Nicholson v. Coeur D'Alene Placer Mining Corp.

392 P.3d 1218, 161 Idaho 877, 2017 WL 727770, 2017 Ida. LEXIS 45
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 24, 2017
DocketDocket 43440-2015
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 392 P.3d 1218 (Nicholson v. Coeur D'Alene Placer Mining Corp.) 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
Nicholson v. Coeur D'Alene Placer Mining Corp., 392 P.3d 1218, 161 Idaho 877, 2017 WL 727770, 2017 Ida. LEXIS 45 (Idaho 2017).

Opinion

EISMANN, Justice.

This is an appeal out of Shoshone County from a judgment: (a) denying recovery on an alleged oral promise to grant the Plaintiffs a right of first refusal with respect to a parcel of real property they were leasing, (b) denying recovery on an alleged oral promise to purchase the Plaintiffs’ buildings that were located on that property, and (c) finding that the Plaintiffs were guilty of unlawful detain-er. We affirm the judgment.

I.

Factual Background.

In August 1995, W. Michael Nicholson and Joan Nicholson (“Plaintiffs”) purchased buildings located on land owned by the Coeur d’Alene Placer Mining Corporation (“CDA Placer”). On August 28, 1995, Plaintiffs entered into a written, one-year lease with CDA Placer for a parcel of land consisting of approximately one-half acre on which the buildings were located. The Plaintiffs used one of the buildings for their residence. The term of the lease was from July 1, 1995, through June 30, 1996, and the lease did not grant Plaintiffs a right to renew it or an option to purchase the real property. Plaintiffs and CDA Placer annually agreed to renew the lease until 2014.

The parcel rented to Plaintiffs was part of a larger parcel consisting of about 3,000 acres that was owned by CDA Placer. By letter addressed to Plaintiffs dated June 17, 2013, CDA Placer requested the 2012 and 2013 lease payments. The letter included the following:

However, the Company’s Idaho land is currently under contract for sale. We have only a brief period to arrange for a sale of your homesite to you. The buyer will not permit tenants on any of their land. Our *880 real estate broker, Kevin Boling, will be contacting you shortly to discuss your options.

A letter addressed to Plaintiffs dated December 13, 2013, from Kevin Boling included the following:

In May 2013 Coeur d Aleñe Placer reached agreement to sell the entire property (approximately 3,000 acres) to Western Rivers Conservancy. The due diligence period was purposely extended with closing scheduled for late January 2014. Coeur d Aleñe Placer sent you a letter dated June 13, 2013 concerning your 2012 and 2013 lease payments. This same letter informed you the property was under contract to be sold and again offered to “arrange for a sale of your home site to you.”
There remains a brief period of time for you to make an offer to purchase this home site. Please let me know at your earliest convenience if that is an option for you. If purchase is not an option for you then we need to discuss your plans for vacating the property. Any unused portion of the rent will be returned to you when you do.

By letter dated January 28, 2014, CDA Placer’s counsel notified Plaintiffs that it would not renew the lease and that they must vacate the real property by midnight on June 30, 2014. In a letter dated March 6, 2014, from Plaintiffs counsel to CDA Placer’s counsel, Mr. Nicholson proposed: “He will accept the acre surrounding his home as per the survey, plus an additional acre to the north-northeast, in consideration of the $2,260 already paid for this year’s lease.” On March 28, 2014, the sale of CDA Placer’s property to IFG Timber, L.L.C. (“IFG Timber”), closed. The property purchased by IFG Timber included the parcel that had been leased to Plaintiffs, By letter dated June 10, 2014, to IFG Timber’, Plaintiffs’ counsel inquired if IFG Timber was willing to accept Plaintiffs’ offer. By letter dated June 16, 2014, IFG Timber notified Plaintiffs’ counsel that it did not want to sell or lease the parcel.

On June 30, 2014, Plaintiffs filed this action against CDA Placer and IFG Timber. With respect to CDA Placer, Plaintiffs alleged: (a) that they were entitled to damages from CDA Placer for its breach of the oral contract promising Plaintiffs the right of first refusal to purchase the real property upon which the buildings were located and to buy the buildings if the lease was terminated or the land sold; (b) that Plaintiffs were entitled to damages against CDA Placer under the doctrine of promissory estoppel for the breach of these oral promises; (c) that Plaintiffs were entitled to specific performance of CDA Placer’s oral promises; and (d) that CDA Placer would be unjustly enriched if Plaintiffs have to vacate the property, because they will be unable to remove the buildings. With respect to IFG Timber, Plaintiffs allege that it will be unjustly enriched if Plaintiffs have to vacate the property, because they will be unable to remove the buildings. The Defendants answered, denying the material allegations in the complaint, and IFG Timber filed a counterclaim seeking to evict Plaintiffs from the real property.

The Defendants then moved for judgment on the pleadings and later for summary judgment regarding the allegations in the complaint. After briefing and argument, the district court granted the motion for summary judgment. IFG Timber then moved for summary judgment on its counterclaim, and, after briefing and argument, the court granted that motion. Plaintiffs moved for reconsideration, which the court denied after hearing argument from the parties, and Plaintiffs then timely appealed.

When reviewing on appeal the granting of a motion for summary judgment, we apply the same standard used by the trial court in ruling on the motion. Infanger v. City of Salmon, 137 Idaho 45, 46-47, 44 P.3d 1100, 1101-02 (2002). We construe all disputed facts, and draw all reasonable inferences from the record, in favor of the non-moving party. Id. at 47, 44 P.3d at 1102. Summary judgment is appropriate only if the evidence in the record and any admissions show that there is no genuine issue of any material fact regarding the issues raised in the pleadings and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Id. If the evidence reveals no disputed issues of material fact, then only a question of law remains, *881 over which this Court exercises free review. Id.

II.

Did the District Court Err in Dismissing the Claims Regarding the Alleged Right of First Refusal and Alleged Promise to Purchase the Buildings?

A. The alleged right of first refusal. Plaintiffs contend that CDA Placer orally promised they would have a right of first refusal to purchase the real property upon which their buildings were located and promised to buy the buildings if the lease was terminated or the land was sold. In support of their motion for summary judgment, the Defendants contended that the alleged oral agreement regarding the right of first refusal was barred by the statute of limitations in Idaho Code section 9-503; that CDA Placer offered to sell the property to Plaintiffs on three occasions, and they declined to purchase it; that there was no consideration for the alleged oral agreement; that the alleged oral agreement was too indefinite to be enforced; that promissory estoppel and specific enforcement do not apply to an agreement that is too indefinite to be enforced; that the alleged reliance was simply conduct required under the terms of the lease; and that any improvements to the land were made in violation of the lease, which required prior written approval before making any improvements.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
392 P.3d 1218, 161 Idaho 877, 2017 WL 727770, 2017 Ida. LEXIS 45, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/nicholson-v-coeur-dalene-placer-mining-corp-idaho-2017.