No. 90-026 

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MONTANA 

1993 

A MINING, INC., 

Montana Corporation, 

Plaintiff and Respondent, 

v. 

BRUCE KNUDSEN and LLOYD KNUDSEN, 

Defendants and Appellants. 

APPEAL FROM: District Court of the First Judicial District, 

In and for the County of Lewis and Clark, 

The Honorable Thomas C. Honzel, Judge presiding. 

COUNSEL OF RECORD: 

For Appellants: 

Leo J. Kottas, Sr., Attorney at Law, 

Mesa, Arizona 

For Respondent: 

Frank Altman, Altman & Boucher, 

Havre, Montana 

Submitted on ~riefs: ~pril 1, 1993 

~ecided: September 21, 1993 

Filed: 
Justice William E. Hunt, Sr., delivered the opinion of the Court. 

Defendants Bruce Knudsen and Lloyd Knudsen appeal from a jury 

verdict and judgment in the First Judicial District Court, Lewis 

and Clark County, in favor of L A Mining, Inc., of Havre, awarding 

plaintiff $539,555.53, plus costs and attorney fees, for fraud and 

breach of several mining excavation contracts. Appellant Bruce 

Knudsen failed to answer L A Mining's District Court complaint, and 

thus, plaintiff's amended complaint excluded him as a party below. 

Additionally, before trial, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of 

Montana, discharged Bruce Knudsen in bankruptcy from personal 

liability for any judgment obtained for existing debt. 

Consequently, we dismiss appellant Bruce Knudsen as a party on 

appeal for lack of standing. 

We affirm. 

On appeal, appellant submits 18 issues. Many of these issues, 

however, are moot due to appellant's subsequent discharge in 

bankruptcy for the award based on breach of the contracts. The 

briefs contain much irrelevant material not pertinent to this 

appeal. Thus, we decline to address appellant's issues as stated. 

We determine the sole issue to be whether the jury verdict for 

fraud was supported by the evidence presented at trial. 

On August 4, 1989, the jury returned a verdict against Lloyd 

Knudsen in favor of L A Mining on one fraud and several contract 

claims. On November 23, 1990, Lloyd Knudsen also filed for 

Chapter 7 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of 

Montana. On October 11, 1991, the parties stipulated to the 
Bankruptcy Court that the judgment for fraud against appellant 

would be dischargeable only on this Court's reversal of the jury 

verdict, or if on remand no fraud award was levied against 

appellant. On March 9, 1992, the Bankruptcy Court discharged Lloyd 

Knudsen from personal liability for any existing debts or judgments 

obtained, except for those nondischargeable under Section 

523 (a) (2) (A) of the Bankruptcy Code; namely, the judgment for 

fraud. 

The jury based its verdict on testimony of multiple witnesses 

that appellant had relayed to respondent that he was solvent and 

able to underwrite the contracts entered into between himself and 

respondent. After hearing the testimony of appellant and other 

witnesses, including corporate officers of L A Mining who 

negotiated the contracts with appellant, the jury did not believe 

appellant and found in favor of respondent. 

We hold, after review of trial testimony, that the jury had 

sufficient evidence with which to support a jury verdict of fraud 

in favor of L A Mining. We affirm. 

Pursuant to Section I, Paragraph 3(c), Montana Supreme Court 

1988 Internal Operating Rules, this decision shall not be cited as 

precedent and shall be published by its filing as a public document 

with the Clerk of the Supreme Court and by a report of its result 

to Montana Law Week, State Reporter and West Publishing Company. 
We concur: