Opinion ID: 2543734
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Appeal Within Twenty Days of Appraisal Award

Text: ¶ 26 In the November 25, 1998, order, the Miller II district court stated that according to Utah Code section 78-31a-15, any calculation of loss by the appraisal panel could be appealed to the district court for modification within twenty days after the panel issued its award. On December 17, 1999, the appraisal panel issued the limited appraisal award, setting the amount of the Millers' contractual claim loss at $40,880, but declining to resolve the extra-contractual claims. The USAA defendants argue that because the Millers failed to appeal the appraisal panel's determination to the district court within twenty days after the appraisal panel issued the award, the appraisal award itself became a final judgment, requiring the Millers to file their notice of appeal within thirty days after the twenty-day appeal period expired. ¶ 27 The appraisal award, irrespective of whether the Millers appealed it to the district court, did not constitute a final judgment, and the Millers were under no duty to appeal from that award to this court. Because the appraisal panel declined to address the extra-contractual claims, those claims remained unresolved, and thus, the appraisal panel's determination did not end the controversy between the litigants. Loffredo, 2001 UT 97 at ¶ 12, 37 P.3d 1070. ¶ 28 Nevertheless, the Millers timely appealed the limited appraisal award by filing the motion for conference. Specifically, the Millers moved to confer on the forum and schedule for resolving their extra-contractual claims. This motion was tantamount to an appeal of the panel's refusal to resolve the extra-contractual claims. The Millers' requested remedya forum for resolution of the extra-contractual claimsis indistinguishable from the remedy the Millers would have sought by a formal appeal to the district court. The Millers had no need to appeal the panel's determination of the amount of the contractual claim loss. Indeed, the Millers moved the court to confirm that award. To the extent that the USAA defendants argue that the Millers should have filed a formal appeal rather than a motion for conference, they ask us to elevate and exalt form over substance, which we refuse to do. See Buzas Baseball, Inc. v. Salt Lake Trappers, Inc., 925 P.2d 941, 947 (Utah 1996). ¶ 29 The Millers' motion for conference was filed just four days after the appraisal panel issued its limited appraisal award, well within the twenty-day period allotted for appeal to the district court. The district court denied that motion on March 10, 2000. Because the March 10, 2000, order completely disposed of all the Millers' claims and appeals to the district court, we conclude that it was the Miller II final order. ¶ 30 Because we conclude that the March 10, 2000, order was the final order in Miller II, rule 4(a) of the Utah Rules of Appellate Procedure required the Millers to file their notice of appeal within thirty days of March 10, 2000, to properly initiate this appeal. The Millers filed their notice of appeal on March 23, 2000, rendering the notice timely and establishing our jurisdiction to hear this appeal.