Nyby v. Waste Management, Inc.

725 N.E.2d 905, 2000 Ind. App. LEXIS 330, 2000 WL 291420
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 21, 2000
Docket75A03-9801-CV-1
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 725 N.E.2d 905 (Nyby v. Waste Management, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Nyby v. Waste Management, Inc., 725 N.E.2d 905, 2000 Ind. App. LEXIS 330, 2000 WL 291420 (Ind. Ct. App. 2000).

Opinion

OPINION

STATON, Judge

This appeal arises from a lawsuit brought by Knud and Marianne Nyby (referred to collectively hereinafter as the “Nybys”) and Valparaiso Resource Development, Inc. (“VRD”) (the Nybys and VRD are referred to collectively hereinafter as the “Plaintiffs”) against Waste Management, Inc. (“WMI”) and Indiana Waste Systems, Inc. (“IWS”) (WMI and IWS are referred to collectively hereinafter as the “Defendants”). The Plaintiffs appeal several unfavorable rulings by the trial court. They raise five issues on appeal, which we restate as six:

I. Whether the trial court erred by granting partial summary judgment to the Defendants.
II. Whether the trial court abused its discretion by excluding certain evidence regarding the damages incurred by the Nybys.
III. Whether the trial court erred by refusing three of the Nybys’ tendered instructions.
IV. Whether the trial court erred by denying the Plaintiffs’ motion to amend their complaint to add a claim for declaratory relief.
V. Whether the trial court abused its discretion by striking the Nybys’ expert witnesses as a discovery sanction.
VI. Whether the trial court erred by denying the Nybys’ request for attorney’s fees.
We affirm.

In 1972, the Nybys leased forty acres of land (“the North 40”) to WMI to be used as a sanitary landfill. (This lease is referred to hereinafter as the “1972 Lease”). In 1977, the Nybys leased an adjacent forty acres of land (“the South 40”) to IWS, a subsidiary of WMI. (This lease is referred to hereinafter as the “1977 Lease”). The South 40 was also to be used by IWS as a sanitary landfill. Collectively, the property was known as the 49er Landfill.

WMI and IWS stopped accepting waste at the 49er Landfill in 1980. The Nybys, WMI, and IWS entered into an agreement in 1982 whereby WMI and IWS agreed to place additional cover materials on portions of the landfill, repair erosion damage, reseed the newly covered areas, and seek final closure of the landfill from state authorities. (This contract is referred to hereinafter as the “Cover Agreement”).

In 1984, the Nybys sold to VRD approximately sixty-nine acres of the land that had been the 49er Landfill. In 1985, the Plaintiffs initiated the present lawsuit against the Defendants in which they raised breach of contract and tort claims. The trial court granted partial summary judgment to the Defendants. Following a trial on the remaining claims, the jury rendered a verdict in favor of the Nybys for $49,000, upon which the trial court entered judgment. 1 The Plaintiffs appeal.

I.

Summary Judgment

The Plaintiffs argue that the trial court erred by granting partial summary judgment in favor of the Defendants. In presenting their argument, the Plaintiffs cite a number of errors, both procedural and substantive, that the trial court made. We address the Plaintiffs’ procedural arguments first.

*910 In a footnote, the Plaintiffs raise an important point regarding the designation requirements of Ind. Trial Rule 56(C). The Plaintiffs observe that the Defendants first moved for summary judgment on May 20, 1991, less than five months after an amendment to T.R. 56(C) had taken effect requiring parties to designate to the court all evidentiary material on which they rely in support of or in opposition to a motion for summary judgment. The Plaintiffs initially suggest that because this requirement was so new this court should ignore it and review the trial court’s summary judgment decision based upon pre-designation jurisprudence.

The designation requirement was an important change in summary judgment procedure. It “promote[s] the expeditious resolution of lawsuits and conserve^] judicial resources” by relieving trial courts from the burden of searching the record when considering summary judgment motions. Rosi v. Business Furniture Corp., 615 N.E.2d 431, 434 (Ind.1993). More significantly, T.R. 56(H), also made effective in January of 1991, specifically prohibits appellate courts from reversing a grant of summary judgment “on the ground that there is a genuine issue of material fact unless the material fact and the evidence relevant thereto shall have been specifically designated to the trial court.” T.R. 56(H). This rule compels us to adhere to the designation requirement. Accordingly, we decline the Plaintiffs’ invitation to follow pre-1991 summary judgment procedure. See Keating v. Burton, 617 N.E.2d 588, 590-91 (Ind.Ct.App.1993), trans. denied (Court of Appeals refused to consider non-designated material in reviewing the grant of summary judgment that was entered on a motion filed on May 22,1991).

Perhaps anticipating this conclusion, the Plaintiffs argue that we should reverse the grant of partial summary judgment because the Defendants failed to designate any evidence in support of their motion. However, our review of the record indicates that the Defendants did designate materials. Throughout the brief that accompanies their May 20, 1991 motion, the Defendants cite pleadings and discovery materials in support of their factual assertions. A designation need not take a particular form. It is sufficient so long as it informs the court regarding the specific material upon which the party relies in support of or in opposition to a summary judgment motion. L.E. Services, Inc. v. State Lottery Comm’n, 646 N.E.2d 334, 348 (Ind.Ct.App.1995), trans. denied. The designation may be made in a brief accompanying a motion for summary judgment. Id.

The next procedural issue raised by the Plaintiffs is the question of how this court should treat the trial court’s October 10, 1995 Order on Issues to be Tried. The trial court first entered partial summary judgment in favor of the Defendants on December 30, 1991. As the case moved towards trial, however, the parties debated the scope of this order. After further briefing and argument, the trial court entered an order on October 10, 1995, which it entitled Order on Issues to be Tried. As a result of this 1995 order, VRD was precluded from presenting any of its claims at trial and the Nybys were limited to their breach of contract claims. The order also placed limits on the damages the Nybys could prove at trial.

On appeal, the parties debate whether the 1995 order expanded the 1991 summary judgment order, thereby granting the Defendants summary judgment on additional claims, or whether the 1995 order was a mere clarification of the 1991 order. Based upon our review of the two orders, we conclude that the trial court did, as a result of the 1995 order, grant summary judgment to the Defendants as to counts that were not specifically addressed in the 1991 order.

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Bluebook (online)
725 N.E.2d 905, 2000 Ind. App. LEXIS 330, 2000 WL 291420, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/nyby-v-waste-management-inc-indctapp-2000.