Opinion ID: 686513
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Mayor's Statements

Text: 31 LSGI also argued that certain statements made by Mayor Fraser in November 1987 constituted a breach of the Development Agreement because they hindered LSGI's ability to secure a second anchor tenant. These statements consisted of the letter to Robert Smith of Neiman-Marcus, the letter to Bruce Nordstrom of Nordstrom's department stores, and the remarks about the trustworthiness of developers made in an address to a group of architecture students at the University of Minnesota. The City argues that LSGI's claim of breach of the contract predicated on these statements must fail as a matter of law because LSGI introduced no evidence to establish a causal link between any of these statements and the inability of LSGI to secure a second anchor tenant. Further, the City claims that the Mayor's remarks to the architecture class regarded a matter of public concern and were therefore privileged. LSGI responds to this argument of privilege by claiming that any immunity exists to protect public officials from tort actions and not from breach of contract actions. LSGI also contends that if the Mayor did have immunity in this case, it would be personal only and would not protect the City from liability. 32 Minnesota law provides that contract performance is excused when it is hindered or rendered impossible by the other party. Zobel & Dahl Constr. v. Crotty, 356 N.W.2d 42, 45 (Minn.1984). Further, a breach of contract occurs under those circumstances. Id. Minnesota law also provides that there must be a causal link between the alleged breach and the party's claimed damages. See Nguyen v. Control Data Corp., 401 N.W.2d 101, 105-06 (Minn.Ct.App.1987). Causation is a question of fact, and the jury's conclusion will not be upset unless the court finds it to be manifestly contrary to the weight of the evidence. Lamke v. Louden, 269 N.W.2d 53, 56 (Minn.1978). 33 We hold the record before us does not support the jury's finding of causation. LSGI simply produced no evidence that the Mayor's letters had any adverse effect on its attempt to secure a second anchor tenant. With regard to the letter to Neiman-Marcus, its representative testified that the Mayor's letter had no effect on his company's decision to back away from its initial statement of interest in the project. However, even if LSGI had produced such evidence, the evidence would have to demonstrate that the letters were in some way inconsistent with any action which the City could properly take under the terms of the Development Agreement. Minnesota law does not provide for a breach of contract action for any and all hindrances of one party's performance by the action of another. Rather, every contract contains an implied condition that each party will not unjustifiably hinder the other from performing. Zobel & Dahl Constr., 356 N.W.2d at 45 (emphasis added). The City's rejection of the dome and tunnel design concept may have made it more difficult for LSGI to fulfill its obligation to secure two anchor tenants, but where the City's action was authorized by the Development Agreement, such action was not an unjustifiable hindrance and thus cannot constitute the basis for a claim of breach of contract. Therefore, the Mayor's letters, which did no more than explain the City's action, cannot, as a matter of law, breach the Development Agreement. 34 With regard to the Mayor's remarks to the architecture class, we will assume for purposes of analysis only that they were not privileged. Arguing against the application of any sort of privilege, LSGI itself noted that this claim is not a tort claim, but a breach of contract claim. LSGI had to come forward with some evidence to show that the Mayor's remarks did in fact unjustifiably hinder its ability to secure a second anchor tenant. LSGI, however, presented no evidence that the Skyway News report of the Mayor's remarks in any way adversely affected LSGI's ability to secure a second anchor tenant. LSGI would have us consider the mere fact that it did not obtain a second anchor tenant to be sufficient proof of causation. Without any evidence that these statements adversely influenced the decision-making process of a prospective anchor tenant or otherwise unjustifiably hindered LSGI's performance, LSGI's claim that the Mayor's remarks about the trustworthiness of developers effectively breached the Development Agreement is also insufficient as a matter of law.