Victoria L. Sloan v. Kelly OÂ?Neil, Regina Sabbia, Kerrie Cathcart, Uptown Realty & Management LLC ( 2017 )

This opinion will be unpublished and
may not be cited except as provided by
Minn. Stat. § 480A.08, subd. 3 (2016).
STATE OF MINNESOTA
IN COURT OF APPEALS
A16-1249
Victoria L. Sloan,
Appellant,
vs.
Kelly O’Neil,
Respondent,
Regina Sabbia,
Respondent,
Kerrie Cathcart,
Respondent,
Uptown Realty & Management LLC,
Defendant
Filed February 27, 2017
Affirmed
Worke, Judge
Hennepin County District Court
File No. 27-CV-14-12814
Susan Dickel Minsberg, St. Paul, Minnesota (for appellant)
Samuel Spaid, Minneapolis, Minnesota (for respondent Kelly O’Neil)
Joshua S. Casper, St. Paul, Minnesota (for respondent Regina Sabbia)
Craig Buske, Minneapolis, Minnesota (for respondent Kerrie Cathcart)
Considered and decided by Halbrooks, Presiding Judge; Worke, Judge; and Jesson,
Judge.
UNPUBLISHED OPINION
WORKE, Judge
Appellant challenges the district court’s denial of her motion for costs and
disbursements. Because the district court did not abuse its discretion by determining that
appellant was not a prevailing party, we affirm.
FACTS
Appellant Victoria L. Sloan, through defendant Uptown Realty & Management
LLC, rented a house to respondents Kelly O’Neil, Regina Sabbia, and Kerrie Cathcart.
After discovering damage to the house, Sloan brought this action against respondents and
Uptown Realty alleging claims of breach of contract and willful destruction of property
against respondents and claims of breach of contract, negligent misrepresentation, and
unjust enrichment against Uptown Realty. Sloan settled her claims against Uptown Realty.
The district court granted respondents’ motion for summary judgment on Sloan’s
willful-destruction-of-property claim. The district court determined that Sloan had “failed
to present any evidence indicating that her home’s damage was caused willfully and
maliciously.” The district court also determined that respondents were the prevailing party
as to this claim and awarded them attorney fees under Minn. Stat. § 504B.165(a) (2016).
After a trial on Sloan’s breach-of-contract claim, a jury found that respondents
breached their lease and that they negligently caused $13,960 in damage to Sloan’s
property. The district court deducted $10,000 for Sloan’s settlement with Uptown Realty
and $2,700 for respondents’ security deposit and ordered respondents to pay Sloan $1,260.
The district court ordered Sloan to pay respondents a total of $7,000 in attorney fees for
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defending against the willful-destruction-of-property claim. In a recent opinion, we
affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment and award of attorney fees on the
willful-destruction-of-property claim and the district court’s decision to deduct the
settlement and the security deposit from the jury verdict. Sloan v. O’Neil, No. A16-0611,
2016 WL 7439093 (Minn. App. Dec. 27, 2016).
The parties applied for costs and disbursements. The district court determined that
because Sloan prevailed on the breach-of-contract claim and respondents prevailed on the
willful-destruction-of-property claim, there was no overall prevailing party. Accordingly,
the district court denied all motions for costs and disbursements. This appeal followed.
DECISION
Under Minn. Stat. § 549.04 (2016), the district court must award a prevailing party
reasonable costs and disbursements. Dukowitz v. Hannon Sec. Servs., 841 N.W.2d 147,
155 (Minn. 2014). But the district court has “discretion to determine which party, if any,
qualifies as a prevailing party.” Benigni v. County of St. Louis, 585 N.W.2d 51, 54-55
(Minn. 1998). This court will only reverse the district court’s prevailing-party
determination if the district court “abused its discretion, exercised its discretion in an
arbitrary or capricious manner, or based its ruling on an erroneous view of the law.” Posey
v. Fossen, 707 N.W.2d 712, 714 (Minn. App. 2006) (quotation omitted). The party
challenging the district court’s decision has the burden to show that “no reasonable person
would agree” with the decision. Id. (quotation omitted).
“In determining who qualifies as the prevailing party in an action, the general result
should be considered, and inquiry made as to who has, in the view of the law, succeeded
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in the action.” Borchert v. Maloney, 581 N.W.2d 838, 840 (Minn. 1998) (quotation
omitted). The prevailing party is the party “in whose favor the decision or verdict is
rendered and judgment entered.” Id. The right to recover costs and disbursements depends
on the final result on the merits of the action, not on “intermediate motions or preliminary
proceedings.” Elsenpeter v. St. Michael Mall, Inc., 794 N.W.2d 667, 673 (Minn. App.
2011) (quotation omitted).
Sloan argues that “[s]ince the jury held that [respondents] were negligent and [she]
was damaged as a result, she is the prevailing party.” She claims that her case resembles
Borchert, wherein, despite the fact that the plaintiff’s recovery was less than the
defendant’s settlement offer, the supreme court affirmed the district court’s determination
that the plaintiff was the prevailing party because the plaintiff won a jury verdict and was
awarded damages. 581 N.W.2d at 839-40. Borchert is distinguishable. It involved a single
claim that was resolved in the plaintiff’s favor. Id. at 839. Here, there are two claims at
issue: the breach-of-contract claim and the willful-destruction-of-property claim. One
claim was resolved in Sloan’s favor, and the other was resolved in respondents’ favor.
Sloan maintains that the district court’s grant of summary judgment to respondents
on her willful-destruction-of-property claim “did not dispose of the claim on the merits”
and “only disposed of [her] claim for attorney[] fees related to the damage.” But
“[s]ummary judgment is a determination on the merits.” Burma v. Stransky, 357 N.W.2d
82, 89 (Minn. 1984). And, Sloan’s willful-destruction-of-property claim was not merely
an intermediate claim for attorney fees, but a separate cause of action requiring proof of
facts distinct from her breach-of-contract claim. See Minn. Stat. § 504B.165(a) (“An action
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may be brought for willful and malicious destruction of leased residential rental property.
The prevailing party may recover actual damages, costs, and reasonable attorney fees, as
well as other equitable relief . . . .”); Sloan, 2016 WL 7439093, at *5 (stating that to survive
summary judgment Sloan had to “create a genuine issue of material fact on whether
respondents willfully and maliciously, rather than negligently, damaged [her] property”).
The district court’s summary-judgment order fully and finally disposed of the willful-
destruction-of-property claim in respondents’ favor.
While Sloan won a jury verdict and prevailed on her breach-of-contract claim,
respondents prevailed on the willful-destruction-of-property claim. The district court
granted summary judgment to respondents on that claim and awarded them $7,000 in
attorney fees. When each party prevails in some substantive aspect of the litigation, the
district court may determine that there is no prevailing party for the purposes of awarding
costs and disbursements. Benigni, 585 N.W.2d at 55. The district court did not abuse its
discretion by refusing to name a prevailing party and denying Sloan’s motion for costs and
disbursements.
Affirmed.
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