Mulberry v. Burns Concrete, Inc.

435 P.3d 509, 164 Idaho 729
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 21, 2019
DocketDocket No. 45184
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 435 P.3d 509 (Mulberry v. Burns Concrete, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mulberry v. Burns Concrete, Inc., 435 P.3d 509, 164 Idaho 729 (Idaho 2019).

Opinions

BURDICK, Chief Justice.

Burns Concrete, Inc., and Canyon Cove Development Company, LLP, (Canyon Cove), appeal the Bonneville County district court's judgment in favor of Nora Mulberry and TN Properties, LLC, (collectively Mulberry) regarding the extinguishment of a right of first refusal (ROFR). In 1999, Nora and Theodore Mulberry sold a piece of real property (Purchased Property) to Canyon Cove and included a ROFR to a nearby, distinct parcel of real property (ROFR Property). Twelve days later, Canyon Cove conveyed its interest in both the Purchased Property and the ROFR to Burns Concrete and recorded the deed to the purchased property with the Bonneville County Recorder. In 2005, Nora Mulberry and her now deceased husband conveyed the ROFR Property to their wholly owned limited liability company, TN Properties, and subsequently recorded the deed with the Bonneville County Recorder. In 2016, Mulberry filed a complaint seeking declaratory judgment and subsequently a motion for partial summary judgment. The district court entered partial summary judgment in favor of Mulberry finding the ROFR was personal to Mulberry and Canyon Cove, and it was subsequently extinguished when Canyon Cove assigned it to Burns Concrete. On reconsideration, the district court held that the ROFR was a servitude appurtenant to the Purchased Property, and reaffirmed it was extinguished by Canyon Cove's conveyance to Burns Concrete. Burns Concrete and Canyon Cove timely appealed, and we vacate and remand.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On January 26, 1999, the Mulberrys sold land to Canyon Cove under a Commercial Investment Real Estate Purchase and Sale Agreement (PSA). At closing on March 18, 1999, the parties executed an addendum to the PSA which clarified the PSA's terms. A ROFR for a second parcel of land owned by the Mulberrys, separate from that parcel sold to Canyon Cove, was executed at the same time. The ROFR provided:

1. For adequate consideration, Sellers hereby grant to the Buyer a right of first refusal to acquire the Sellers' undivided interest in and to the real property hereafter described on the same terms, conditions, and provisions as the Sellers might intend to sell and convey said interest to any third person hereafter.
2. Should the Sellers hereafter intend to sell in good faith and convey said premises they will first offer the same to the Buyer by a written notice containing all of the terms, conditions, and provisions by which they intend to sell in good faith the same to said third person. Buyer shall then have five (5) days from the date such notice is received to accept or refuse said offer.

Approximately two weeks after closing, on March 30, 1999, Canyon Cove assigned the Purchased Property and its interest in the ROFR to Burns Concrete. In 2005, the Mulberrys conveyed the ROFR Property to TN Properties. Nora Mulberry is now the sole owner of TN Properties as Theodore Mulberry passed away sometime after the transfer.

In June 2016, Mulberry filed a verified complaint seeking declaratory judgment and later filed a motion for partial summary judgment on August 22, 2016. Mulberry sought a declaratory judgment that the ROFR was "personal to the parties" and not *511binding on Theodore and Nora Mulberry's "heirs, successors, devisees, or assigns, nor can it benefit Burns Concrete." On November 10, 2016, the district court entered a memorandum decision and order declaring the ROFR personal to the Mulberrys and Canyon Cove and finding that the ROFR was extinguished when Canyon Cove assigned it to Burns Concrete. The Memorandum Decision and Order also declared that the ROFR was not binding on the Mulberrys' heirs, successors, devisees, or assigns.

On December 30, 2016, Burns Concrete and Canyon Cove filed a motion for reconsideration. On March 20, 2017, the district court denied the motion. The district court stated that Canyon Cove's rights under the ROFR were extinguished because the ROFR was personal in nature, and because the ROFR was a servitude appurtenant to the Purchased Property and Canyon Cove no longer had an interest in the Purchased Property after conveying it to Burns Concrete.

On April 27, 2017, the district court dismissed the rest of Mulberry's claims as moot. In July 2017, the district court awarded Mulberry $ 11,447.50 in attorney fees and costs. Burns Concrete and Canyon Cove timely appealed.

II. ISSUES ON APPEAL

1. Did the district court properly determine the ROFR is personal to the parties and nonassignable?
2. Did the district court properly determine the ROFR was "extinguished" after the assignment from Canyon Cove to Burns Concrete?
3. Whether the district court properly awarded Mulberry attorney fees and whether either party is entitled to attorney fees on appeal.

III. STANDARD OF REVIEW

"When reviewing a grant of summary judgment, this Court employs the same standard as the district court." Idaho Youth Ranch, Inc. v. Ada Cnty. Bd. of Equalization , 157 Idaho 180, 182, 335 P.3d 25, 27 (2014). Summary judgment is appropriate "if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." I.R.C.P. 56(a). "Disputed facts should be construed in favor of the non-moving party, and all reasonable inferences that can be drawn from the record are to be drawn in favor of the nonmoving party." Fuller v. Callister , 150 Idaho 848, 851, 252 P.3d 1266, 1269 (2011) (quoting Castorena v. Gen. Elec. , 149 Idaho 609, 613, 238 P.3d 209, 213 (2010) ). "However, the nonmoving party cannot rely on mere speculation, and a scintilla of evidence is insufficient to create a genuine issue of material fact." Intermountain Real Props., LLC v. Draw , LLC, 155 Idaho 313, 316-17, 311 P.3d 734, 737-38 (2013) (quoting Bollinger v. Fall River Rural Elec. Co-op., Inc., 152 Idaho 632, 637,

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Bluebook (online)
435 P.3d 509, 164 Idaho 729, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mulberry-v-burns-concrete-inc-idaho-2019.