Westbrook State Bank v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co.

437 N.W.2d 738, 1989 Minn. App. LEXIS 374, 1989 WL 29593
CourtCourt of Appeals of Minnesota
DecidedApril 4, 1989
DocketNo. C5-88-2005
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 437 N.W.2d 738 (Westbrook State Bank v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Westbrook State Bank v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co., 437 N.W.2d 738, 1989 Minn. App. LEXIS 374, 1989 WL 29593 (Mich. Ct. App. 1989).

Opinion

OPINION

FOLEY, Judge.

Aetna Casualty and Surety Company appeals from the judgment awarding respondent Westbrook State Bank damages for the depreciation to property during the pendency of a replevin action, where the property was in the possession of respondent Robert P. Wardin. We affirm.

FACTS

Westbrook had a security interest in farm machinery owned by Wardin. In June 1983, Westbrook brought an action in replevin to recover that machinery. War-din then filed a defendant’s bond in replev-in in accordance with Minn.Stat. § 565.25, subd. 2 (1982) in order to maintain possession of the property while the action was pending. This bond was issued by Aetna in the amount of $41,500 and provided as follows:

The condition of this obligation is such, that if certain personal property described on Exhibit A (the “Property”) alleged to be of the value of Thirty Three Thousand Two Hundred and no/100 ($33,200.00) Dollars shall be conveyed by Robert Wardin without the proceeds being paid to Plaintiff [Westbrook], the undersigned shall pay to said Plaintiff the amount of such proceeds not so paid to Plaintiff and upon such payment then this obligation shall be void.

Pursuant to Minn.Stat. § 565.25, the trial court approved the filing of the bond.

The replevin action was tried to the court in May 1986. The trial court held that Westbrook was entitled

to the immediate possession of the personal property * * * or, in the alternative, to a money judgment against respondent Wardin and SL & C Partnership in the sum of $30,000; that the value of the personal property * * * has depreciated in value in the amount of $25,500.

In August 1986, Westbrook obtained possession of the property and sold it at public auction. Westbrook received net proceeds of $10,025.50 from the sale. In May 1987, Westbrook brought an action to recover damages from Aetna for depreciation to the property. Aetna asserted a third party complaint against Wardin seeking reimbursement in the event Aetna was obligated to Westbrook.

In its order of October 1, 1987, the trial court denied Aetna’s motion for summary judgment and granted Westbrook’s motion to strike an election of remedies defense raised by Aetna. Aetna had asserted that Westbrook made an election of remedies by taking possession of the property rather than taking the money judgment.

In March 1988, the parties filed cross motions for summary judgment concerning damages and in doing so entered into a stipulation of facts upon which the motions would be decided. The parties agreed in this stipulation that if Aetna’s election of remedies defense did not bar Westbrook’s action on the rebond, then Westbrook was entitled to judgment against Aetna.

The trial court order of June 15, 1988 granted summary judgment in favor of Westbrook and against Aetna, and in favor of Aetna and against Wardin. The court ordered judgment to be entered in the amount of $19,974.50, which represented the difference between the value of the property at the time the rebond was filed ($30,000) and the amount obtained by West-brook at the auction sale ($10,025.50), together with prejudgment interest from June 9, 1986. Aetna appeals.

ISSUES

1. Is Westbrook’s recovery on the re-plevin bond limited by the language of the bond?

[740]*7402. Does the election of remedies doctrine preclude Westbrook from recovering damages in an action on the bond for the depreciation in value of the replevined property?

ANALYSIS

The facts of this case are not in dispute, and the scope of appellate review is whether the trial court erred in its application of law. The trial court’s conclusions of law are not binding on an appellate court. Durfee v. Rod Baxter Imports, Inc., 262 N.W.2d 349, 364 (Minn.1977).

1. Aetna contends that the language of the bond limits Westbrook’s recovery and that no provision in the bond obligates Aetna to pay for depreciation.

By virtue of the stipulation entered into by the parties in March 1988, it is clear that the parties have waived any rights they might have to object to the nature of the bond. The stipulation provides that it was entered into “to allow the Courts to rule upon the amount of [Westbrook’s] damages, if any, subject to [Aetna’s] defense regarding election of remedies.” In paragraph 5 of the stipulation the parties agree that if Aetna’s election of remedies defense is not a bar to Westbrook’s action, then Westbrook is entitled to judgment against Aetna.

The terms of the bond were well known throughout the proceedings. Furthermore, the trial court in all of its orders refers to an action on the bond as a separate and distinct matter from the replevin action. In its order of June 12, 1986, the court stated:

It appears that depreciation in value is not a damage in a replevin action where the property is returned or bond is forfeited; but such depreciation is a damage to be recovered in an action on the re-bond when the personal property is available for return.

In the order of October 1, 1987, the court stated:

It may be true that the replevin judgment has been satisfied but that does not, necessarily, satisfy the conditions of Wardin’s rebond furnished by Aetna. Plaintiff has certain rights under the terms of this bond as well as the law which is part of that bond. These rights do not flow from the money judgment but from the judgment granting plaintiff right of possession, as well as the bond and statutes mentioned above.
Plaintiff seeks to recover the value lost by reason of depreciation between the time of rebond and the time that plaintiff obtained the right to possession. This is not a damage recoverable in the replevin action. This damage can only be recovered on an action on the bond.

The parties understood throughout the proceedings that the bond was to protect the bank and that the court was construing it in that manner. Any objections to the language of the bond were waived when the stipulation was signed.

In addition, where a bond is given pursuant to the provisions of a statute, the Minnesota Supreme Court has held that the bond

must be construed in light of the statute, and extended, as well as limited in its scope, to those cases contemplated by the statute, unless violence would be done to the language of the bond by such construction.

Nelson Roofing & Contracting, Inc. v. C.W. Moore Co., 310 Minn. 140, 143, 245 N.W.2d 866, 868 (1976) (quoting Combs v. Jackson, 69 Minn. 336, 337, 72 N.W. 565, 566 (1897)). The general rule was modified to some extent as follows:

The decision * * * to the effect that, although the bond is intended for a statutory bond, obligations contrary to its plain reading cannot be imposed, do not preclude holding void a provision inserted in such a bond affecting the remedy contrary to the terms of the remedy provided by the statute.

Nelson, 310 Minn. at 143, 245 N.W.2d at 868 (quoting Smith & Wyman Co. v. Carlsted, 165 Minn. 313, 315, 206 N.W. 450, 451 (1925)). The court in Nelson

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
437 N.W.2d 738, 1989 Minn. App. LEXIS 374, 1989 WL 29593, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/westbrook-state-bank-v-aetna-casualty-surety-co-minnctapp-1989.