Opinion ID: 2215247
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Dismissal of the City of St. Paul

Text: Finally, plaintiffs argue that the trial court erred in directing a verdict in favor of the city of St. Paul. Plaintiffs' complaint alleged that the city was negligent in failing properly to train Officer McGinn in the use of firearms. Finding no evidence to create a fact issue for the jury on the negligent training theory, the trial court granted defendant city's motion for a directed verdict at the close of plaintiffs' case. The propriety of that decision is not questioned on appeal. At that point in the proceedings, plaintiffs sought to amend their complaint under Rule 15, Rules of Civil Procedure, to allege that the city was vicariously liable for torts committed by Officer McGinn in the scope of his employment. The trial court denied the motion. Plaintiffs argue here that the issue of vicarious liability was tried by consent and that amendment of the pleadings to include that issue was mandatory under Rule 15.02. However, the trial court has discretion to determine whether the issue was tried by consent. See 6 Wright & Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure, Civil, § 1493, p. 469, interpreting identical language in the Federal rule. Where the evidence offered is pertinent to an issue already stated in the pleadings, the trial court may properly find that no new issue was litigated by consent. Hohenstein v. Goergen, 287 Minn. 512, 514, 176 N.W.2d 749, 752 (1970). Here, evidence concerning whether defendant was on duty and acting within the scope of his employment when he shot plaintiff was relevant to the defense of privilege and does not necessarily indicate that the new issue of vicarious liability was tried by consent. We find that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in this respect. Nevertheless, regardless of whether the vicarious liability issue was tried by consent, Rule 15.01 provides that leave to amend pleadings shall be freely given when justice so requires. The trial court did apparently conclude that justice required inclusion of the city as a defendant on a vicarious liability theory. It informed plaintiffs that the city could be brought back into the case if Officer McGinn were found liable. This method of procedure, bringing the city in at the conclusion of the trial rather than at the outset, was selected to avoid a conflict-of-interest situation. In order to protect its own interests, the city would have found it necessary to characterize Officer McGinn's conduct as an unlawful and unprivileged battery committed by him while outside the scope of his duties as a police officer. Yet the city attorney represented both defendants pursuant to Minn. St. 471.44. While interruption of the trial to obtain separate counsel might have been an important consideration in denying leave to amend the complaint, that consideration will not be important upon remand because the parties will be commencing a new trial. Thus, the city and Officer McGinn will have no greater conflict of interest than other codefendants related as principal and agent. The underlying assumption of the trial court in selecting this procedure appears to have been that the doctrine of collateral estoppel would operate to preclude the city from attacking a jury finding that Officer McGinn was liable. Otherwise, the issue of Officer McGinn's liability would have to be tried all over again after the city was joined as a party on vicarious liability. But the doctrine of collateral estoppel would not operate as a bar unless the city were a party or in privity with Officer McGinn. 46 Am.Jur.2d, Judgments, § 628; 49 C.J.S. Judgments § 413. The concept of privity is difficult to apply. Margo-Kraft Distributors, Inc. v. Minneapolis Gas Co., 294 Minn. 274, 278, 200 N.W.2d 45, 47 (1972). Unless the city's interests were represented by McGinn, or the city participated in and controlled McGinn's defense for its own self-interest, there would be no privity for the purposes of collateral estoppel. Manifestly here, where the interests of the city and Officer McGinn are adverse, no privity would exist. Accordingly, the assumption underlying the trial court's procedure is erroneous. Under these circumstances, if the plaintiffs on remand renew their motion to amend their complaint and allege vicarious liability against the city, we think it is clear that the motion should be granted.