Opinion ID: 2517229
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Did the district court err in granting summary judgment in the absence from this case of HFG Engineering US, Inc. (HFG), an alleged joint venturer with Newpoint, and therefore an indispensable party?

Text: [¶ 23] About two years into this lawsuit, KM filed a motion to join HFG as an additional defendant, arguing that HFG was a joint venturer with Newpoint, and therefore was an indispensable party. KM's theory was that, as a joint venturer with Newpoint, HFG was liable for Newpoint's contractual obligations, including indemnity. Elkhorn opposed the joinder motion, principally on three grounds: that the motion was untimely, that as a matter of law Newpoint and HFG were not joint venturers, and that a mandatory arbitration clause in the contract between KM and HFG would compel arbitration of any claims between them. [¶ 24] Our resolution of the joinder issue as it applies to Newpoint allows us to determine this issue without further discussion. Resolution of Elkhorn's statutory lien claim does not require resolution of the question of whether Newpoint and HFG were joint venturers, and does not require resolution of any potential indemnification issues among KM, HFG, and Newpoint. All of those questions are more properly questions for the bankruptcy court, and the stay entered in this case by the district court accomplishes that goal. The district court did not err in granting summary judgment in the absence of HFG.