Texas West Oil & Gas Corp. v. First Interstate Bank of Casper

743 P.2d 857, 1987 Wyo. LEXIS 514
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 2, 1987
Docket86-123
StatusPublished
Cited by32 cases

This text of 743 P.2d 857 (Texas West Oil & Gas Corp. v. First Interstate Bank of Casper) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Texas West Oil & Gas Corp. v. First Interstate Bank of Casper, 743 P.2d 857, 1987 Wyo. LEXIS 514 (Wyo. 1987).

Opinions

URBIGKIT, Justice.

This case is a sequel to Texas West Oil and Gas Corporation v. Fitzgerald, Wyo., 726 P.2d 1056 (1986), involving manufacture of a drilling rig, which case was remanded for retrial on the issue of damages on an intentional-interference claim against a bank loan guarantor. With remand on damages, this court also affirmed an arbitration award that determined a contractual balance remained due and unpaid from Texas West, the buyer, to Oil Patch Sales and Rentals of Wyoming, Inc., the manufacturer.

Texas West has now filed suit, also premised generally on intentional-interference claims, against First Interstate Bank of Casper, N.A., which provided operational funding to Oil Patch, and against Gordon Gibson, president of Oil Patch, as a director, after motions for leave to amend had been filed in the earlier suit to add present appellees as defendants. In this second case, appeal is taken from the order sustaining motions to dismiss by both defendants. Although the court also denied sanctions, attorney’s fees and costs requested by Gibson, no cross-appeal was taken.

The briefs in this appeal are replete with contentions of fact not to be discerned in the record, some of which are at the least conclusory and others questionable. A general factual analysis of the controversy is found in this court's earlier decision.

I

RES-JUDICATA AND COLLATERAL-ESTOPPEL

CONSIDERATION BY A MOTION TO DISMISS

Our preliminary inquiry is required to determine whether the res judica-ta or collateral-estoppel defense can be sustained on a motion to dismiss. We recognized the validity of the defined standard that upon entry of an order dismissing a complaint pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), W.R. C.P., the trial court accepts the pleadings as true, except for facts or records properly subject to judicial notice.

“ * * * Although normally a motion to dismiss admits all well-pleaded facts, it does not admit facts which the court can judicially notice as not being corréct * * (Emphasis added.) Weber v. Johnston Fuel Liners, Inc., Wyo., 540 P.2d 535, 538 (1975),

and we now include facts which the court can judicially notice as determined or true.

Many cases consider whether res judica-ta and collateral estoppel can be determined on the motion to dismiss or can only be raised successfully by summary judgment or affirmative answer processes. This court follows the modern trend which was first enunciated for Wyoming in Weber, that if the information necessary for decision is available to the court by judicial notice, defendant can raise res judicata or collateral estoppel for consideration by a motion to dismiss. Additionally, it is to be recognized that if either party supplements the record by affidavit or other new documentation, then the automatic conversion provision of Rule 12(b)(6) applies in that where matters outside of the pleadings are presented to and not excluded by the court, “the motion shall be treated as one for summary judgment,” and the notice provisions and processes therein provided will be utilized. Torrey v. Twiford, Wyo., 713 P.2d 1160 (1986).

II

JUDICIAL NOTICE

For simplicity, we will designate the first case Texas West I, and this second case Texas West II. In analysis, we find it now necessary to determine what, if any, information from Texas West I could have been judicially noticed by the trial court in [859]*859Texas West II to be considered at this time for our appellate review. This case is closely related to Texas West I in that it involves the same transaction, participants, and appellant again as plaintiff. The defendant parties are the only difference. The interrelations of the cases can be more clearly discerned by the history and text of the pleadings.

Within this criteria, and with the entire record of Texas West I remaining in the physical possession of this court following denial of the petition for rehearing, we determine that the rule for review of the sufficiency of the motion to dismiss will be considered by judicially noticing the Texas West I record. Shuttlesworth v. City of Birmingham, 394 U.S. 147, 89 S.Ct. 935, 22 L.Ed.2d 162 (1969); National Fire Insurance Co. v. Thompson, 281 U.S. 331, 50 S.Ct. 288, 74 L.Ed. 881 (1930); Weber v. Johnston Fuel Liners, Inc., supra; Ellis v. Cauhaupe, 71 Wyo. 475, 260 P.2d 309 (1953); State ex rel. Romsa v. Grace, 43 Wyo. 454, 5 P.2d 301 (1931); State in Interest of C, Wyo., 638 P.2d 165 (1981); 31 C.J.S. Evidence § 50(3)(b) at 1034.

“Because both parties have relied upon the opinion and judgment in the original case and have injected it in both their briefs and arguments, we will rely thereon in determining the sufficiency of this complaint. There is another basis for taking judicial notice of the prior proceedings in the original case between these parties. We do not deem it improper to take notice of the judgment, temporary restraining order, and opinion in the earlier case because of the identity of the parties and the interrelationship of these actions. See Shuttlesworth v. City of Birmingham, [supra]; National Fire Ins. Co. of Hartford v. Thompson, 281 U.S. 331, 50 S.Ct. 288, 290, 74 L.Ed. 881; 31 C.J.S. Evidence § 50(1), p. 1021, and § 50(3), pp. 1032-1033. This has been applied in motions to dismiss. Although normally a motion to dismiss admits all well-pleaded facts, it does not admit facts which the court can judicially notice as not being correct, Interstate Natural Gas Co. v. Southern California Gas Co., 9 Cir., 209 F.2d 380, 384; Gulf Coast Western Oil Co. v. Trapp, 10 Cir., 165 F.2d 343, 349; Maniaci v. Warren, D.C. Wis., 314 F.Supp. 853, 857; Golaris v. Jewel Tea Co., D.C.Ill., 22 F.R.D. 16, 19.” Weber v. Johnston Fuel Liners, Inc., supra, 540 P.2d at 538-539.

To the extent that other cases may be in conflict with this rule, we would now disapprove Demars v. Hickey, 13 Wyo. 371, 80 P. 521, reh. denied 81 P. 705 (1905); Sidlo, Simons, Day & Co. v. Phillips, 48 Wyo. 390, 49 P.2d 243 (1935); and Tibbals v. Graham, 50 Wyo. 277, 61 P.2d 279, reh. denied 62 P.2d 285 (1936). See also Amfac Mechanical Supply Co. v. Federer, Wyo., 645 P.2d 73, 79 (1982), wherein this court, in analyzing prior inconsistent testimony in a case in which testimony had been retai-lored, said:

“ * * * The courts will not allow parties to blow hot and cold in the same breath and in separate judicial proceedings, a party will not be allowed to maintain an inconsistent position.”

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Bluebook (online)
743 P.2d 857, 1987 Wyo. LEXIS 514, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/texas-west-oil-gas-corp-v-first-interstate-bank-of-casper-wyo-1987.