Opinion ID: 729777
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Summary Judgment for USA Waste

Text: 8 On appeal of a summary judgment order, we apply the same standard as the district court, reviewing de novo. Bank of America Nat'l Trust & Sav. Assoc. v. Shirley, 96 F.3d 1108, 1111 (8th Cir. 1996). Summary judgment is appropriate if the record shows no material facts in dispute and that one party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Id.; Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c). 9 Dole's claim against USA Waste and Moorhead is premised on section 9-10-02(3) of the North Dakota statutes. Under section 9-10-02(3), one form of deceit is [t]he suppression of a fact by one who is bound to disclose it, or who gives information of other facts which are likely to mislead for want of communication of that fact. Actions for deceit under the statute clearly require that the defendant have a duty to disclose as a prerequisite to liability. Hellman v. Thiele, 413 N.W.2d 321, 328 (N.D. 1987). We agree with the district court that Dole has produced no evidence that indicates USA Waste or Moorhead owed him any duty of disclosure. 10 Dole first argues that USA Waste and Moorhead were sufficiently involved in the process by which Mr. Dole was relieved of his acreage to face liability . . . directly. Appellant's Brief at 28. USA Waste and Moorhead were, of course, actively negotiating to acquire Beardmore's and Big Dipper's interests in the land after Big Dipper completed its purchase of Dole's 288 acres. Dole fails to show, however, that the USA Waste-Big Dipper negotiations gave rise to any duty owed by USA Waste to him. He produced no evidence, and indeed does not argue, that USA Waste or Moorhead were directly or substantially involved in the Dole-Big Dipper negotiations. 11 This case is distinguishable from four North Dakota cases cited by Dole for the proposition that non-parties to a business transaction [may be] liable for deceit for having suppressed relevant information. Appellant's Brief at 30 (citing Dewey v. Lutz, 462 N.W.2d 435 (N.D. 1990); West v. Carlson, 454 N.W.2d 307 (N.D. 1990); Ostlund Chem. Co. v. Norwest Bank, 417 N.W.2d 833 (N.D. 1988); and Holcomb v. Zinke, 365 N.W.2d 507 (N.D. 1985)). Contrary to Dole's assertion, West and Holcomb both involved parties dealing directly with each other in land transactions. In Ostlund Chemical, the court held that a bank assumed a duty of disclosure only after it voluntarily responded to a request for information from a customer's creditor. 417 N.W.2d at 836. And in Dewey, two defendants negotiated directly with the plaintiffs to further a scheme to defraud the plaintiffs to the benefit of a third defendant. Dewey, 462 N.W.2d at 437-38. None of these cases are analogous to the role and conduct of USA Waste with respect to the Gwinner landfill negotiations. The district court properly concluded that Dole failed, as a matter of law, to establish a duty of disclosure by USA Waste or Moorhead. 12 Dole alternatively argues that USA Waste and Moorhead are derivatively responsible for Beardmore's and Big Dipper's conduct because USA Waste and Big Dipper were joint venturers. Any possible derivative liability by USA Waste and Moorhead is vitiated, however, by the jury's finding that Dole did not prove deceit by Beardmore and Big Dipper. At any rate, Dole's joint venture theory is unpersuasive. 13 Under North Dakota law, a joint venture has four elements: 14 (1) contribution by the parties of money, property, time, or skill in some common undertaking . . . ; (2) a proprietary interest and right of mutual control over the engaged property; (3) an express or implied agreement for the sharing of profits, and usually, but not necessarily, of losses; and (4) an express or implied contract showing a joint venture was formed. 15 Thompson v. Danner, 507 N.W.2d 550, 556 (N.D. 1993) (citations omitted). Dole argues that Big Dipper and USA Waste engaged in a joint venture by pooling money and effort in the common undertaking of acquiring Dole's 288 acres. Other than conclusory assertions, Dole points to no evidence in the record of a proprietary interest and right of mutual control between USA Waste and Big Dipper, an agreement for the sharing of profits and losses, or an express or implied contract showing a joint venture. Further, we are not impressed with Dole's assertion that USA Waste's negotiations to acquire Big Dipper's interests show a common undertaking to acquire Dole's acreage, rather than a garden variety, arm's-length transaction between independent companies. There is no support in the record for Dole's claim of a joint venture, and the district court properly granted summary judgment for USA Waste and Moorhead.