Court Opinion

ID: 9535433
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 04:49:30.839287+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:33:15.159463
License: Public Domain

SIMONETT, Justice
(concurring specially)-
I join the court’s opinion in all respects except I would handle the remand differently.
The key fact issue remaining unresolved is whether plaintiff International Harvester used due diligence in asserting its breach of warranty claims after it knew or should have known that its reliance on Onan’s repair promises was no longer justified. I would remand for the trial court to decide this issue. If due diligence is found, that would end the litigation; if found to be lacking, then a new jury trial should be ordered on lost profit damages.
This was a long, complex trial, ably tried by the judge and counsel, and the time and expense involved in what would be essentially a retrial should be avoided, if it may not be necessary. Minn.R.Civ.P. 49.01 provides:
If [in submitting the special verdict] the court omits any issue of fact raised by the pleadings or by the evidence, each party waives the right to a trial by jury of the issue so omitted unless before the jury retires the party demands its submission to the jury. As to an issue omitted without such demand, the court may make a finding * * *.
Pursuant to this rule, I would have the trial judge now make findings on the due diligence issue based on the trial record. Cf. Lemmer v. IDS Properties, Inc., 304 N.W.2d 864, 870 (Minn.1980). If the damages issue needs to be redetermined, there would then be a new trial with a jury.