Seipel v. Olympic Coast Investments

2008 MT 237, 188 P.3d 1027, 344 Mont. 415, 2008 Mont. LEXIS 322
CourtMontana Supreme Court
DecidedJuly 2, 2008
DocketDA 06-0567
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 2008 MT 237 (Seipel v. Olympic Coast Investments) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Montana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Seipel v. Olympic Coast Investments, 2008 MT 237, 188 P.3d 1027, 344 Mont. 415, 2008 Mont. LEXIS 322 (Mo. 2008).

Opinions

CHIEF JUSTICE GRAY

delivered the Opinion of the Court.

¶1 Joe Seipel appeals from an order and judgment of the Eighth Judicial District Court, Cascade County, granting the defendants’ motion for summary judgment and dismissing his action for malicious prosecution and abuse of process. We reverse and remand.

¶2 We restate the issues as whether the District Court erred in granting summary judgment on Seipel’s claim for malicious prosecution and whether the court erred in granting summary judgment on Seipel’s claim for abuse of process.

BACKGROUND

¶3 This action arises out of a federal court action Olympic Coast Investments (Olympic), a Washington corporation, filed against Joe Seipel in 2003. Quentin Rhoades and the Law Firm of Sullivan, Tabaracci & Rhoades, P.C., represented Olympic in that matter.

¶4 Olympic’s federal court action was premised on a professional property appraisal Seipel performed for Olympic in 1998 and revised in 2000. Seipel valued the property-an RV park outside of Anaconda, Montana-at $1.1 million. Olympic later disbursed $680,000 in financing-secured by a trust indenture-to David Barr for purchase of the property. Barr defaulted on his obligation, which totaled $780,000 at the time, and the property sold at auction for approximately $425,000 in December of 2002.

¶5 Olympic subsequently filed a complaint against Seipel in federal district court in Montana, alleging that Seipel had overvalued the property and seeking to recover damages from him on various theories. Seipel moved for summary judgment based, in part, on Olympic’s lack [417]*417of capacity to maintain the suit. He claimed Olympic had not obtained a statutorily-required certificate of authority to do business in Montana as an express or “Massachusetts” trust, which Olympic then claimed to be. In February of 2005, the federal district court heard arguments on Seipel’s motion for summary judgment. The court noted that, although it had given Olympic the opportunity to do so, Olympic had not amended its complaint to allege anything other than that it was proceeding as a trustee of an express business trust, suing in its own name to pursue the action on behalf of the trust and its beneficiaries. The court granted Seipel’s motion and dismissed the case without prejudice, providing a comprehensive oral explanation for its ruling.

¶6 In March of2005, Seipel filed this action for malicious prosecution and abuse of process in the District Court against Olympic, Rhoades and Rhoades’ law firm (collectively, “the defendants”). He alleged the federal court action was without merit and filed for improper motives. Seipel also alleged the defendants were aware of the legal and factual infirmities of Olympic’s claims in the federal court action.

¶7 The defendants moved for summary judgment. They contended the federal court action had not terminated favorably for Seipel, as required to establish a malicious prosecution claim. They also contended Seipel had failed to present evidence that Olympic had an ulterior motive in filing that action, as required to establish an abuse of process claim. Seipel opposed the motion for summary judgment.

¶8 The District Court agreed with Olympic and granted summary judgment for the defendants on both of Seipel’s claims. Seipel appeals.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶9 Summary judgment is an extreme remedy which should not be substituted for trial if a material factual controversy exists. Molina v. Panco Const., Inc., 2002 MT 136, ¶ 14, 310 Mont. 185, ¶ 14, 49 P.3d 570, ¶ 14 (citations omitted). Pursuant to M. R. Civ. P. 56(c), summary judgment is proper only if “the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” We review a summary judgment de novo. Cole v. Valley Ice Garden, L.L.C., 2005 MT 115, ¶ 4, 327 Mont. 99, ¶ 4, 113 P.3d 275, ¶ 4.

[418]*418ISSUE 1

¶10 Did the District Court err in granting summary judgment on Seipel’s claim for malicious prosecution?

¶11 A plaintiff’s burden at trial in a civil action for malicious prosecution is to introduce evidence which allows reasonable jurors to find the following elements:

(1) a judicial proceeding was commenced and prosecuted against the plaintiff;
(2) the defendant was responsible for instigating, prosecuting or continuing the proceeding;
(3) the defendant acted without probable cause;
(4) the defendant was actuated by malice;
(5) the judicial proceeding terminated favorably for plaintiff; and
(6) the plaintiff sustained damages.

Plouffe v. Montana Dept. of Public Health and Human Services, 2002 MT 64, ¶ 16, 309 Mont. 184, ¶ 16, 45 P.3d 10, ¶ 16 (citations omitted). Because the elements are written in the conjunctive, each must be satisfied. In the summary judgment context, then, a plaintiff must raise a genuine issue of material fact on each element to withstand summary judgment. See generally Plouffe, ¶ 17; O’Fallon v. Farmers Ins. Exchange, 260 Mont. 233, 239-41, 859 P.2d 1008, 1012-13 (1993). In the present case, the District Court concluded Seipel could raise no issue of material fact on element (5) of his malicious .prosecution claim-that Olympic’s federal proceeding terminated in his favor-because the federal court’s decision to dismiss Olympic’s action without prejudice addressed only Olympic’s capacity to sue and not the merits of the case. Seipel asserts error.

¶12 Seipel argues the prior proceeding terminated favorably for him because, while the federal court left the door open for individual investors in Olympic to sue, it closed the door on Olympic’s ability to sue him again. He points out that, in dismissing Olympic’s suit, the federal judge explained to Rhoades-Olympic’s counsel-that Olympic’s failure to comply with Montana law concerning its status resulted in lack of capacity to maintain the suit:

The plaintiff chose the manner of positioning itself as to its status and capacity to maintain suit. There’s no question, in the view of the court, that the plaintiff was directly apprised by the court at the time of the November 12 hearing that it would have to identify how it intended to proceed, and after the plaintiff itself had suggested, at least, that it might consider adding individual investors in this program as parties. Presumably, the plaintiff [419]*419took whatever course of action it felt was appropriate and did so with a clear understanding of the potential for that course of action.
Having said all of that, Mr. Rhoades, in the view of this court, the court would be entirely justified in dismissing this case with prejudice. But I’m going to do something short of that. I’m going to dismiss this lawsuit without prejudice.

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Seipel v. Olympic Coast Investments
2008 MT 237 (Montana Supreme Court, 2008)

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Bluebook (online)
2008 MT 237, 188 P.3d 1027, 344 Mont. 415, 2008 Mont. LEXIS 322, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/seipel-v-olympic-coast-investments-mont-2008.