Penunuri v. Sundance Partners Ltd. , 817 Utah Adv. Rep. 53 ( 2016 )


Menu:
  •                        
    2016 UT App 154
    THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS
    LISA PENUNURI AND BARRY SIEGWART,
    Appellants,
    v.
    SUNDANCE PARTNERS LTD., SUNDANCE HOLDINGS LLC, SUNDANCE
    DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, ROBERT REDFORD, REDFORD 1970
    TRUST, AND ROCKY MOUNTAIN OUTFITTERS LC,
    Appellees.
    Opinion
    No. 20140854-CA
    Filed July 21, 2016
    Fourth District Court, Provo Department
    The Honorable Claudia Laycock
    No. 080400019
    Robert D. Strieper, Attorney for Appellants
    H. Burt Ringwood and A. Joseph Sano, Attorneys
    for Appellees
    JUDGE J. FREDERIC VOROS JR. authored this Opinion, in which
    JUDGE MICHELE M. CHRISTIANSEN and SENIOR JUDGE RUSSELL W.
    BENCH concurred.1
    VOROS, Judge:
    ¶1      Plaintiffs Lisa Penunuri and Barry Siegwart appeal the
    district court’s entry of summary judgment in favor of Rocky
    Mountain Outfitters LC and the other defendants (collectively,
    Rocky Mountain). Penunuri suffered injuries when she fell from
    her horse on a guided trail ride. On that ride, potentially
    dangerous gaps formed between horses. Rather than addressing
    1. Senior Judge Russell W. Bench sat by special assignment as
    authorized by law. See generally Utah R. Jud. Admin. 11-201(6).
    Penunuri v. Sundance Partners
    these gaps immediately, the trail guide decided to deal with
    them after the company had passed some hikers and reached a
    clearing. But before they did, Penunuri fell off her horse.
    Plaintiffs sued Rocky Mountain and related parties for ordinary
    negligence and gross negligence.
    ¶2     The district court ruled that a release signed by Penunuri
    barred the ordinary negligence claim. This court and the Utah
    Supreme Court upheld that ruling in a prior appeal. On remand,
    the district court rejected the gross negligence claim on summary
    judgment. We agree with the district court that this set of facts
    cannot as a matter of law support a claim of gross negligence.
    Accordingly, we affirm.
    BACKGROUND2
    ¶3      On August 1, 2007, Penunuri joined a guided horseback
    trail ride operated by Rocky Mountain at Sundance Resort. Her
    group consisted of a guide and four other riders: Penunuri’s two
    friends, an eight-year-old child (Child), and Child’s mother
    (Mother). Before beginning the ride, Penunuri and the other
    riders received instruction from the guide and signed liability
    releases. The guide worked as a horseback trail guide for Rocky
    Mountain from summer 2004 to fall 2008. She was trained by
    Rocky Mountain at the beginning of each season to guide
    horseback trail rides. Rocky Mountain instructed guides to close
    up large gaps between horses as they walked and to warn riders
    about hazards on the trail.
    2. When reviewing a district court’s rulings on a summary
    judgment motion, we recite the facts and inferences in the light
    most favorable to the nonmoving party. Poteet v. White, 
    2006 UT 63
    , ¶ 7, 
    147 P.3d 439
    .
    20140854-CA                    2                 
    2016 UT App 154
    Penunuri v. Sundance Partners
    ¶4     The riders left the stables riding single file. Throughout
    the ride, the guide rode at the head of the group. For the first 45
    minutes, Mother, Child, and Penunuri were the first three riders,
    followed by Penunuri’s friends. After stopping at a meadow, the
    order of the riders changed. Penunuri’s friends rode behind the
    guide, while Mother, Child, and Penunuri brought up the rear.
    Both Child and Penunuri struggled to keep their horses from
    grazing. The grazing caused Child’s and Penunuri’s horses to lag
    behind, creating gaps between the horses.
    ¶5     The guide tried to keep the group together by slowing
    down. One of Penunuri’s friends asked the guide to stop and
    wait for Child and Penunuri to catch up. The guide responded
    that they would be stopping at a clearing about 100 feet away so
    that she could take the reins of Child’s horse. To reach the
    clearing, the horses had to climb a steep section of the trail
    around a bend where hikers were present. Child’s horse again
    stopped to graze, creating a gap of several feet between
    Penunuri and the rest of the group. When Child’s and
    Penunuri’s horses began moving again, Penunuri testified that
    ‚it was a rougher ride than [she] remember[ed] having had
    before.‛ She testified that ‚with other grazing episodes my horse
    would, you know, kind of giddyup a little faster than it had been
    going, because *Child’s+ horse would start up and then mine
    would start up, too, and then would slow down. And this
    particular incident, it seemed even rougher than, you know, the
    giddyup that I had gotten in other stops.‛ Her horse suddenly
    accelerated and Penunuri fell off, suffering injuries.
    ¶6      Plaintiffs sued Rocky Mountain alleging ordinary
    negligence, gross negligence, and vicarious liability. Plaintiffs
    filed a motion for partial summary judgment and declaratory
    relief. They argued that a release Penunuri had signed was
    unenforceable under the Limitations on Liability for Equine and
    Livestock Activities Act. The district court concluded that the
    Act did not prevent a party from contracting away its liability
    20140854-CA                     3                 
    2016 UT App 154
    Penunuri v. Sundance Partners
    for ordinary negligence. The court accordingly ruled the release
    enforceable and dismissed all of Plaintiffs’ claims based on
    ordinary negligence. This court and the Utah Supreme Court
    affirmed the district court’s ruling. See Penunuri v. Sundance
    Partners, Ltd., 
    2013 UT 22
    , 
    301 P.3d 984
    ; Penunuri v. Sundance
    Partners, Ltd., 
    2011 UT App 183
    , 
    257 P.3d 1049
    .
    ¶7     On remand, Plaintiffs pursued their gross negligence
    claim. Rocky Mountain filed two motions for summary
    judgment, the first to dismiss Plaintiffs’ gross negligence claim
    and the second, in the alternative, to exclude Plaintiffs’ proposed
    expert witness. The court granted both motions, dismissing the
    gross negligence claim and ruling that Plaintiffs’ proposed
    expert was ‚not qualified to render expert opinion testimony
    concerning the standard of care applicable to commercial
    horseback trail guiding.‛ The court also awarded Rocky
    Mountain costs pursuant to rule 54 of the Utah Rules of Civil
    Procedure. Plaintiffs appeal.
    ISSUES ON APPEAL
    ¶8     First, Plaintiffs contend that the district court erred when
    it granted summary judgment to Rocky Mountain in a gross
    negligence case where the standard of care was not fixed by law.
    ¶9     Second, Plaintiffs contend that the district court erred
    when it determined that no facts supported their claims of gross
    negligence.
    ¶10 Third, Plaintiffs contend that the district court ‚erred
    when it determined the outcome of the entire case based upon
    one alleged, disputable fact.‛
    ¶11 Fourth, Plaintiffs contend that the district court erred
    when it ‚granted *Rocky Mountain’s+ motion for summary
    20140854-CA                     4                 
    2016 UT App 154
    Penunuri v. Sundance Partners
    judgment on causation based upon mischaracterization of
    deposition testimony.‛
    ¶12 Fifth, Plaintiffs contend that the district court erred when
    it granted Rocky Mountain’s alternative motion for summary
    judgment and excluded testimony from Plaintiffs’ proposed
    expert witness. Because our resolution of Plaintiffs’ first four
    claims on appeal renders this claim moot, we do not consider its
    merits.
    ¶13 Finally, Plaintiffs contend that the district court abused its
    discretion when it awarded Rocky Mountain costs.
    ANALYSIS
    I. The District Court Properly Granted Rocky Mountain’s
    Summary Judgment Motion Relating to Gross Negligence.
    ¶14 Plaintiffs’ first four contentions each challenge the district
    court’s granting of Rocky Mountain’s first motion for summary
    judgment. The district court granted the motion on the ground
    that Plaintiffs ‚presented no evidence upon which reasonable
    minds could conclude that [Rocky Mountain’s] guide . . .
    exercised no care.‛
    ¶15 Summary judgment is appropriate ‚if the moving party
    shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact
    and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.‛
    Utah R. Civ. P. 56(a). ‚An appellate court reviews a trial court’s
    legal conclusions and ultimate grant or denial of summary
    judgment for correctness, and views the facts and all reasonable
    inferences drawn therefrom in the light most favorable to the
    nonmoving party.‛ Orvis v. Johnson, 
    2008 UT 2
    , ¶ 6, 
    177 P.3d 600
    (citations and internal quotation marks omitted). ‚[B]ecause
    negligence cases often require the drawing of inferences from the
    facts, which is properly done by juries rather than judges,
    20140854-CA                     5                 
    2016 UT App 154
    Penunuri v. Sundance Partners
    summary judgment is appropriate in negligence cases only in
    the clearest instances.‛ Castellanos v. Tommy John, LLC, 
    2014 UT App 48
    , ¶ 7, 
    321 P.3d 218
     (citation and internal quotation marks
    omitted).
    ¶16 ‚Gross negligence is ‘the failure to observe even slight
    care; it is carelessness or recklessness to a degree that shows
    utter indifference to the consequences that may result.’‛ Pearce v.
    Utah Athletic Found., 
    2008 UT 13
    , ¶ 24, 
    179 P.3d 760
     (quoting
    Berry v. Greater Park City Co., 
    2007 UT 87
    , ¶ 26, 
    171 P.3d 442
    ).
    Further, ‚gross negligence, which is associated with willful,
    wanton, and reckless conduct, applies to conduct that is so far
    from a proper state of mind that it is treated in many respects as
    if harm was intended and usually is accompanied by a conscious
    indifference to consequences.‛ Blaisdell v. Dentrix Dental Sys.,
    Inc., 
    2012 UT 37
    , ¶ 16, 
    284 P.3d 616
     (citation and internal
    quotation marks omitted).
    ¶17 First, Plaintiffs contend that the district court erred when
    it granted summary judgment to Rocky Mountain in a gross
    negligence case where the standard of care was not fixed by law.
    They argue that the ‚standard of care regarding how a guide
    manages gaps in the train of horses is not fixed by law‛ and that
    it was therefore ‚inappropriate for the *district+ court to grant
    the summary judgment motion.‛
    ¶18 Plaintiffs rely on the Utah Supreme Court’s opinions in
    Berry v. Greater Park City Co., 
    2007 UT 87
    , 
    171 P.3d 442
    , and Pearce
    v. Utah Athletic Foundation, 
    2008 UT 13
    , 
    179 P.3d 760
    . The Berry
    court stated a two-part guideline for summary judgment in
    negligence cases:
    [S]ummary judgment is ‚‘inappropriate unless the
    applicable standard of care is fixed by law, and
    reasonable minds could reach but one conclusion
    as to the defendant’s negligence under the
    circumstances.’‛
    20140854-CA                     6                 
    2016 UT App 154
    Penunuri v. Sundance Partners
    Berry, 
    2007 UT 87
    , ¶ 27 (quoting White v. Deseelhorst, 
    879 P.2d 1371
    , 1374 (Utah 1994) (quoting Wycalis v. Guardian Title of Utah,
    
    780 P.2d 821
    , 825 (Utah Ct. App. 1989))). Plaintiffs read this
    passage to mean that summary judgment may never be granted
    in negligence cases unless both the standard of care is ‚fixed by
    law‛ and reasonable minds could not differ as to the defendant’s
    negligence. And to be sure, the passage does describe the two
    elements in the conjunctive.
    ¶19 But that is not how our supreme court has read Berry.
    Utah courts grant summary judgment with some frequency in
    negligence cases—usually against the plaintiff—where the
    standard of care is not ‚fixed by law‛ in the sense that the
    defendant violated a statute or precedent specific to the industry
    or practice at issue. And our supreme court, citing Berry, did that
    very thing in Blaisdell v. Dentrix Dental Systems, Inc., 
    2012 UT 37
    ,
    
    284 P.3d 616
    .
    ¶20 In Blaisdell, a dentist sued a software provider for gross
    negligence. Id. ¶ 2. The court affirmed the district court’s grant of
    summary judgment in favor of the defendant. The plaintiff
    argued on appeal, quoting Berry, that ‚summary judgment is
    inappropriate on the issue of gross negligence unless there is a
    ‘standard of care . . . fixed by law.’‛ Id. ¶ 14 (quoting Berry, 
    2007 UT 87
    , ¶ 30). But the court, also citing Berry, disposed of the
    claim under the rule that summary judgment ‚is generally
    inappropriate to resolve negligence claims and should be
    employed only in the most clear-cut case.‛ Id. ¶ 15 (quoting
    Berry, 
    2007 UT 87
    , ¶ 27). And despite the absence of any law
    fixing the standard of care for providers of dental practice
    management software, the supreme court affirmed on the
    ground that reasonable minds could not differ as to whether the
    defendant’s conduct in that case was grossly negligent (it
    wasn’t). Id. ¶ 16. In other words, the supreme court read the
    Berry test as if the two factors were disjunctive rather than
    conjunctive elements.
    20140854-CA                      7                 
    2016 UT App 154
    Penunuri v. Sundance Partners
    ¶21 We conclude that the supreme court’s application of the
    two-part test in Blaisdell represents the original and best reading
    of that test. The two-part test came to Utah via Wycalis v.
    Guardian Title of Utah, 
    780 P.2d 821
     (Utah Ct. App. 1989). Wycalis
    stated the test this way:
    Accordingly, summary judgment is inappropriate
    unless the applicable standard of care is ‚fixed by
    law,‛ and reasonable minds could reach but one
    conclusion as to the defendant’s negligence under
    the circumstances.
    
    Id. at 825
     (quoting Elmer v. Vanderford, 
    445 P.2d 612
    , 614 (Wash.
    1968)). But Elmer v. Vanderford, the source of the ‚fixed by law‛
    formulation, states the test in the disjunctive. It identifies ‚two
    classes of cases in which the question of negligence may be
    determined by the court as a conclusion of law.‛ Elmer, 445 P.2d
    at 614 (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). In the first
    class of cases, ‚the standard of duty is fixed, and the measure of
    duty defined, by law, and is the same under all circumstances.‛
    Id. (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). In the
    second, ‚the facts are undisputed and but one reasonable
    inference can be drawn from them.‛ Id. (citation and internal
    quotation marks omitted). In effect, this is an alternative
    formulation of our rule 56. See Utah R. Civ. P. 56.
    ¶22 Thus, both as originally promulgated and as actually
    employed by our supreme court, under the fixed-by-law
    formulation a district court must grant summary judgment if,
    based on undisputed facts and under the governing legal
    standard, reasonable minds could not differ as to whether the
    defendant acted negligently. In any event, we look to the
    governing standard in rule 56: ‚The court shall grant summary
    judgment if the moving party shows that there is no genuine
    dispute as to any material fact and the moving party is entitled
    to judgment as a matter of law.‛ Id. And that is the case here.
    20140854-CA                     8                 
    2016 UT App 154
    Penunuri v. Sundance Partners
    ¶23 Consequently, we hold that Berry did not require the
    district court to deny Rocky Mountain’s summary judgment
    motion on the ground that the standard of care governing ‚how
    a guide manages gaps in the train of horses‛ on commercial trail
    rides is not fixed by law. The district court handled the gross
    negligence claim here just as the supreme court handled the
    gross negligence claim in Blaisdell.
    ¶24 Second, Plaintiffs contend that the district court ‚erred
    when it determined there were no facts to support *Plaintiffs’+
    gross negligence claim.‛ Specifically, Plaintiffs argue that the
    court ‚chose to ignore *Rocky Mountain’s+ employee manual,‛
    which instructed its guides to ‚keep gaps from forming, warn of
    obstacles such as hills and hikers, and keep the saddle from
    slipping.‛
    ¶25 The district court ruled that Plaintiffs ‚presented no
    evidence upon which reasonable minds could conclude that
    [Rocky Mountain’s+ guide . . . exercised no care.‛ It further ruled
    that Plaintiffs did not present ‚any evidence to show that *the
    guide] knew or had reason to know of facts that would have
    created a high risk of physical harm to . . . Penunuri, but
    deliberately proceeded to act, or failed to act, in conscious
    disregard of, or indifference to, that risk.‛ And, the court
    concluded, without any evidence of the guide’s gross
    negligence—in other words, without any evidence that she acted
    with ‚utter indifference‛ to Penunuri’s safety during the
    horseback ride—‚reasonable minds could reach but one
    conclusion‛: that the guide was not grossly negligent. See Pearce
    v. Utah Athletic Found., 
    2008 UT 13
    , ¶ 24, 
    179 P.3d 760
     (citation
    and internal quotation marks omitted).
    ¶26 As previously explained, ‚*g+ross negligence requires
    proof of conduct substantially more distant from the appropriate
    standard of care than does ordinary negligence.‛ Berry v. Greater
    Park City Co., 
    2007 UT 87
    , ¶ 26, 
    171 P.3d 442
    . It ‚is ‘the failure to
    20140854-CA                      9                 
    2016 UT App 154
    Penunuri v. Sundance Partners
    observe even slight care; it is carelessness or recklessness to a
    degree that shows utter indifference to the consequences that
    may result.’‛ Pearce, 
    2008 UT 13
    , ¶ 24 (quoting Berry, 
    2007 UT 87
    ,
    ¶ 26). Therefore, for Plaintiffs’ claim to survive Rocky
    Mountain’s summary judgment motion, the facts had to be
    capable of supporting a finding that Rocky Mountain’s guide
    failed ‚to observe even slight care‛ and acted with ‚utter
    indifference to the consequences that may result.‛ 
    Id.
     (citation
    and internal quotation marks omitted).
    ¶27 Plaintiffs argue that Rocky Mountain’s employee
    manual’s warning about gaps as well as testimony from Rocky
    Mountain employees about the potential problems when gaps
    form ‚should have created a rebuttable presumption of
    negligence.‛ Plaintiffs do not support this argument with legal
    authority stating that internal training manuals may define a
    standard of care.3 But even if that assertion were true, it is not
    relevant. Plaintiffs cannot succeed by showing that the evidence
    would support a finding of ordinary negligence; their claim alleges
    gross negligence. And even they do not contend that the manual
    demonstrates that the guide exercised no care and acted with
    utter indifference to the consequences of her actions.
    ¶28 Furthermore, we agree with the district court that, even
    resolving all inferences in Plaintiffs’ favor, the evidence could
    not support a finding of gross negligence. On the contrary, the
    facts indisputably show that the guide did observe, at the very
    least, slight care: she gave Penunuri instructions on how to
    mount the horse and how to stop the horse from grazing, she
    had been ‚slowing down the whole ride‛ for Penunuri and
    Child, and she planned to take the reins of Child’s horse once the
    riders reached a suitable area to rearrange the order of the riders.
    In addition, Plaintiffs’ own proposed expert ‚testified that there
    3. We express no opinion on this unbriefed question.
    20140854-CA                     10                
    2016 UT App 154
    Penunuri v. Sundance Partners
    is no evidence in this case indicating that *Rocky Mountain’s+
    guide . . . exercised no care or acted in willful disregard for the
    care of others.‛4 In sum, the undisputed evidence before the
    court could not sustain a jury finding of gross negligence.
    ¶29 Third, Plaintiffs contend that the district court ‚erred
    when it determined the outcome of the entire case based upon
    one alleged, disputable fact.‛ Plaintiffs argue that the district
    court granted Rocky Mountain’s motion for summary judgment
    based on the ‚guide’s testimony that she was slowing down the
    entire ride.‛ Plaintiffs further argue that the guide’s ‚failure to
    stop the moment she came upon the hikers to close the gaps that
    had formed‛ breached the standard of care.
    ¶30 We do not read the district court’s ruling so narrowly.
    True, the court prominently cited the guide’s testimony that she
    ‚had been slowing down the whole ride.‛ But the court also
    cited the fact that the guide ‚was attempting to get the group to
    a larger clearing‛ to take the reins of Child’s horse, as well as
    Plaintiffs’ own proposed expert’s testimony that the guide had
    not ‚exercised no care.‛
    ¶31 Moreover, we agree with the district court’s
    characterization of the guide’s testimony as undisputed. The
    guide testified, ‚I had been slowing down the whole ride.‛
    Plaintiffs argue that this testimony ‚is fully contradicted by the
    facts that the trial court disregarded.‛ Plaintiffs refer to
    testimony that the guide ‚just march[ed] on at a normal speed‛
    and did not stop when requested. But the page of the record
    Plaintiffs cite in support of this assertion does not support it. The
    witness testified as follows: ‚I told *the guide+ that we had to
    4. Solely for purposes of analyzing the summary judgment
    motion on gross negligence, we assume that the opinion
    testimony of Plaintiffs’ proposed expert witness was admissible.
    20140854-CA                     11                 
    2016 UT App 154
    Penunuri v. Sundance Partners
    wait up, to stop. And she said that we would stop at the clearing
    farther on and that she would pony *Child+ in.‛ This testimony
    does not contradict the guide’s testimony that she had been
    slowing down the whole ride. Accordingly, the court’s summary
    judgment does not rest on a single disputed fact.
    ¶32 In addition, Plaintiffs cite other testimony from which
    they allege that a finder of fact could conclude that the guide
    knew the potential danger of gaps between horses, knew that
    gaps had formed in this company, and decided to close those
    gaps only after the group got past the foot traffic and bends in
    the trail. But, as explained above, this testimony would at most
    support a claim for ordinary negligence. Even assuming the
    truth of all the evidence on which Plaintiffs rely, it does not
    support a claim of gross negligence.
    ¶33 Finally, Plaintiffs contend that the district court ‚erred
    when it granted *Rocky Mountain’s+ motion for summary
    judgment on causation based upon mischaracterization of
    deposition testimony.‛ Plaintiffs’ proposed expert testified that
    ‚several things could have startled that horse and caused it to
    start running‛; he also testified that if there had not been a gap
    between the horses, ‚all of those causes could have been
    minimalized.‛ He testified that ‚there should have been extra
    care taken to get the horses together.‛ The court ruled that
    summary judgment was appropriate because Plaintiffs
    ‚presented no evidence beyond speculation concerning
    causation.‛
    ¶34 Plaintiffs argue that the court ignored the expert’s
    testimony that the danger could have been lessened or
    eliminated if the gaps had been closed between the horses. We
    do not agree with Plaintiffs’ characterization of the district
    court’s assessment of the causation evidence. But even if the
    district court erroneously concluded that the evidence could not
    support a finding of causation, the outcome of this case would
    20140854-CA                    12                 
    2016 UT App 154
    Penunuri v. Sundance Partners
    be the same, because, as explained above, we agree with the
    district court that evidence of gross negligence is lacking here.
    ¶35 For the foregoing reasons, the district court did not err in
    granting Rocky Mountain’s summary judgment motion on the
    gross negligence claim. And because we conclude that the
    undisputed facts support summary judgment for Rocky
    Mountain even assuming the admissibility of the testimony of
    Plaintiffs’ proposed expert, we need not address Plaintiffs’
    challenge to the district court’s exclusion of that witness.
    II. The District Court Did Not Abuse Its Discretion When It
    Awarded Deposition Costs to Rocky Mountain.
    ¶36 Plaintiffs contend that the district court ‚erred when it
    determined that Rocky Mountain was entitled to the deposition
    costs in the amount of $2,577.32, together with post-judgment
    interest, when the same evidence could have been obtained
    through less expensive means.‛ ‚In reviewing a district court’s
    denial or award of costs, we apply a highly deferential
    standard.‛ Giusti v. Sterling Wentworth Corp., 
    2009 UT 2
    , ¶ 84, 
    201 P.3d 966
    . In Giusti, the supreme court concluded that because the
    trial court ‚applied the correct standard‛ and ‚gave a legitimate
    reason for its decision,‛ it ‚did not abuse its discretion.‛ Id. ¶ 86.
    ¶37 Under rule 54(d) of the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure,
    ‚*u+nless a statute, these rules, or a court provides otherwise,
    costs should be allowed to the prevailing party.‛ Utah R. Civ. P.
    54(d)(1). ‚The general rule regarding the recovery of deposition
    costs is that a party may recover deposition costs as long as the
    trial court is persuaded that [the depositions] were taken in good
    faith and, in the light of the circumstances, appeared to be
    essential for the development and presentation of the case.‛
    Young v. State, 
    2000 UT 91
    , ¶ 6, 
    16 P.3d 549
     (alteration in original)
    (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). The district
    court ‚must find that the depositions were essential because they
    were used in a meaningful way at trial, or because the
    20140854-CA                      13                
    2016 UT App 154
    Penunuri v. Sundance Partners
    development of the case was of such a complex nature that the
    information in the depositions could not be obtained through
    less expensive means of discovery.‛ Id. ¶ 11.
    ¶38 Plaintiffs argue that the costs for the depositions of
    Penunuri, Mother, and one of Penunuri’s friends (Friend) ‚were
    not necessary and the information in the Motion for Summary
    Judgment certainly could have been obtained through less
    expensive means.‛ However, the district court did not decide
    that the depositions were essential ‚because the development of
    the case was of such a complex nature that the information in the
    depositions could not be obtained through less expensive means
    of discovery.‛ See id. In fact, the court stated, ‚I haven’t really
    reached a conclusion as to whether or not this case was of such a
    complex nature that . . . less expensive discovery could have
    been obtained.‛
    ¶39 Instead, the court considered whether the depositions
    were used ‚in a meaningful way‛ in resolving the case through
    summary judgment.5 The court, in considering Penunuri’s
    deposition, found that ‚her deposition was used in a very
    meaningful way in establishing the undisputed facts for the
    purpose of the motion for summary judgment.‛ The court
    further stated, ‚I’m finding and ruling that whether or not it was
    complex, this was discovery that had to be done with Ms.
    Penunuri, through a deposition.‛ The court similarly found that
    both Mother’s and Friend’s depositions were ‚used in a
    significant way and a meaningful way . . . in the motion for
    summary judgment.‛ The court additionally found that
    depositions were required to obtain Mother’s and Friend’s
    testimony, as ‚lesser means of discovery were either not
    5. Plaintiffs do not argue that the district court could not analyze
    whether the depositions were essential under the ‚used in a
    meaningful way‛ prong.
    20140854-CA                     14                
    2016 UT App 154
    Penunuri v. Sundance Partners
    available or not accurate and . . . through their deposition[s],
    they were able to clear up issues and facts.‛
    ¶40 The district court also found that Penunuri’s, Mother’s,
    and Friend’s depositions ‚were taken in good faith‛ and that
    they ‚appeared to be essential for the development and
    presentation of the case because they were ‚used in a
    meaningful way‛ in resolving the case. See id. ¶¶ 6, 11. Under
    our deferential standard, this is enough. We therefore conclude
    that the district court did not abuse its discretion in awarding
    Rocky Mountain costs for the depositions of Penunuri, Mother,
    and Friend.
    CONCLUSION
    ¶41   The judgment of the district court is affirmed.
    20140854-CA                   15                 
    2016 UT App 154