Meyer v. U.S. Bank National Association
- Summarized by William Wallo , Bakke Norman, S.C.
- 10 years 7 months ago
- Citation:
- Meyer Trust v. U.S. Bank National Association, App. No. 14-1560 (8th Cir. July 6, 2015)
- Tag(s):
-
- Ruling:
- A revocable trust's appeal of summary judgment on tortious interference claim was not inherently frivolous, but was frivolously argued, warranting the imposition of double costs as a Rule 38 sanction.
- Procedural context:
- Revocable trust which had operated a swine farm sued the defendant bank, alleging that the bank tortiously interfered with its contractual relationship with a feed supplier. The defendant moved for summary judgment, arguing that a prior decision involving the bank and the individuals who had transferred assets into the trust had preclusive effect. The district court agreed. On appeal, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals found that the trust did not argue the merits of its appeal but rather focused on the alleged procedural error in the grant of a Rule 12(b)(6) motion when the district court clearly granted summary judgment. This constituted an appeal which was "frivolous as argued" and the bank was entitled to double costs as a result. Affirmed.
- Facts:
- After default under lending relationship regarding swine farm, U.S. Bank commenced a replevin action. After a bankruptcy proceeding was commenced, individuals filed an action in federal district court against the bank, alleging various claims including breach of contract, fraud, and more. Summary judgment was granted to the bank. The revocable trust the individuals had previously transferred the property to then filed a new action in state court, alleging tortious interference with contractual relations. The bank removed the action and filed for summary judgment. The district court granted judgment on the grounds that the prior action had res judicata effect as to the finding that the bank was under no obligation to forbear on collection after default, and the bank was free to enforce its rights. The trust appealed, and argued that the district court committed procedural error by going beyond the complaint to grant a dismissal. The bank, however, had expressly moved for summary judgment and the district court granted summary judgment. The court found that the appeal was frivolously argued and warranted additional sanctions.
- Judge(s):
- Riley, Loken and Smith
ABI Membership is required to access the full summary. Please Sign In using your ABI Member credentials. Not a Member yet? Join ABI now - it is absolutely worth it!
