Court Opinion

ID: 9730864
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 15:26:42.765612+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:26:10.275078
License: Public Domain

NORTON, Judge
(dissenting).
I respectfully dissent and would affirm the trial court’s ruling denying appellant’s statute of limitations defense.
When compared with the familiar cement swimming pool which is dug into the ground permanently, this mostly above the ground pool is of an entirely different character. This above-ground swimming pool is portable, a fact recognized by appellant in its own advertising. The landscaping required for its installation was minor and only necessary to accommodate the deep end of the pool. The pool was not attached to or in anyway incorporated into respondents’ home or the free-standing deck surrounding the pool.
Strict construction is appropriate when interpreting Minn.Stat. § 541.051, subd. 1 (1984). Ritter v. Abbey-Etna Mach. Co., 483 N.W.2d 91, 93 (Minn.App.1992) (citing Pacific Indemnity Co. v. Thompson-Yaeger, Inc., 260 N.W.2d 548, 554 (Minn.1977)), pet. for rev. denied (Minn. June 10, 1992).
In Ritter, this court stated that an improvement must be “incorporated into the building or structure” in order for it to be a permanent addition to real property. Id. Applying this interpretation to the facts of this case, the respondents’ pool cannot be a permanent improvement. Upon examination, it appears the pool in this case could be moved much easier than the steel tube mill in Ritter, yet there this court rejected the argument that the mill was a permanent improvement.
Respondents’ pool is not a permanent improvement to real property. This view is consistent with the rule that statutes of limitation are to be strictly construed lest they become a harsh remedy. Under the facts of this case, I agree with the trial court that respondents’ pool is not integral to or a permanent improvement to real property. I would affirm the trial court’s ruling denying appellant’s statute of limitations defense.