Opinion ID: 2569599
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Representation of Number of Acres in State Lease

Text: [¶ 27] Following the presentation of evidence, the sellers and the agent made a W.R.C.P. 50 motion for judgment as a matter of law contending the buyers' claims of intentional and negligent misrepresentations regarding the number of state leased acres lacked a legally sufficient evidentiary basis. The information sheet contained the following language: STATE LEASES: 190 acresannual cost $155.00. The accurate number of state leased acres was later determined to be eighty acres. The trial court granted the motions stating: it certainly is apparent that no reasonable jury having heard the evidence in this case could find for [the buyers] on any of those claims. The court concluded the buyers failed to show they had relied upon the misinformation of the amount of acres in the state lease due to the information sheet disclaimer and because the buyers admitted they had done their own investigation. The trial court also found the buyers completely failed to show damages and voiced a concern that the jury would be forced to speculate in order to assess an amount of damages. We agree. [¶ 28] W.R.C.P. 50(a)(1) provides: (a) Judgment as a matter of law. (1) If during a trial by jury a party has been fully heard on an issue and there is no legally sufficient evidentiary basis for a reasonable jury to find for that party on that issue, the court may determine the issue against that party and may grant a motion for judgment as a matter of law against that party with respect to a claim or defense that cannot under the controlling law be maintained or defeated without a favorable finding on that issue. Despite the fact that judgment as a matter of law should be granted cautiously and sparingly, the district court has an obligation to direct entry of such a judgment where there is legally insufficient evidence to support a verdict on a particular issue. Sayer v. Williams, 962 P.2d 165, 167 (Wyo.1998). We review the decision to grant or deny a motion for a judgment as a matter of law de novo. Sundown, Inc., 8 P.3d at 330. Under our de novo standard, we undertake a full review of the record without giving deference to the trial court's views. Wyoming Medical Center, Inc. v. Murray, 2001 WY 63, ¶ 7, 27 P.3d 266, ¶ 7 (Wyo.2001). The test is whether the evidence is such that, without the witnesses' credibility being weighed or the weight of the evidence otherwise being considered, there can be but one conclusion as to the verdict that reasonable persons could have reached. Id. We view the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party and give that party the benefit of all the reasonable inferences which may be drawn from the evidence. Id. When the facts presented permit the drawing of more than one inference, it is for the jury to choose which will be used. Id. If the inferences favorable to the movant are subject to doubt, or if parallel inferences can be drawn, the motion appropriately is denied. Id. We affirm the district court's grant of the motion for judgment as a matter of law in favor of the sellers and the agent because there was no evidence for the jury to consider on two of the required elements: reliance and damages. [¶ 29] The sellers admitted they supplied the facts contained in the information sheet to the agent. Specifically, the information sheet represented 190 acres of state leased land existed on the real property at issue. The sellers conceded the information sheet error at trial and acknowledged there were only eighty state leased acres. The buyers admitted that, during a prepurchase inspection, the agent had shown them a strip of land dividing the property which was identified as state land. Mr. Dewey expressed his concern that: [T]he fence lines on this state property that divided the ranch had approximately a 200-foot jog in it. I needed to know where that state land was, because if I put in new fences and I put them in on state land, even if they are wrong, state land cannot be assumed by adverse possession if you have the fences wrong. The buyers' unease did not establish reliance but rather established a specific recognition that the information might be incorrect and needed to be investigated. Indeed, rather than relying upon the stated amount of acres, the buyers offered to make an independent investigation through a friend at the Wyoming State Land and Farm Loan Office (the Office). On September 29, 1994, the buyers asked the Office to provide identification for all the state land where the sellers' ranch was located. The Office's response revealed there were only eighty acres of state leased land rather than the 190 acres listed in the information sheet. [4] [¶ 30] The buyers fail to point to any evidence, let alone legally sufficient evidence, to establish their reliance upon the stated amount of leased acres in the information sheet or damages suffered as a result of such reliance. Instead, they present only conclusory statements unsupported by the record, which will not be given credence by this court. Eklund, ¶ 10 (general allegations and conclusory statements are not sufficient to oppose a motion for summary judgment). On the claims of intentional and negligent misrepresentations, the record demonstrates a manifest absence of any evidence which could allow a reasonable person to conclude that either reliance or damages existed. For these reasons, the trial court appropriately granted the W.R.C.P. 50 motion brought by the agent and the sellers.