supersedeas bond is a procedural matter. "When an appeal is perfected and a supersedeas bond is posted as required by Rule 1-062(D), stay of enforcement of the judgment pending review is a matter of right." Segal v. Goodman, 115 N.M. 349, 355, 851 P.2d 471, 477 (1993). Although a stay pending appeal is a substantive right, this right is contingent upon the appellant posting a satisfactory bond. The posting of the bond is the procedural mechanism by which an appellant secures the right to stay. See generally State v. Valles, 2004-NMCA-118, ¶ 14, 140 N.M. 458, 143 P.3d 496 (recognizing that "substantive law creates, defines, or regulates rights" whereas "procedural law outlines the means for enforcing those rights"); cf. State v. Romero, 2007-NMSC-030, ¶¶ 4-5, 141 N.M. 733, 160 P.3d 914 (recognizing that the statute governing the forfeiture of bail bonds is not merely procedural because it gives a substantive right to the bail bondsman in having his obligations terminate at the time the defendant is found guilty).

{9} We disagree, however, with Defendant's position that the district court abused its discretion in setting the bond at twice the amount of the judgment. We have no doubt that the district court was guided by the *1094 statute when it set the bond, but we see no basis for concluding that the district court's decision was inconsistent with the purposes of Rule 1-062(D).

{10} As our Supreme Court recognized in Albuquerque Rape Crisis Center v. Blackmer, 2005-NMSC-032, ¶ 5, 138 N.M.

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