Grewal v. Junction Market Fairview ( 2024 )

That This opinion is subject to revision before final
publication in the Pacific Reporter
2024 UT 20IN THE
SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF UTAH
MANMOHAN GREWAL and LIPPA GREWAL,
Appellants,
v.
JUNCTION MARKET FAIRVIEW, L.C. and BLUE CAP INVESTMENT
GROUP, L.C.,
Appellees.
No. 20220822
Heard October 20, 2023
Filed July 11, 2024
On Direct Appeal
Sixth District Court, Sanpete County
The Honorable Wallace A. Lee
No. 200600066
Attorneys:
Jared L. Anderson, Provo, for appellants
Alan L. Smith, Salt Lake City, for appellees
CHIEF JUSTICE DURRANT authored the opinion of the Court, in
which ASSOCIATE CHIEF JUSTICE PEARCE, JUSTICE PETERSEN,
JUSTICE HAGEN, and JUSTICE POHLMAN joined.
CHIEF JUSTICE DURRANT, opinion of the Court:
INTRODUCTION
¶1 Lippa and Manmohan Grewal sold a gas station to
Theodore Hansen, who later sold it to Junction Market Fairview,
L.C. (JMF). The sale contract between the Grewals and Hansen
required Hansen to make regular installment payments and
specified that the final balance would become due after
approximately three years. Hansen failed to make many of these
GREWAL v. JUNCTION MARKET
Opinion of the Court
installment payments, and he likewise failed to pay the full balance
when the contract’s call date arrived.
¶2 But the Grewals did not initiate the foreclosure proceeding
at the heart of this case until just over six years after Hansen’s first
missed payment. As the parties agree that the applicable statute of
limitations for a breach of contract action is six years, this poses an
interesting question: when a contract calls for payment in
installments, does the statute of limitations for the enforcement of
that contract begin to run as soon as a payment is missed, or only
once the final call date of the contract arrives?
¶3 That question deserves a firm answer. But, alas, we cannot
provide one. Because the real property involved in this case was
sold to a third-party bona fide purchaser shortly before this appeal
arrived at our doorstep, our precedent dictates we dismiss the
majority of this case as moot.
¶4 The only issue that is not moot concerns the district court’s
award of attorney fees. The Grewals contend that the court abused
its discretion by granting JMF attorney fees under both the Public
Waters Access Act and the reciprocal attorney fees statute. While
the district court’s decision is not perfect, the Grewals fail to show
that its flaws amount to an abuse of discretion. Accordingly, we
affirm the attorney fees award. And because the Grewals do not
oppose JMF’s request to recover the attorney fees it reasonably
incurred in defending against this appeal, we remand to the district
court for a determination of that amount.
BACKGROUND 1
¶5 This case centers around the repeated transfers of a gas
station (Station) in Fairview, Utah. The first relevant transaction
occurred in May 2014, when the Grewals sold the Station to a
corporate entity owned by Hansen. Title was transferred to this
corporate entity via a deed of trust (Deed), which secured the
$400,000 purchase price laid out by the real estate purchase contract
(Contract). The Deed also contained an attorney fees provision.
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1 “In reviewing a grant of summary judgment, we view the facts
and all reasonable inferences drawn therefrom in the light most
favorable to the nonmoving party. We state the facts of this case
accordingly.” In re Discipline of Sonnenreich, 2004 UT 3, ¶ 3, 86 P.3d
712 (cleaned up).
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¶6 Hansen quickly fell into arrears on the Contract, which
required payment in monthly installments. For reasons disputed
by the parties, the Grewals did not seek to punish this nonpayment
by foreclosing on the Station. 2 In 2016, Hansen sold the Station to
JMF. The sale documents acknowledge that the Station was still
subject to the Grewals’ Deed, and JMF was given a credit against
the Station’s purchase price apparently to account for this
encumbrance.
¶7 In August 2020, with substantial sums still owed on the
Contract, the Grewals finally moved to foreclose. After initial
negotiations to resolve the matter fell through, JMF filed suit in
December 2020 to prevent foreclosure. JMF sought, among other
things, a judgment that the Grewals’ Contract and Deed were
unenforceable because the applicable six-year statute of limitations
had run, and an order quieting title in JMF alone.
¶8 The Grewals filed an answer to JMF’s complaint but did
not assert any counterclaims. JMF moved for partial summary
judgment on the statute of limitations and quiet title issues, and the
district court granted that motion. The court concluded that the
statute of limitations on the Contract and Deed had begun running
when Hansen missed the first installment payment in early 2014. In
the district court’s eyes, this meant that the Grewals’ December
2020 foreclosure action was a few months too late.
¶9 The district court awarded sole control of the Station to
JMF and ordered the Grewals to release the Station’s title. When the
Grewals failed to do so, JMF filed the court’s judgment with the
county recorder and seized the Station in early August 2021. A few
days later, JMF sold the Station to another purchaser.
¶10 Around this time, JMF also moved to recover its attorney
fees. Specifically, JMF argued it was entitled to recover its fees
under two statutes: the reciprocal attorney fees statute contained in
Utah Code section 78B-5-826, and the quiet title section of the
Public Waters Access Act (PWAA) found in Utah Code
section 73-29-204. Somewhat surprisingly, the Grewals’ response
did not contest that either statute applied. It noted instead that both
statutes provided for the permissive, but not mandatory, award of
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2 Based on the record available, it appears that the Grewals and
Hansen were involved in other business transactions that may have
contributed to the decision to delay foreclosure proceedings.
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Opinion of the Court
fees and argued that JMF didn’t deserve its fees under either. The
district court received motions from both sides, held a hearing, and
concluded that JMF was entitled to recover under both statutes.
¶11 Having exhausted their options before the district court,
the Grewals sought appellate review. We retained the case to hear
it directly.
STANDARDS OF REVIEW
¶12 JMF raised the issue of mootness before us in a pre-briefing
motion to dismiss. 3 “Because this issue arises for the first time here
on review, our decision is not governed by any standard of review,
and we decide the matter as a question of law in the first instance.” 4
¶13 The Grewals challenge the district court’s award of
attorney fees under both the reciprocal attorney fees statute and the
PWAA. Generally speaking, “[w]hether attorney fees are
recoverable in an action is a question of law, which we review for
correctness.” 5 But to the extent that the governing statute grants the
district court discretion to award fees, “we review [the district
court’s] decision for an abuse of that discretion.” 6
ANALYSIS
¶14 The Grewals bring eight claims on appeal. The first seven
claims argue that the district court erred by granting partial
summary judgment on the issues of wrongful foreclosure and quiet
title. Before we can reach the merits of those arguments, however,
we must address JMF’s claim that the transfer of the Station to a
third party renders the Grewals’ assertions of error moot under
Richards v. Baum. 7
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3 JMF also raised the issue of mootness below in response to one
of the Grewals’ post-judgment motions. The parties have not
appealed the district court’s denial of that motion.
4 JLPR LLC v. Procurement Pol’y Bd., 2021 UT App 52, ¶ 14, 492
P.3d 784.
5 Fericks v. Lucy Ann Soffe Tr., 2004 UT 85, ¶ 22, 100 P.3d 1200(cleaned up).
6 Federated Cap. Corp. v. Haner, 2015 UT App 132, ¶ 10, 351 P.3d
816.
7 914 P.2d 719 (Utah 1996).
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¶15 We accept JMF’s argument that Richards governs this case
and hold that the doctrine of mootness prevents us from reaching
the merits of these seven issues. But this mootness argument does
not apply to the Grewals’ final argument of error, which challenges
the district court’s award of attorney fees to JMF.
¶16 The district court found that an award of attorney fees to
JMF was appropriate under two different statutes: the reciprocal
attorney fees statute 8 and the PWAA. 9 The Grewals challenge both
awards on different grounds. Because the district court’s ruling
was phrased in the alternative, the Grewals must show that neither
statute supports it.
¶17 The Grewals fail to make that showing. We have our
doubts as to whether either statute applies to this case. But the
Grewals do not challenge the applicability of those statutes. And as
to the reciprocal fees statute in particular, the record does not
support the Grewals’ argument that the award of fees constituted
an unjust windfall for JMF, as prohibited by Bilanzich v. Lonetti. 10
¶18 The result is that we dismiss the majority of the Grewals’
appeal as moot. On the surviving attorney fees issue, we hold that
the district court did not abuse its discretion by awarding fees
under the reciprocal attorney fees statute. Accordingly, we affirm.
I. THE MAJORITY OF THE GREWALS’ APPEAL IS MOOT
¶19 An issue is moot “if the relief requested is rendered
impossible or of no legal effect.” 11 Our prior cases hold that “we
lack the power to address the underlying merits” of a moot issue. 12
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8 UTAH CODE § 78B-5-826.
9 Id. § 73-29-204(9). Both the parties and the district court
mistakenly refer to Utah Code section 73-29-204 as the “Quiet Title
Act.” Title 73, chapter 29 of the Utah Code actually contains the
PWAA. The statutes governing quiet title actions are found in title
78B, chapter 6, part 13 of the Utah Code.
10 2007 UT 26, 160 P.3d 1041.
11 Transp. All. Bank v. Int’l Confections Co., 2017 UT 55, ¶ 15, 423
P.3d 1171 (cleaned up).
12 Utah Transit Auth. v. Loc. 382 of Amalgamated Transit Union,
2012 UT 75, ¶ 12, 289 P.3d 582.
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Opinion of the Court
¶20 Applying the mootness doctrine in controversies
involving the sale of real property is a thorny issue that this court
has addressed on multiple occasions. JMF argues that one such
case, Richards v. Baum, 13 governs the present appeal. As the facts of
that case are similar to those before us—and are broadly similar to
most mootness disputes involving real property—they are worth
exploring.
¶21 Richards arose out of a dispute over the sale of real
property from the Baums to the Richardses. 14 After the parties had
signed a contract, the Baums backed out, leading the Richardses to
file suit “seeking a decree quieting title and an order requiring [the
Baums] to specifically perform” the sales contract.15 After a bench
trial, the court quieted title in favor of the Baums, and the
Richardses appealed. 16
¶22 Crucially, the Richardses did not seek a stay of the trial
court’s judgment during the pendency of their appeal. 17 Rule 62 of
the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure allows parties to “obtain a stay
of the enforcement of a judgment” while an appeal takes place. 18 In
the absence of such a stay, “the adverse order and any resulting
judgments remain valid and enforceable during the pendency of
[the] appeal.” 19 In context, this means that a rule 62 stay prevents
the prevailing party from transferring or selling the disputed
property to anyone else. Without that stay, the prevailing party can
dispose of the property as it sees fit.
¶23 Obtaining a rule 62 stay is not without cost. Rule 62
requires the party seeking the stay to “provid[e] a bond or other
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13 914 P.2d 719 (Utah 1996).
14 Id. at 720.
15 Id.
16 Id.
17 Id.
18 UTAH R. CIV. P. 62(b).
19 2DP Blanding, LLC v. Palmer, 2017 UT 62, ¶ 13, 423 P.3d 1247(cleaned up).
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security,” 20 commonly referred to as a supersedeas bond. 21 The
district court determines the bond amount and must ensure the
amount “adequately protects the adverse party against loss or
damage occasioned by the stay and assures payment after the stay
ends.” 22 Given the large sums of money involved in property
disputes, supersedeas bonds may quickly run to the tens, or even
hundreds, of thousands of dollars. 23 Finding liquid assets sufficient
to post a supersedeas bond may be a significant challenge to many
litigants. 24
¶24 The decision not to seek a stay proved to be fatal to the
Richardses’ case. During the pendency of the appeal, the Baums
sold the property at issue to a third party. 25 That sale triggered a
longstanding legal rule that protects bona fide purchasers by
preventing courts from undoing legitimate sales of property. 26 The
consequences of this rule can be dramatic; when disputed property
is sold during an appeal, the appealing party has “no recourse
against third parties who lawfully acquire the property.” 27 Even if
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20 UTAH R. CIV. P. 62(b).
21 See 2DP Blanding, 2017 UT 62, ¶ 13.
22 UTAH R. CIV. P. 62(h)(1); see also 5 AM. JUR. 2D Appellate Review
§ 374 (2024) (“[T]he amount of a supersedeas bond typically takes
into account the amount needed to satisfy the judgment appealed
from, as well as costs, interest, and any damages which might be
caused by the stay pending appeal.”).
23 See, e.g., Rothwell v. Rothwell, 2023 UT App 51, ¶ 2, 530 P.3d
955 (affirming a $3.8 million supersedeas bond to stay judgment on
a $14.2 million award of cash and assorted property).
24 See Kimberly M. Robinson & Joshua S. Roseman, Obstacles to
Obtaining Alternate Security and Meaningful Appellate Review of the
Trial Court’s Decision Regarding the Same, APP. ADVOC., Summer
2001, at 18 (“Every appellate practitioner, at some point, will be
faced with a client who wants to appeal from an adverse money
judgment but cannot afford a supersedeas bond to prevent the
enforcement of the judgment pending the appeal.”).
25 Richards, 914 P.2d at 720.
26 See 2DP Blanding, 2017 UT 62, ¶¶ 24–27; RESTATEMENT (FIRST)
OF RESTITUTION § 74 (AM. L. INST. 1937).
27 2DP Blanding, 2017 UT 62, ¶ 27.
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Opinion of the Court
a court were to reverse the underlying judgment, title to the
property cannot be returned.
¶25 When this rule is applied to the facts of Richards, the
mootness issue becomes evident. A case is moot when “the relief
requested is rendered impossible or of no legal effect.” 28 The only
remedy the Richardses requested at trial was specific performance
of a real estate contract and title to the contested property.29 The
sale of the property to a bona fide purchaser 30 meant that we could
not render a decision on appeal that would grant that relief.
Because there was “[n]o action which we could . . . take [that]
would affect the litigants’ rights to the property,” we held that the
case was moot. 31
¶26 Two justices dissented, contending that this result could
be avoided by relying on two rules in the Utah Rules of Civil
Procedure. 32 Rule 15 allows parties to seek leave to amend their
pleadings to include new claims for relief. 33 Rule 54(c) allows
district courts to “grant the relief to which each party is entitled,
even if the party has not demanded that relief in its pleadings.” 34
¶27 The dissent reasoned that these rules meant that the door
to relief was not completely closed, as each created the possibility
of recovering monetary damages. 35 Under rule 15, the dissent
asserted, the district court could allow the Richardses to amend
their pleadings to include a prayer for monetary damages.36 Or,
__________________________________________________________28 Int’l Confections Co., 2017 UT 55, ¶ 15 (cleaned up).
29 Richards, 914 P.2d at 722.
30 “A bona fide purchaser is one who pays valuable
consideration for a conveyance, acts in good faith, and takes
without notice of an adverse claim or others’ outstanding rights to
the seller’s title.” Baldwin v. Burton, 850 P.2d 1188, 1197 (Utah 1993).
31 Richards, 914 P.2d at 722.
32 Id. at 723–24 (Stewart, A.C.J., and Durham, J., dissenting).
33 UTAH R. CIV. P. 15.
34 Id. R. 54(c).
35 Richards, 914 P.2d at 723–24 (Stewart, A.C.J., and Durham, J.,
dissenting).
36 Id. at 723.
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under rule 54(c), the district court could simply use its equitable
power to grant the Richardses monetary damages. 37
¶28 Ultimately, this view did not prevail. The majority opinion
noted that rules 15 and 54(c) applied only “to a trial court’s authority
prior to its final judgment.” 38 Neither rule affects “an appellate
court’s authority to look beyond the case as it stands on appeal.”39
On appeal “we examine the action before us in its present form,”
with no consideration given to “the possibility of future
amendments that a trial court may in its discretion allow or
disallow.” 40 The Richardses’ only requests for relief were specific
performance of a real estate contract and title to the disputed
property. Because that relief was impossible to grant, and we could
not consider other relief, their case was moot.
¶29 The facts of Richards are sufficiently analogous to the
present case to control the mootness question here. Like the
Richardses, the Grewals lost a quiet title dispute in district court.
Like the Richardses, the Grewals failed to post a supersedeas bond
and obtain a stay. Like the Baums, JMF sold the contested property
to a third-party bona fide purchaser. And like the Richardses, the
Grewals did not assert a claim for monetary damages that would
allow us to reach the merits of their arguments on appeal. Because
our ruling could not affect the rights of the litigants regarding the
title to the Station, the Grewals’ challenges to that part of the district
court’s judgment are moot. Accordingly, we dismiss the Grewals’
appeal in part.
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37 Id.38 Id. at 722.
39 Id.
40 Id. at 721–22. It is also doubtful whether the trial court would,
or even could, have invoked these rules. See, e.g., UTAH R. CIV. P. 15
(limiting when and how pleadings may be amended); Combe v.
Warren’s Fam. Drive-Inns, Inc., 680 P.2d 733, 735 (Utah 1984)
(“Although Rule [54(c)] permits relief on grounds not pleaded, that
rule does not go so far as to authorize the granting of relief on issues
neither raised nor tried.”).
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Opinion of the Court
II. THE DISTRICT COURT DID NOT ABUSE ITS DISCRETION BY
AWARDING ATTORNEY FEES
¶30 In its motion for attorney fees, JMF argued that it was
entitled to recover fees under both the reciprocal attorney fees
statute 41 and the PWAA. 42 The Grewals did not contest the
applicability of the two statutes but instead argued that JMF hadn’t
satisfied the criteria to justify the discretionary award of fees under
either of them. The district court agreed with JMF and cited both
the reciprocal fees statute and the PWAA as independent bases for
its award of fees.
¶31 Unlike their challenges to the district court’s grant of
summary judgment, the Grewals’ challenge to the district court’s
award of attorney fees is not moot. An issue on appeal is moot
when “there remains no meaningful relief that this court could
offer.” 43 While the dispute about the title to the Station was moot
for the reasons listed above, 44 the relief that the Grewals request in
regard to the attorney fees award—vacating the award of fees to
JMF and awarding fees instead to the Grewals—could still be
granted.
¶32 The Grewals’ arguments on appeal mirror those that they
raised before the district court: conceding that the statutes apply
but contending that the district court erred by awarding fees under
them. We have our doubts about whether either statute applies to
this case. 45 But because the Grewals concede the issue, we consider
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41 UTAH CODE § 78B-5-826.
42 Id. § 73-29-204(9).
43 Utah Transit Auth. v. Loc. 382 of Amalgamated Transit Union,
2012 UT 75, ¶ 15, 289 P.3d 582.
44 See supra ¶ 29.
45 JMF was not a party to the Deed, and it is the attorney fees
provision contained within that document that would trigger the
reciprocal fees statute. Prior cases on the reciprocal fees statute,
such as Hooban v. Unicity International, Inc., seem to leave open the
question of whether the statute would have applied in this precise
factual scenario. See 2012 UT 40, ¶ 12, 285 P.3d 766.
It is also unclear whether the PWAA applies, as that statute
provides for attorney fees only in relation to a quiet title action
(continued . . .)
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only whether the district court’s award of fees under either statute
was an abuse of discretion.
¶33 We begin with the reciprocal fees statute. The Grewals’
argument on this point rests on language from one of our previous
cases on the matter: Bilanzich v. Lonetti. 46
¶34 In Bilanzich, we held that the reciprocal fees statute “was
designed to create a level playing field for parties to a contractual
dispute.” 47 The statute does so by “allowing both parties to recover
fees where only one party may assert such a right under contract,
remedying the unequal allocation of litigation risks built into many
contracts of adhesion.” 48 As a result, district courts “should award
fees liberally” under the statute “where pursuing or defending an
action results in an unequal exposure to the risk of contractual
liability for attorney fees.” 49 But we also noted in Bilanzich that
lower courts could “inform their decisions with other equitable
principles” and “should avoid using this statute to expose one
party to a disproportionate risk of paying attorney fees that would
result in a windfall to the other party.” 50
¶35 We note at the outset that the proper meaning of Bilanzich’s
windfall language is not immediately clear. That case instructs
courts to avoid awarding fees if doing so would create a
disproportionate risk of a windfall. 51 But an attorney fees award is
usually the final ordered monetary transfer in a case, coming after
a lower court has determined which party has prevailed and what
damages are owed. 52 In that posture, an award of attorney fees
cannot create a risk of a windfall; it either is a windfall or it isn’t.
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regarding “the existence of a right to public recreational access” to
a body of water. See UTAH CODE § 73-29-204(1)(a).
46 2007 UT 26, 160 P.3d 1041.
47 Id. ¶ 18 (cleaned up).
48 Id.
49 Id. ¶ 19.
50 Id. ¶ 20.
51 Id.
52 See UTAH CODE § 78B-5-826 (allowing an award of fees to the
“party that prevails in a civil action”).
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¶36 That brings up another question: what is a windfall in this
context? The Grewals suggest that a windfall occurs when the
result of a lawsuit is inherently inequitable, such that requiring the
losing party to also pay the prevailing party’s attorney fees “adds
insult to injury.” But as JMF correctly points out, this interpretation
quickly runs aground. The prevailing party in a case is inevitably
the “winner” in some sense. Limiting that party’s recovery because
they have already “won” enough is contrary to the purpose behind
contractual attorney fees. 53
¶37 The better interpretation is to read Bilanzich as warning
courts against awarding an unreasonable amount of attorney fees.
Avoiding this sort of windfall has been a central concern of many
of our earlier cases on the topic. 54 Indeed, the only other time we
have cautioned against awarding “a windfall profit” in the form of
attorney fees was in that context. 55 And this interpretation also fits
well with the surrounding passage in Bilanzich itself. That case’s
admonition to avoid a windfall was made “in the spirit of leveling
the playing field.” 56 Such a leveling naturally precludes allowing
the prevailing party to recover an unreasonable amount of attorney
fees.
¶38 Given that interpretation of Bilanzich, the Grewals’ claim
that a windfall occurred falls short. Their position is essentially that
the district court, by awarding title of the Station to JMF based on
a statute of limitations defense, allowed JMF to receive ownership
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53 See Softsolutions, Inc. v. Brigham Young Univ., 2000 UT 46, ¶ 51,
1 P.3d 1095 (noting that “the basic purpose of attorney fees is to
indemnify the prevailing party”).
54 See, e.g., Jones, Waldo, Holbrook & McDonough v. Dawson, 923
P.2d 1366, 1375 (Utah 1996) (declining to award attorney fees to a
pro se litigant because it would “give[] rise to the danger of creating
a cottage industry for claimants as a way to generate fees rather
than to vindicate personal claims” (cleaned up)); Strohm v. ClearOne
Commc’ns, Inc., 2013 UT 21, ¶¶ 51–63, 308 P.3d 424 (discussing the
reasonableness of a fees award in terms of the hourly rate,
additional fees, and number of hours billed).
55 See Softsolutions, 2000 UT 46, ¶ 51 (holding that attorney fees
should not “punish the losing party by allowing the winner a
windfall profit”).
56 Bilanzich, 2007 UT 26, ¶ 20.
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of the Station without actually paying for it. Awarding JMF its
attorney fees in addition would “add insult to injury.”
¶39 This argument rests on the assumption that there is
something inherently inequitable about prevailing on a statute of
limitations defense. That assumption is questionable. The “core
purpose” of a statute of limitations is not to reward defendants, but
rather “to compel exercise of a right within a reasonable time to
avoid stale claims, loss of evidence, and faded memories.” 57 Given
that context, “for purposes of awarding attorney fees under a
contract, it is doubtful that equity requires treating a victory based
on a statute of limitations differently from a victory based on an
adjudication of the merits of the underlying claim.” 58
¶40 In short, the Grewals have not shown that awarding
attorney fees to JMF created the sort of windfall that Bilanzich
cautions against. Accordingly, we hold that the district court’s
decision on that matter was not an abuse of discretion, 59 and we do
not need to reach the issue of whether fees would also have been
available under the PWAA.
¶41 JMF also requests its attorney fees incurred in defending
against the Grewals’ appeal. “[C]onsistent with our settled view
that a party who received an award of attorney fees below is
entitled to their fees on appeal,” 60 we hold that JMF is entitled to
recover its reasonable fees incurred on appeal.
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57 Jensen v. IHC Hosps., Inc., 944 P.2d 327, 332 (Utah 1997).
58 Federated Cap. Corp. v. Haner, 2015 UT App 132, ¶ 18, 351 P.3d
816.
59 We pause here to acknowledge that the transcript and audio
recording of the hearing in which the district court orally awarded
fees to JMF are incomplete. Frustratingly, the apparent break in
audio comes just as the court begins to explain why fees were
appropriate. But where “crucial matters are not included in the
record, the missing portions are presumed to support the action of
the [district] court.” State v. Pritchett, 2003 UT 24, ¶ 13, 69 P.3d 1278(cleaned up).
60 Glew v. Ohio Sav. Bank, 2007 UT 56, 181 P.3d 791, 798 (order
granting attorney fees on appeal); see also Mmgt. Servs. Corp. v. Dev.
Assocs., 617 P.2d 406, 409 (Utah 1980).
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Opinion of the Court
CONCLUSION
¶42 The Grewals raise two issues. The first issue concerns the
validity of the district court’s judgment quieting title to the Station
in JMF. Because JMF has since sold the Station to a third party, and
because the Grewals did not counterclaim for monetary damages,
our decision in Richards v. Baum mandates a holding that this issue
is moot. As the Grewals did not argue that any exception to the
mootness doctrine applies, we grant JMF’s motion to dismiss the
appeal of this issue.
¶43 The Grewals’ second issue concerns the district court’s
judgment awarding attorney fees to JMF under the PWAA and the
reciprocal attorney fees statute. We have doubts about the
applicability of either statute to this case. But assuming, as we must,
that they apply, the district court did not abuse its discretion by
awarding fees under the latter. Accordingly, we affirm the grant of
attorney fees. JMF is also entitled to recover its reasonable fees
incurred defending against this appeal, and we remand to the
district court for a determination of that amount.
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