Wales v. Roll

769 P.2d 899, 1989 Wyo. LEXIS 51, 1989 WL 14479
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 24, 1989
Docket88-166
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 769 P.2d 899 (Wales v. Roll) 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
Wales v. Roll, 769 P.2d 899, 1989 Wyo. LEXIS 51, 1989 WL 14479 (Wyo. 1989).

Opinions

MACY, Justice.

This is an appeal from a summary judgment in a replevin action ordering appellant Ron Wales, d/b/a Video, U.S.A., to deliver business properties to appellees Ross M. Roll and Vicki Franke, d/b/a RV Enterprises, upon a finding that Roll and Franke had a continuing security interest notwithstanding a subsequent sale of the property by the debtor to Wales.

[900]*900We affirm.

Wales generically states his issue to be:
Did the District Court err in granting Appellees’ Motion For Summary Judgment because genuine issues of material fact existed and the Appellees were not entitled to judgment as a matter of law?

Specifically, Wales questions whether it was error for the court to permit Roll and Franke to support their motion for summary judgment with untimely filed depositions and whether the acts of one partner caused Roll’s and Franke’s security interest to become unenforceable against Wales’ posses-sory rights to business properties. These are questions of law, the answers to which depend upon the facts of this case. The material facts in this case are not in dispute.

Roll and Franke were the two members of a partnership known as RV Enterprises which owned and operated a video rental agency in Gillette, Wyoming. During the month of June 1986, RV Enterprises listed the video business for sale with Century 21 Sun Agency of Gillette, Wyoming. Wales made an offer to purchase the business for $85,000. Roll said he would give his consent to sell the business for the price offered if Century 21 would accept a $2,500 commission rather than a commission of seven percent of the selling price. Century 21 refused to take a lesser commission.

Franke, Monte G. Schulte (a defendant below), and Wales reasoned that they could satisfy Roll’s minimum cash price by structuring a sale to Schulte since they believed this sale would not generate an entitlement to a real estate commission. To facilitate this plan, Schulte entered into a written contract with RV Enterprises on December 31, 1986, to purchase the business for $86,-850 by paying $50,000 in cash down and the $36,850 balance plus ten percent interest thereon on or before March 6, 1987. Concurrent with signing the purchase agreement, Schulte signed a security agreement granting RV Enterprises a security interest in the business assets to secure the balance of the purchase price. Wales provided Schulte with the down payment but was unable to obtain a bank loan to pay the balance of the purchase price.

On February 23, 1987, Wales entered into a written agreement with Schulte to purchase the business for $90,000 by paying $55,000 in cash and thirty-six monthly payments of $1,000 each. The additional $1,000 payment was Schulte’s fee for acting as the straw man. Franke prepared this contract and signed it to evidence her responsibility for it. Roll first became aware that Franke, Schulte, and Wales had engaged in the straw man transaction after Schulte failed to pay the balance due under the RV Enterprises/Schulte contract.

On July 17, 1987, RV Enterprises filed a complaint against Schulte and Wales, alleging the existence of the two contracts, the security agreements, and the default and praying that RV Enterprises’ security interest in the property be declared superior to the contracts, that the property be assembled, delivered, and sold, and that judgment be entered against Schulte for any deficiency remaining after sale. Wales timely filed his answer alleging a plethora of affirmative defenses which included fraud on the part of RV Enterprises by conspiring with Schulte to induce Wales to buy the business so that they could keep Wales’ $50,000 after Schulte intentionally failed to make the balloon payment pursuant to the terms of the RV Enterprises contract. Schulte failed to answer, and default was entered against him.

After the action progressed through the court’s case management schedule, the parties each filed a motion for summary judgment stating that they would rely upon the depositions of Wales, Roll, and Franke. On March 8, 1988, the court filed its order allowing RV Enterprises to file these depositions. On April 26, 1988, the court also signed a similar order which was filed April 27, 1988.

On April 26, 1988, immediately prior to the hearing on the cross-motions for summary judgment, Wales objected to the use of unfiled depositions by RV Enterprises in support of or in opposition to the motions. The following colloquy took place:

[901]*901MR. WOLPE: I have a motion in my file that has been filed, motion for filing discovery depositions, and I filed this on March 4th, which asks for the filing of the depositions of Wales, Franke and Roll.
THE COURT: You’re right; that was filed.
MR. WOLFE: I would renew that motion at this time and present the court with copies of their depositions.
MR. O’NEIL: Your Honor, that’s exactly what I was talking about.
I’m in receipt of a copy of that motion. I would stipulate on that to the court, but Rule, Uniform Rule # 302(b) says at the time of filing of the motion. If the court ruled on that motion later or today, that’s not sufficient under the Uniform Rules.
THE COURT: Well, the court should have ruled on that earlier, and that’s my fault for not doing that.
Are you claiming some sort of surprise, Mr. O’Neil, by the use of those depositions, noting, of course, that you used part of those depositions in your motion?
Because, if you are, we’ll simply put off hearing this motion until you’ve had sufficient time to make any responses you think are appropriate and proceed at that time.
But I can see no reason why the court should not consider those depositions. The appropriate motion was made, and the court simply failed to rule on it through oversight, or whatever.
But we can either go ahead and use them now, or, if you don’t wish to do that, we’ll simply reset this hearing at a time so that we’re in compliance, strict compliance with the Rules of Civil Procedure.
MR. O’NEIL: Well, Your Honor, I can’t claim surprise in that in the motion it is mentioned that he’s going to use the depositions in reliance.
I guess my problem is using the entire depositions. I’m not — really haven’t been given notice of exactly what portions of the depositions are going to be used or the basis of the argument.
But I'm familiar with the depositions, Your Honor, all three of them.
THE COURT: Well, if you are familiar with all three of them we’re simply going to proceed today then.
And at the close of this, if there is any need for you to make further response, I will allow you the additional time to do that.
You may proceed with your argument, Mr. Wolfe.

Wales and RV Enterprises, through their attorneys, then extensively referred to the depositions to support their respective motions.

On April 27, 1988, the court filed its order granting RV Enterprises’ motion for summary judgment and denying Wales’ motion upon findings that:

9. In accordance with W.S.

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Wales v. Roll
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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
769 P.2d 899, 1989 Wyo. LEXIS 51, 1989 WL 14479, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wales-v-roll-wyo-1989.