Pieper v. Musarra

956 P.2d 444, 1998 Alas. LEXIS 65, 1998 WL 134987
CourtAlaska Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 27, 1998
DocketS-7636
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 956 P.2d 444 (Pieper v. Musarra) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Alaska Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pieper v. Musarra, 956 P.2d 444, 1998 Alas. LEXIS 65, 1998 WL 134987 (Ala. 1998).

Opinion

OPINION

EASTAUGH, Justice.

I. INTRODUCTION

The superior court dissolved the partnership that Julia Pieper and Ann Van Dorn Musarra formed to run a recreational vehicle (RV) park. Pieper raises numerous claims of error, attacking every superior court finding of fact and conclusion of law. With one exception, we affirm.

II. FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS

Pieper and Musarra agreed to jointly develop and operate an RV park on property they had acquired near Ninilchik. They opened the park in the summer of 1991 after developing the property. According to the partnership’s tax returns, the park lost money every year it was open. Musarra testified that she and Pieper began to disagree in 1992. Pieper refused to sell her interest, and Musarra unsuccessfully attempted to sell Musarra’s half interest by listing it for $120,-000 with a real estate agent in 1993.

The State Department of Labor, Labor Standards and Safety Division, had found electrical code violations at the park in 1991 and required upgrades by the summer of 1993. The upgrades were not made. In summer 1993 the continuing electrical code violations caused increased tension between the partners. Pieper did not want to make the improvements. In March 1994 the State granted the park another extension to make the electrical upgrades. Before the park opened in 1994, Musarra, without Pieper’s agreement, made the upgrades. They cost about $10,000.

After unsuccessfully offering to buy Pieper’s interest in the park, Musarra sued to dissolve the partnership. Pieper answered and filed a counterclaim seeking damages for Musarra’s actions.

The superior court dissolved the partnership. The court found that the partnership’s value was $105,000, that the partnership’s debt was $41,338, and that Musarra’s contributions exceeded Pieper’s by $21,210. The court found that Musarra should be allowed to purchase Pieper’s interest, and determined that Musarra owed Pieper $13,953 for that interest. The court calculated the value of Pieper’s interest as follows:

$ 105,000.00 Value of Partnership/ Assets
- 11,500.00 Estimated Real Estate Commission of ten per cent (10%) and Estimated closing costs.
- 41,338.00 Partnership Debt
$ 52,162.00 Net Partnership Value
52,162.00 Net Partnership Value
2 (Number of Partners)
26,081.00 Each Partner’s Inter- , est
10,605.00 Amount of additional contribution Owed [Musarra] by [Pieper]
1,523.00 Amount of Previously Awarded Costs
13,953.00 Amount Owed [Pieper] by [Musarra]

*446 The court also dismissed Pieper’s counterclaim with prejudice and enjoined Pieper from interfering with Musarra’s ownership of the partnership assets. Pieper appeals.

III. DISCUSSION

A. Standard of Review

We review the trial court’s factual findings under the clearly erroneous standard. See Alaska R. Civ. P. 52(a); see also Wright v. Wright, 904 P.2d 403, 405 n. 1 (Alaska 1995). “To reverse, we must have a definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been made.” Kilmer v. Dillingham City Sch. Dist., 932 P.2d 757, 763-64 (Alaska 1997) (citing City of Hydaburg v. Hydaburg Coop. Ass’n, 858 P.2d 1131, 1135 (Alaska 1993)).

We apply our independent judgment in reviewing questions of law, such as interpretations of Alaska’s Uniform Partnership Act. See Pullen v. Ulmer, 923 P.2d 54, 58 (Alaska 1996) (citing Croft v. Pan Alaska Trucking, Inc., 820 P.2d 1064, 1066 (Alaska 1991)). Under this standard, we adopt “the rule of law that is most persuasive in light of precedent, reason, and policy.” Guin v. Ha, 591 P.2d 1281, 1284 n. 6 (Alaska 1979).

B. Whether the Superior Court Erred in Making Its Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law

1.Real estate commission

Pieper argues that the partnership value should not have been reduced by an estimated real estate commission. The superior court deducted $11,500 from the value of the partnership to reflect the cost of selling the property through a real estate agent. There was no evidence that the property would be sold. Entry of the permanent injunction preventing Pieper from interfering with the property implies that the superior court assumed Musarra would not sell the property. Absent a finding, supported by evidence, that the property would be sold, it was error to deduct an expense the parties were not likely to incur. The net value of each partnership interest must consequently be adjusted. Pieper will recover an additional $5,750.

2. Restraining order

Pieper argues that the superior court erred in granting Musarra a restraining order. We conclude that the superior court did not abuse its discretion in permanently enjoining Pieper from interfering with Musar-ra’s use and occupancy of the partnership’s assets. There was sufficient evidence before the superior court to justify entry of the injunction, given the fact that Pieper had improperly filed a lis pendens against Musar-ra’s property and the evidence of the acrimonious and contentious nature of the relationship.

3. Remaining issues

Pieper appears pro se in this appeal. We generally apply a more lenient standard for pro se litigants. See, e.g., Smith v. Sampson, 816 P.2d 902, 906 (Alaska 1991) (noting that relaxation of Alaska Appellate Rule 210(e) might be appropriate for pro se litigant); Breck v. Ulmer, 745 P.2d 66, 75 (Alaska 1987) (“[T]he pleadings of pro se litigants should be held to less stringent standards than those of lawyers.”). Although we have independently reviewed the trial transcript, we note that Pieper has not demonstrated the existence of evidence that would compel findings different from those entered by the superior court (other than the reduction discussed in Part III.B.l for the real estate commission). We also conclude that she has generally failed to demonstrate either merit to her remaining arguments or how she preserved those arguments in the superior court.

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Bluebook (online)
956 P.2d 444, 1998 Alas. LEXIS 65, 1998 WL 134987, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pieper-v-musarra-alaska-1998.