Opinion ID: 2007160
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Directed Verdict on Malicious Threat to Extort Claim.

Text: We next consider plaintiff's contention that the trial court erred in directing a verdict on his malicious threat to extort claim. While a motion for directed verdict was made as to this claim at the conclusion of the evidence, both parties agree that the merits of the claim had been finally adjudicated adversely to plaintiff by a pretrial ruling. The motion for directed verdict was based entirely upon the legal effect of the court's pretrial ruling on a motion for adjudication of law points under rule 105, Iowa Rules of Civil Procedure, and did not go to the sufficiency of the proof at trial. Law points previously adjudicated under rule 105 which are unavoidably involved in ruling on a motion for directed verdict may be reviewed on appeal from the latter ruling. Braden v. Board of Supervisors, 261 Iowa 973, 976, 157 N.W.2d 123, 124-25 (1968). The material allegations of plaintiff's petition, as amended, which bear upon that claim are as follows: That Section 720.1 of the 1977 Code of Iowa provides criminal sanctions for certain malicious threats to extort. Defendant's conduct of threatening to report Plaintiff to Saudi police and having him arrested if he did not sign a release is violative of Section 720.1 of the Iowa Code and creates civil liability for Defendant's actions through the operation of Section 611.21 of the 1977 Code of Iowa. As a result of these allegations, plaintiff seeks to recover both actual and exemplary damages from the defendant Khodari-Intergreen Co. The relevant portions of defendants' motion to adjudicate law points is as follows: That is the Defendants' contention that... Plaintiff's amended Petition alleging that acts committed, by the Defendant, Khodari-Intergreen, wholly within the jurisdiction of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia constitute a violation of Section 720.1, Code of Iowa (1979) cannot provide a basis for a civil recovery by the Plaintiff because the application of well-settled conflicts of laws rules, to the facts of this case, mandate a finding that actions taken wholly outside the jurisdiction of Iowa cannot be held to violate a criminal statute of the State of Iowa, and, therefore, the Plaintiff has failed to state a meritorious claim.... That it is the Defendant's contention that the criminal code of the State of Iowa does not extend to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and that, under no circumstances, may the Plaintiff recover damages from either Defendant when such recovery is predicated on actions of the Defendants committed wholly outside the jurisdiction of the State of Iowa because such actions would not violate the Iowa criminal code.... Plaintiff may under no circumstances, recover damages from either Defendant when the Plaintiff's cause of action is predicated solely upon actions taken by the Defendants within the jurisdiction of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The trial court sustained the claims of the foregoing motion generally and without elaboration, but both parties agree that the effect of this ruling was an adjudication on the merits against plaintiff's malicious threat to extort claim. The defendants' motion for adjudication of law points as it pertains to the malicious threat to extort claim does not depend on the issue of which state's or nation's law applies under the proper choice-of-law rules. It is based instead on a theory of the territorial limitations on the application of state statutes. It is a generally recognized principle that a statute of one state has no extraterritorial effect beyond its borders. United States v. Curtiss-Wright Export Corp., 299 U.S. 304, 318, 57 S.Ct. 216, 220, 81 L.Ed. 255, 261 (1936); Gulf Collateral, Inc. v. Morgan, 415 F.Supp. 319, 321 (S.D.Ga.1976); Singer v. Magnavox Co., 380 A.2d 969, 981 (Del.1977); State of California v. Copus, 158 Tex. 196, 199, 309 S.W.2d 227, 229 (1958), cert. denied, 356 U.S. 967, 78 S.Ct. 1006, 2 L.Ed.2d 1074; National Bank of Topeka v. Mitchell, 154 Kan. 276, 281, 118 P.2d 519, 522 (1941); Southern Pacific Railroad Co. v. Gonzalez, 48 Ariz. 260, 273, 61 P.2d 377, 382 (1936). We recognize such principle as applicable in our courts. The issue which must be determined is whether the territorial limitations which inhere in our code section 720.1 (1977) act to support defendants' claim which the trial court sustained that on the face of plaintiff's petition, he has failed to state a meritorious claim. We believe this question must be answered in the negative. The test which must be applied for purposes of determining whether a claim can be dismissed on the pleadings is whether under any state of facts the allegations of the petition support the entitlement to some relief. Van Meter v. Van Meter, 328 N.W.2d 497, 498 (Iowa 1983); Glass v. Minnesota Protective Life Ins. Co., 314 N.W.2d 393, 397 (Iowa 1982). If a party is not entitled to all the relief asked for, he or she may be entitled to recover any lesser or different relief which is embraced within the pleadings and supported by the proof. Iowa Code § 619.9 (1983). At the time the trial court ruled on a motion for adjudication of law points as to the malicious threat to extort claim, no determination had been made of the proper law to be applied in determining whether plaintiff had a claim for relief on the facts alleged. Undoubtedly, if the elements are established which are proscribed by Iowa Code section 720.1 (1977), we would consider such conduct to be civilly actionable under our law in the absence of any statute. Under such circumstances, until it is established that the law of another state or nation applies to this claim and that such law classifies the alleged conduct differently from the views we have just expressed, plaintiff's claims cannot be resolved against him on the basis of the allegations of his petition. Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws section 136 comment f provides: The local law of the forum determines which party must initially provide information about the foreign law and which party has the ultimate burden of pursuading the court as to the content of the foreign law. Frequently, the local law of the forum will provide that the party who claims that the foreign law is different from the local law of the forum has the burden of establishing the content of the foreign law. Our law specifies that the party relying on foreign law has the burden to establish what it is. Berghammer v. Smith, 185 N.W.2d 226, 230 (Iowa 1971). In accordance with the Restatement comment, we believe such burden falls on the party claiming that foreign law is different from local law. Neither party is required to plead or prove the foreign law unless some difference therein is relied upon by that party. We hold plaintiff's claims cannot be resolved against him on the basis of the allegations of his petition involving a malicious threat to extort, and the trial court erred in ruling otherwise. The case is reversed on this issue and remanded for a new trial on that claim. We do not consider the arguments of the parties on the merits concerning applicable choice of law based upon either the most significant relationship rule or the choice of law provision in the contract between the parties. Although those issues were made a part of the motion to adjudicate law points and were considered by the trial court, the pleadings reveal factual issues pertaining thereto which precluded adjudication of such matters under rule 105. See Montz v. Hill-Mont Land Co., 329 N.W.2d 657, 658 (Iowa 1983). Because both parties challenge the trial court's ruling on these issues, we set aside the ruling on adjudication of law points in its entirety for purposes of retrial.