Opinion ID: 1632567
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Prior and Current Proceedings.

Text: A. District Court Proceedings. Links and C and J Leasing Corporation (Leasing Corp.) entered into an equipment lease, which Frontier claimed had been assigned to it. Frontier brought suit for Links' default under the lease and moved for summary judgment. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Frontier, there being no material dispute regarding Links' default under the lease. In its ruling, the court rejected two arguments made by Links in resistance to Frontier's request for summary judgment: (1) that Frontier was not the real party in interest because it did not hold a valid assignment of the lease, and (2) that the person signing the lease on behalf of Links had no authority to do so. With respect to the assignment issue, Frontier alleged it had been assigned the lease from C and J Special Purpose Corporation, which in turn had been assigned the lease from C & J Vantage Leasing Company (Vantage). The district court concluded Frontier had a valid assignment of the lease, thereby making it the real party in interest. The second issue addressed by the district court in its summary judgment ruling involved whether an employee of Links, David Fleming, had authority to enter into the lease on behalf of Links. Fleming was a golf professional who had been hired to run the day-to-day operations of the golf course owned by Links. Links asserted that Fleming had no authority to bind Links with regard to any financing agreements. The district court found that Fleming had actual and apparent authority to enter into the lease, thereby binding Links to the transaction. B. Court of Appeals Proceedings. The court of appeals reversed the summary judgment, ruling that, because the lease was between Links and Leasing Corp., Vantage could not validly assign the lease, as it was not a party to the lease. The court of appeals did not address the authority issue. In deciding the assignment issue, the court of appeals stated: Accordingly, Frontier has no enforceable interest in the lease and is not the real party in interest. We reverse the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Frontier. On remand, the district court shall allow a reasonable period of time for substitution of the real party in interest. Iowa R. Civ. P. 1.201. C. Current Proceedings. Through its further review application, Links objects to the portion of the court of appeals decision that instructs the district court to allow a reasonable time for substitution of the real party in interest. Specifically, Links asserts that the statute of limitations has run on Leasing Corp.'s claim, and therefore, substitution should not be automatic, and a hearing should be held to determine whether substitution is appropriate. Through its further review application, Frontier objects to the court of appeals' reversal on the ground that the assignment of the lease was not valid.