Opinion ID: 2570160
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Did the District Court Err in Failing to Consider Esser Electric's Verified Complaint Insofar as It Controverted the Affidavit of Lost River's President?

Text: Esser Electric argues on appeal that the district court erred in granting summary judgment because at least some of the allegations in the affidavit of Lost River's president were controverted by allegations in Esser Electric's verified complaint. A motion for summary judgment can be countered by sworn statements in the record that comply with Rule 56(e) of the Idaho Rules of Civil Procedure. McCoy v. Lyons, 120 Idaho 765, 820 P.2d 360 (1991). Those statements can be in affidavits, depositions, or in a verified pleading. Id. They can also be statements that were already in the record prior to the filing of the motion for summary judgment. Id. However, in this case Esser Electric's original attorney did not call the district court's attention to the fact that the complaint was verified or argue that it was sufficient to oppose the summary judgment. In response to Lost River's argument that there were no affidavits opposing its motion for summary judgment and that it was entitled to judgment dismissing the complaint and establishing liability on the counterclaims, Esser Electric's original attorney argued as follows: MR. SISSON: I would not, first attacking the issue of summary judgment, in thein Rule 56(c), talking about that, it says, The judgment sought shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, depositions, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show there is no genuine issue as to any material fact. THE COURT: Okay. Now, its your position this morning that you're entitled to rely upon your pleading? MR. SISSON: That's correct, Your Honor. We cannotit's our position that, first of all, that we have to take a whole the whole totality of the file, including pleadings, admissions, so on and so forth, to determine summary judgment. Second of all, if we're operating under the theory that Mr. Erickson is going under, we're essentially circumventing the opportunity for our client to place his, his, his claims before a trier of fact. We're essentially not allowing him to present the merits of his action. We'd also note that case law shows that in a motion for summary judgment, all facts and inferences should be drawn in favor of the nonmoving party. Obviously that would be the plaintiff in this case. Like I said, in regards to summary judgment, this is an attempt by the defense to circumvent having a jury listen to our claims; allowing us to present our claims in a jurybefore a jury, who is the ultimate trier of fact; and have them determine whether there was a breach of contract, if Mr. Esser was at fault, or Lost River Ballistics was at fault, who was at fault. At the hearing on the motion for summary judgment, Esser Electric's original counsel did not expressly mention the verified complaint. He simply quoted a portion of one sentence in Rule 56(c) and argued that granting Lost River's motion for summary judgment was merely an attempt to prevent Esser Electric from presenting its claims to a jury. The entire sentence in Rule 56(c) from which Esser Electric's original counsel quoted reads, The judgment sought shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, depositions, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. When faced with a motion for summary judgment, a trial court must look at the pleadings in the case to determine whether a party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. The trial court must examine the pleadings to determine what issues are raised in the case. The only issues considered on summary judgment are those raised by the pleadings. Vanvooren v. Astin, 141 Idaho 440, 111 P.3d 125 (2005); Lexington Heights Dev., LLC v. Crandlemire, 140 Idaho 276, 92 P.3d 526 (2004); Beco Constr. Co. v. City of Idaho Falls, 124 Idaho 859, 865 P.2d 950 (1993); Gardner v. Evans, 110 Idaho 925, 719 P.2d 1185 (1986). The trial court must also examine the pleadings to determine whether all or only some issues raised in the pleadings have been placed at issue by the motion for summary judgment. The trial court may not decide an issue not raised in the moving party's motion for summary judgment, Harwood v. Talbert, 136 Idaho 672, 39 P.3d 612 (2001), and it must determine whether the moving party has shown that there is a lack of any genuine issue of material fact as to each issue raised by the motion, Coghlan v. Beta Theta Pi Fraternity, 133 Idaho 388, 987 P.2d 300 (1999). Finally, the trial court must examine the pleadings to determine what allegations have been admitted by the parties. There is no genuine issue of material fact as to issues admitted by the parties in their pleadings. McKee Bros., Ltd. v. Mesa Equip., Inc., 102 Idaho 202, 628 P.2d 1036 (1981). In this case, the district court's opinion shows that the district court did examine the pleadings to determine the issues raised. There is no indication, however, that the court noticed that the complaint was verified. The verification was on a page following the prayer for relief. Esser Electric's counsel did not argue below that the verified complaint was sufficient to create a genuine issue of material fact precluding summary judgment. Therefore, we will not consider it on appeal. Sprinkler Irrig. Co., Inc. v. John Deere Ins. Co., Inc., 139 Idaho 691, 85 P.3d 667 (2004) (argument that verified complaint furnished sufficient, material facts to rebut a motion for summary judgment would not be considered on appeal where it was not argued below). There is a valid reason for requiring a party to argue to the trial court that a verified pleading should be considered in opposition to a motion for summary judgment. To be considered, a verified pleading must satisfy the requirements of Rule 56(e), just as would an affidavit or deposition testimony. It must be made on personal knowledge, set forth such facts as would be admissible in evidence, and show affirmatively that the affiant is competent to testify to the matters stated therein. In addition, the party offering the verified pleading must affirmatively show that the person who verified it is competent to testify about the matters stated therein. Dulaney v. St. Alphonsus Reg'l Med. Ctr., 137 Idaho 160, 164, 45 P.3d 816, 820 (2002). Statements in a verified pleading that are conclusory or speculative would not satisfy either the requirement of admissibility or competency under Rule 56(e). Id. Requiring that the proponent of the verified pleading argue that it should be considered by the court gives an opposing party an opportunity to object to its consideration on the ground that it does not comply with the requirements of Rule 56(e). The trial court can then rule on its admissibility. In its opening brief on appeal, Esser Electric admitted, Whether the verification satisfies the requirements of rule 56(e) is questionable. In addition, the trial court is not required to search the record looking for evidence that may create a genuine issue of material fact; the party opposing the summary judgment is required to bring that evidence to the court's attention. Coeur d'Alene Mining Co. v. First Nat'l Bank of North Idaho, 118 Idaho 812, 800 P.2d 1026 (1990) (where trial court denied motion for summary judgment but specified what material facts existed without substantial controversy pursuant to Rule 56(d), it did not err in denying motion to reconsider the specification of uncontroverted facts where the moving party did not bring relevant deposition testimony to the trial court's attention). Where Esser Electric's counsel did not argue to the district court that the verified complaint should be considered as a sworn statement in opposition to the motion for summary judgment, we will not consider on appeal whether the district court erred in failing to do so.