Lefto v. Hoggsbreath Enterprises, Inc.

567 N.W.2d 746, 1997 WL 469633
CourtCourt of Appeals of Minnesota
DecidedOctober 21, 1997
DocketC3-97-261
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 567 N.W.2d 746 (Lefto v. Hoggsbreath Enterprises, Inc.) 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
Lefto v. Hoggsbreath Enterprises, Inc., 567 N.W.2d 746, 1997 WL 469633 (Mich. Ct. App. 1997).

Opinions

OPINION

SCHUMACHER, Judge.

Appellant Hoggsbreath Enterprises, Inc. challenges the district court’s conclusion that a woman and her daughter may recover for loss due to permanent injuries sustained by the woman’s fiancé under Minn.Stat. § 340A.801, subd. 1 (1996). We affirm.

[748]*748FACTS

Desiree Carlson and Michael Lefto began living together in his home in August 1988. Carlson’s daughter, Nicole, lived with them. Carlson and Michael Lefto pooled their incomes, shared living expenses, and maintained joint checking and Visa card accounts. Although Michael Lefto alone held title to the home, Desiree Carlson and Michael Lefto jointly owned other real estate. Carlson and Michael Lefto were engaged to be married on August 28,1993.

On August 27, 1993, Hoggsbreath illegally sold alcohol to Don Lieder while he was intoxicated. In the early morning hours of August 28,1993, Michael Lefto was riding as a passenger in Lieder’s car when the car rolled over. Michael Lefto suffered severe and permanent injuries in the accident, including a head injury with secondary cognitive impairment. Hoggsbreath concedes that its illegal sale contributed to the accident and Michael Lefto’s injuries.

Following the accident, Michael Lefto did not earn an income. In addition, Carlson and Michael' Lefto incurred increased expenses due to his injuries. In order to meet their expenses, Carlson and Michael Lefto sold Michael Lefto’s home, his truck, and some of their jointly owned property. According to the stipulated facts, Carlson and her daughter have not received the aid, advice, comfort, and protection from Michael Lefto that they would have received if not for the accident.

Carlson and Michael Lefto married each other sometime after the accident. Carlson took Michael Lefto’s last name on March 26, 1994, and he legally adopted Nicole on March 9,1995.

On August 21, 1995, respondent Desiree Lefto, individually, and as parent and natural guardian for Nicole Lefto, a minor, sued Hoggsbreath under Minnesota’s Civil Liability Act (dram shop), which provides:

A spouse, child, parent, guardian, employer, or other person injured in person, property, or means of support, or who incurs other pecuniary loss by an intoxicated person or by the intoxication of another person, has a right of action in the person’s own name for all damages sustained against a person who caused the intoxication of that person by illegally selling alcoholic beverages.

Minn.Stat. § 340A.801, subd. 1 (1996) (emphasis added).

The parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment on the issue of whether Lefto and her daughter are entitled to recover under the Act and if so, whether they can recover for loss of means of support and pecuniary loss. The district court granted Lefto’s motion for summary judgment on both issues and certified the questions presented as important and doubtful within the meaning of Minn. R. Civ.App. P. 103.03(h).

On appeal, Hoggsbreath argues that Lefto and her daughter may not recover under the Act and that even if the court concludes otherwise, Lefto and her daughter may not recover damages for loss of means of support or for pecuniary loss.

ISSUES

1. Did the court err by concluding Lefto and her daughter may recover under the Act?

2. Did the court err by concluding Lefto and her daughter may recover for loss of means of support and pecuniary loss under the Act?

ANALYSIS

On an appeal from summary judgment, the reviewing court must ask whether the district court erred in its application of the law. State by Cooper v. French, 460 N.W.2d 2, 4 (Minn. 1990). The construction of a statute is a question of law and therefore fully reviewable by an appellate court. Hibbing Educ. Ass’n v. Public Employment Relations Bd., 369 N.W.2d 527, 529 (Minn.1985).

1. Hoggsbreath argues that Lefto and her daughter may not recover under Minn.Stat. § 340A.801 (1996), because application of the rule of ejusdem generis compels the conclusion that Lefto and her daughter fall outside the scope of the Act. Under the rule of ejusdem generis, “[gjeneral words are construed to be restricted in their meaning by preceding particular words.” Minn.Stat. [749]*749§ 645.08(3) (1996). Hoggsbreath argues that because the individuals preceding the “or other person” language in the Act all have a legal relationship with the injured person, recovery under the Act in connection with Michael Lefto’s accident is limited to those having a legal relationship with Michael Lef-to. Because Lefto and her daughter had no such relationship at the time of the accident, Hoggsbreath reasons, Lefto and her daughter may not recover under the Act. Lefto and her daughter counter that where, as here, the language of an act is unambiguous, the court must not apply rules of construction such as the rule of ejusdem generis, but must instead apply the plain meaning of the act. We agree. When the language of a statute is unambiguous, we must apply its plain meaning. State by Beaulieu v. RSJ, Inc., 552 N.W.2d 695, 701 (Minn.1996).

The Act permits recovery for a “spouse, child, parent, guardian, employer, or other person injured in person, property, or means of support, or who incurs other pecuniary loss.” Minn.Stat. § 340A.801, subd. 1. The Act is unambiguous, and the plain meaning of the “or other person injured” language is “or any person who suffers the requisite injury.” Because Lefto and her daughter are “persons,” and Hoggsbreath does not dispute that they suffered the requisite injury, Lefto and her daughter may recover under the Act.

At oral argument, Hoggsbreath cited Line Constr. Benefit Fund v. Skeates, 563 N.W.2d 757 (Minn.App. 1997), in support of its argument that this court should apply the rule of ejusdem generis here and adopt a restrictive interpretation of the Act’s “or other person” language. In Line Construction, an insurer sought to recover under the Act for injuries sustained by a policyholder, arguing that the insurer came within the “or other person” language of the Act. Id. at 759. The Line Construction court applied the doctrine of ejusdem generis on its way to rejecting the insurer’s argument and holding that the insurer did not fall within the scope of the Act. Id. at 761.

Our holding is not inconsistent with Line Construction. We recognize, as the Line Construction court did, that application of the rule of ejusdem generis is appropriate to interpret ambiguous statutes. But whereas the Line Construction court resorted to the rule of ejusdem generis because of the ambiguity created in determining whether the “or other person” language applied to the plaintiff insurer, a corporate entity, here it is clear that the “or other person” language applies to Lefto and her daughter. Thus application of the statutory language here creates no ambiguity permitting resort to the doctrine of ejusdem generis.

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Lefto v. Hoggsbreath Enterprises, Inc.
567 N.W.2d 746 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 1997)

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