Stuhmer v. Girdner

CourtDistrict Court, D. Colorado
DecidedJune 27, 2024
Docket1:20-cv-00486
StatusUnknown

This text of Stuhmer v. Girdner (Stuhmer v. Girdner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Stuhmer v. Girdner, (D. Colo. 2024).

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO District Judge S. Kato Crews

Civil Action No. 1:20-cv-00486-SKC

STEPHEN S. STUHMER,

Plaintiff,

v.

MICHAEL GIRDNER, and PAUL GIRDNER,

Defendants.

ORDER

When JetAway Aviation, LLC was formed in 2004, Plaintiff Stephen Stuhmer was the president, CEO, and managing member of the company. JetAway was formed to pursue business ventures associated with the Montrose Regional Airport in Montrose, Colorado. In September 2015, JetAway’s assets (real estate, leases, mineral rights, license agreements, fixed base operator equipment, and aviation fuel storage tanks) were combined with those of One Creative Place, LLC, to create Telluride Venture Partners, LLC. According to its operating agreement, Telluride had three members, Plaintiff and Defendants Michael and Paul Girdner. After they formed Telluride, Plaintiff and Defendants negotiated with M.C. Horning, Jr., to sell 50 percent of Telluride’s assets to TSG Asset Holdings, LLC. At the closing, however, Defendants gave Horning a fraudulent document purporting to be Telluride’s operating agreement, and which eliminated Plaintiff’s interest in Telluride. According to Plaintiff, Defendants created the fraudulent operating agreement to misrepresent the members of Telluride to TSG, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), and other third parties, and to leverage personal tax benefits for Defendants and deprive Plaintiff of his interest in Telluride’s assets.

On February 22, 2020, following a state court proceeding affirming Plaintiff’s membership in Telluride, Plaintiff filed this lawsuit asserting claims of fraud and fraudulent concealment, conversion, civil theft, and unjust enrichment, and seeking compensatory and punitive damages. Dkt. 54. Following discovery, Defendants moved for summary judgment on the basis that Plaintiff’s claims were barred by the applicable statute of limitations. This Court denied the motion, concluding any question of whether Plaintiff had the requisite knowledge to commence the running

of the statute of limitations turned on disputed issues of fact and Plaintiff’s credibility, and therefore, required a jury trial. Dkt. 66. Thereafter, this case was tried to a jury of nine. On August 24, 2023, the jury returned a verdict finding Michael Girdner liable to Plaintiff for false representation, nondisclosure or concealment, conversion, and civil theft. Dkt. 110. The jury found Paul Girdner liable only for conversion and civil theft. Id. With respect to damages,

and as against each Defendant, the jury awarded Plaintiff $335,188 in noneconomic damages, $335,188 in economic damages, $575,000 in punitive damages, and $200 in statutory damages related to civil theft, for a total award of $1,245,576.00 against each Defendant—or $2,491,152.00 in the aggregate. Id. Defendants now seek a new trial or an order amending the judgment. Dkts. 120, 122. Plaintiff also seeks to amend the judgment for an award of prejudgment interest and treble damages.1 Dkts. 124, 125. The Court has reviewed the briefing, the trial record, the docket, and the pertinent law. No hearing is necessary. For the

following reasons, Defendants’ requests for a new trial or amendment of the judgment are denied. Plaintiff’s motion for treble damages is denied, but his request for prejudgment interest is granted. ANALYSIS A. Motions for New Trial or to Amend Judgment (Dkts. 120, 122) 1. Sufficiency of the Evidence Citing Fed. R. Civ. P. 59, Defendants make two arguments regarding the

sufficiency of the evidence at trial. First, both contend—as they did in their motion for summary judgment—the unrefuted evidence establishes Plaintiff’s claims are barred by the applicable statutes of limitations. Dkts. 120, 124 at pp.2-3. And with respect to Paul Girdner, Defendants contend the jury’s award of punitive damages

1 Plaintiff also seeks an award of attorney fees and costs. Dkt. 199. The Court will address that issue in a separate order. against him is unsupported by the evidence. Dkt. 122 at p.10. Neither basis warrants amending the judgment.2 “[A] Rule 59(e) motion [to alter or amend the judgment] cannot be used to address the weight or sufficiency of the evidence.” Woods v. First Nat'l Bank of Durango, 705 F. App’x 684, 689 (10th Cir. 2017) (citing Elm Ridge Exploration Co. v. Engle, 721 F.3d 1199, 1216 (10th Cir. 2013)); see also Velazquez v. Figueroa–Gomez,

996 F.2d 425, 427 (1st Cir. 1993) (“We have found no authority supporting the proposition that a motion under Rule 59(e) may be used to reevaluate the weight of the evidence after a jury’s verdict.”). Rather, the proper vehicle for such an argument is Fed. R. Civ. P. 50(b), which seeks a renewed judgment as a matter of law. Elm Ridge Expl. Co., LLC v. Engle, 721 F.3d 1199, 1216 (10th Cir. 2013). Here, however, even if the Court were to regard the present motion as the functional equivalent of a Rule 50(b) motion, it would be to no avail. Defendants never

made an initial motion for judgment as a matter of law under Rule 50(a), which is a prerequisite to a Rule 50(b) motion. Marshall v. Columbia Lea Reg’l Hosp., 474 F.3d 733, 738 (10th Cir. 2007) (holding that a “pre-verdict Rule 50(a) motion” is “a prerequisite to a post-verdict motion under Rule 50(b)”). Consequently, the Court denies Defendants’ request to amend the judgment on these grounds.

2 Although they are not explicit in what relief they seek with respect to these arguments, the Court presumes Defendants seek only amendment of the judgment. To be sure, seeking a new trial on these issues would inherently acknowledge there are questions of fact that should be submitted to the jury. 2. Motion for a New Trial Under Fed. R. Civ. P. 59(a), a court may, on motion, grant a new trial “for any reason for which a new trial has heretofore been granted in an action at law in federal court.” Rule 59(a) motions are “not regarded with favor” and should be granted “only with great caution, being addressed to the sound discretion of the trial court.” United States v. Page, 828 F.2d 1476, 1478 (10th Cir. 1987) (cleaned up). After a jury trial, a

new trial may only be granted when the court “concludes that the jury’s verdict was so against the weight of the evidence as to be unsupportable.” Bangert Bros. Const. Co. v. Kiewit W. Co., 310 F.3d 1278, 1299 (10th Cir. 2002) (citing Skinner v. Total Petroleum, Inc., 859 F.2d 1439, 1442-43 (10th Cir. 1988)). Defendants contend they are entitled to a new trial because the Court made several erroneous evidentiary rulings and improperly gave the jury an agency instruction. And they argue the jury verdicts are inconsistent and improperly

awarded Plaintiff double recovery. a.

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Stuhmer v. Girdner, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/stuhmer-v-girdner-cod-2024.