Robert J. Debry and Joan Debry v. Wallace R. Noble, Robert Van Wagoner, Delbert Swenson, Rick Warner, and Salt Lake County, and Dale Thurgood and Del K. Bartel, Robert J. Debry and Joan Debry v. Wallace R. Noble, Robert Van Wagoner, Delbert Swenson, Rick Warner, and Salt Lake County, and Dale Thurgood and Del K. Bartel

1 F.3d 1249, 1993 U.S. App. LEXIS 27957
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
DecidedAugust 3, 1993
Docket91-4212
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 1 F.3d 1249 (Robert J. Debry and Joan Debry v. Wallace R. Noble, Robert Van Wagoner, Delbert Swenson, Rick Warner, and Salt Lake County, and Dale Thurgood and Del K. Bartel, Robert J. Debry and Joan Debry v. Wallace R. Noble, Robert Van Wagoner, Delbert Swenson, Rick Warner, and Salt Lake County, and Dale Thurgood and Del K. Bartel) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Robert J. Debry and Joan Debry v. Wallace R. Noble, Robert Van Wagoner, Delbert Swenson, Rick Warner, and Salt Lake County, and Dale Thurgood and Del K. Bartel, Robert J. Debry and Joan Debry v. Wallace R. Noble, Robert Van Wagoner, Delbert Swenson, Rick Warner, and Salt Lake County, and Dale Thurgood and Del K. Bartel, 1 F.3d 1249, 1993 U.S. App. LEXIS 27957 (10th Cir. 1993).

Opinion

1 F.3d 1249

NOTICE: Although citation of unpublished opinions remains unfavored, unpublished opinions may now be cited if the opinion has persuasive value on a material issue, and a copy is attached to the citing document or, if cited in oral argument, copies are furnished to the Court and all parties. See General Order of November 29, 1993, suspending 10th Cir. Rule 36.3 until December 31, 1995, or further order.

Robert J. DEBRY and Joan Debry, Plaintiffs-Appellants,
v.
Wallace R. NOBLE, Robert Van Wagoner, Delbert Swenson, Rick
Warner, and Salt Lake County, Defendants-Appellees,
and
Dale Thurgood and Del K. Bartel, Defendants.
Robert J. DEBRY and Joan Debry, Plaintiffs-Appellees,
v.
Wallace R. NOBLE, Robert Van Wagoner, Delbert Swenson, Rick
Warner, and Salt Lake County, Defendants,
and
Dale Thurgood and Del K. Bartel, Defendants-Appellants.

Nos. 91-4212, 91-4215.

United States Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit.

Aug. 3, 1993.

Before EBEL, Circuit Judge, McWILLIAMS, Senior Circuit Judge, and KELLY, Circuit Judge.

ORDER AND JUDGMENT*

EBEL, Circuit Judge.

In these two related appeals, the plaintiffs-appellants, Robert and Joan Debry, challenge the district court's dismissal of their Sec. 1983 claims on summary judgment while the defendants-appellants, Dale Thurgood and Del Bartel, challenge the district court's partial denial of their request for pro se attorney's fees and costs. We affirm.

FACTS

In 1985, Thurgood and Bartel, doing business as Cascade Enterprises and Cascade Construction, constructed a building in Salt Lake City, Utah (the "Building"). On May 30, 1985, Thurgood and Bartel sold the Building to Robert and Joan Debry, by means of an Earnest Money Sales Agreement. Apparently, as a precondition to closing on the Sales Agreement, the Debrys required Thurgood and Bartel to obtain a certificate of occupancy.1

On December 6, 1985, four days prior to the scheduled closing date, Thurgood and Bartel received a temporary certificate of occupancy from defendant-appellee Wallace Noble, a Salt Lake County building inspector. Noble was the supervisor in charge of the other Salt Lake County building inspectors, defendants-appellees Robert Van Wagoner, Delbert Swenson, and Rick Warner. It is undisputed that the temporary certificate of occupancy was issued to Thurgood and Bartel in violation of the policies and procedures of the Salt Lake County Works Department.

On December 10 and 13, 1985, the closing on the Building took place even though Thurgood and Bartel had not yet completed the Building and had only obtained a temporary certificate of occupancy. At the closing, the Debrys executed in favor of Thurgood and Bartel a Promissory Note in the amount of $62,500 and a Trust Deed to the property as security for the Note. Pursuant to an Escrow and Non-Merger Agreement signed by the parties, the Trust Deed and Promissory Note were placed in escrow until such time as Thurgood and Bartel completed work on the Building.

On January 24, 1986, after Thurgood and Bartel failed to finish the Building to the Debrys' satisfaction, the Debrys filed suit against Thurgood and Bartel in state court, alleging fraud, breach of contract, breach of implied warranties, and negligence. Approximately four months later, on May 13, 1986, the Debrys filed a Notice of Claim with Salt Lake County, objecting to Noble's issuance of the temporary certificate of occupancy to Thurgood and Bartel and the failure of other building inspectors to issue any stop work orders.2 On September 19th, the Debrys amended their state court complaint to add Noble, Salt Lake County, and the Salt Lake County Works Department as defendants (the "First County Defendants"). The amended complaint alleged that these defendants acted negligently in enforcing the Building Code and committed fraud in issuing the temporary certificate of occupancy to Thurgood and Bartel.

On November 3, 1986, Carl Eriksson, the Section Manager for the Inspection Services Section of Salt Lake County, ordered the Debrys to vacate the Building since their temporary certificate of occupancy had expired and a permanent certificate of occupancy had not been obtained. The Debrys subsequently amended their state court complaint to add claims against Salt Lake County that the Notice to Vacate violated their First Amendment right to freedom of enterprise and occupation, their Fifth Amendment right not to be deprived of property without due process, and their Fourteenth Amendment right to equal protection.

After completion of discovery, the First County Defendants moved for summary judgment. On August 11, 1987, the trial court granted this motion. The Debrys appealed the trial court's judgment and their appeal was pending before the Utah Supreme Court at the time this appeal was argued. In a separate order, the trial court required the County to inspect the Building and compile a list of deficiencies that needed to be corrected in order for the Debrys to receive a certificate of occupancy.

The Debrys' claims against Thurgood and Bartel were tried to a jury. The jury found that Thurgood and Bartel breached an implied warranty to construct the building in accordance with the Building Code and awarded the Debrys $52,625.00 in compensatory damages. However, the jury also found that the Debrys were in default under the terms of the Trust Deed and Promissory Note and awarded Thurgood and Bartel $62,500 in compensatory damages and $125,000 in punitive damages.

On November 9, 1988, the County performed the inspection required by the state court, and concluded that there were several violations of the Building Code that needed to be repaired in order for the Debrys to receive a certificate of occupancy. The Debrys subsequently requested a temporary certificate of occupancy, apparently without remedying any of the violations noted by the County. After the Debrys' request was denied by the County, the Debrys filed the instant suit in the United States District Court for the District of Utah on January 24, 1989. In their complaint, the Debrys charged the defendants with fraud in connection with the temporary certificate of occupancy issued to Thurgood and Bartel in 1985. Additionally, the Debrys alleged pursuant to 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983 that the defendants violated their First Amendment right to petition for redress and their Fifth Amendment right not to be deprived of property without due process by ordering them to vacate the Building in 1986 and by subsequently refusing to issue a temporary certificate of occupancy.

The defendants moved for summary judgment on the grounds of claim preclusion and issue preclusion and requested sanctions against the plaintiffs.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1 F.3d 1249, 1993 U.S. App. LEXIS 27957, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/robert-j-debry-and-joan-debry-v-wallace-r-noble-robert-van-wagoner-ca10-1993.