Amphibious Partners, LLC v. Redman, 534 F.3d 1357, 10th Cir. (2008)

FILED
United States Court of Appeals

Tenth Circuit
July 29, 2008
PUBLISH
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
Elisabeth A. Shumaker
Clerk of Court
FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT
AMPHIBIOUS PARTNERS, LLC,

Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
No. 07-8081
DONALD R. REDMAN;
GWENDOLYN D REDMAN,
Defendants-Third-PartyPlaintiffs-Appellants,
v.
DAVID E. BEAGLE, individually;
WILLIAM A. GAVIN, individually;
RICHARD A. MASON, individually;
ERIC MUNOZ, individually; A.
LOUIS STEPLOCK JR., individually,
Third-Party-Defendants.
APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF WYOMING
(D.C. No. 06CV31CAB)
Mark W. Gifford, Casper, Wyoming, for Defendants-Third-Party-PlaintiffsAppellants.

Judith Studer, Casper, Wyoming, for Plaintiff-Appellee.
Before BRISCOE, McKAY, and LUCERO, Circuit Judges.
McKAY, Circuit Judge.

This case arises out of a loan obtained from Hilltop National Bank by
Trolley Boats, LLC, a company owned 50% by Defendants, Donald and
Gwendolyn Redman, and 50% by Plaintiff, Amphibious Partners, LLC. After the
loan went into default, Plaintiff paid Hilltop Bank the full amount due on the
note. Plaintiff then filed suit against Defendants seeking payment of that amount,
plus accrued interest and attorney fees. Based on equitable considerations, the
district court decided that Defendants were liable in contribution for the full
amount of the debt. On appeal, Defendants challenge the district courts
procedural decision to hear evidence and decide the case based on these equitable
considerations. They also contest the courts ultimate conclusion that they should
be held liable for the full amount of the debt.
B ACKGROUND
In 2003, Trolley Boats obtained a $100,000 loan from Hilltop Bank for
operating expenses. Trolley Boats promissory note was secured by individual
guaranties executed by Defendants and five of the six individual members of
Amphibious Partners. After Trolley Boats defaulted on the loan in September
2005, Plaintiff requested that Defendants pay 50% of the amount due, but
Defendants refused. Plaintiff eventually paid Hilltop Bank the outstanding
amount due on the note and in turn received an assignment of the note and
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guaranties.
Plaintiff then filed the instant complaint against Defendants, invoking the
district courts diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. 1332(a). Plaintiff, as
assignee of the promissory note and guaranties, sought payment of the full
amount of the note as well as interest and attorney fees.
In response, Defendants argued that their liability to Plaintiff was limited to
their proportionate share of the amount due on the note, calculated by dividing the
total liability by the number of cosureties. Specifically, in their opposition to
Plaintiffs motion for summary judgment, Defendants argued that the law of
contribution among co-guarantors limited their obligation to two-sevenths of the
debt. Defendants argued that the relief sought by Plaintiff was unreasonable and
inequitable and that [e]quity demand[ed] that the Redmans . . . each pay oneseventh of the debt they guarantied, and no more. (R. at 145.)
The district court agreed with Defendants that Plaintiffs right to recover
was based on the equitable principles governing contribution between
coguarantors, not the terms of the instrument on which the coguarantors have
become liable. 1 (R. at 195.) The court stated: Absent an express agreement
Based on this conclusion, the court ruled that Plaintiff was not entitled to
attorney fees or accrued interest. On appeal, Plaintiff again asserts that
Defendants should be held liable for prejudgment interest and attorney fees. To
the extent that Plaintiff seeks to appeal the district courts rejection of this
argument below, we will not consider this issue, which was not properly raised by
(continued...)
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among the guarantors to the contrary, the contributive share of the guarantors is
limited to the total liability of the cosureties to the obligee divided by the number
of cosureties, or two-sevenths share of the Trolley Boats $100,000 obligation to
Hilltop National Bank, plus two-sevenths of the interest paid to Hilltop National
Bank. (R. at 193.)
Plaintiff then filed a motion for additional findings of fact or a trial setting.
In this motion, Plaintiff asked the court to enter judgment for 50% of the debt,
interest, and attorney fees, based on Defendants 50% interest in Trolley Boats.
Alternatively, Plaintiff asked the court to set the matter for trial to take evidence
as to what result would be equitable, given, inter alia, Defendants unauthorized
takeover of the Trolley Boats manufacturing facility in April 2004.
The court denied Plaintiffs request for additional findings of fact but
granted the motion for a trial setting. In its order granting the trial setting, the
court stated that [t]he sole issues at the trial are whether there was an agreement
(...continued)
way of cross-appeal. See Montgomery v. City of Ardmore, 365 F.3d 926, 944
(10th Cir. 2004) (declining to consider district courts refusal to award attorneys
fees because appellees failed to file cross-appeal on this issue); see also Savage v.
Cache Valley Dairy Assn, 737 F.2d 887, 889 (10th Cir. 1984) (holding that filing
of timely cross-appeal is mandatory and jurisdictional). To the extent that
Plaintiff wishes us to grant such an award as a sanction against Defendants on
appeal, we conclude that such a sanction is not warranted on the basis of this
appeal. See Lewis v. Circuit City Stores, Inc., 500 F.3d 1140, 1152-53 (10th Cir.
1987) (explaining that, although appellate court may impose sanctions where
appeal is frivolous or counsel has unreasonably and vexatiously multiplied
proceedings, sanction decisions are not taken lightly).
-4-
among the coguarantors that the Redmans would pay more than two-sevenths of
the $100,000 secured by their guaranties, and which party or parties are entitled
to contribution, Amphibious Partners or [the individual co-guarantors]. (R. at
221.)
At the ensuing bench trial, Plaintiff presented evidence and arguments
regarding equitable considerations, including Defendants unauthorized takeover
of the Trolley Boats manufacturing facility. Defendants objected, arguing that
Plaintiff should not be entitled to expand the issues to be resolved at trial. The
court overruled Defendants objections, agreeing with Plaintiff that its previous
order indicated it would hold Defendants responsible for two-sevenths of the debt
unless [Plaintiff was] able to prove under equitable principles additional sums
that may be due. (R. at 265.) The court told Defendants that [t]he question [in
this case] really is what is fair. (R. at 301.) In overruling one of Defendants
evidentiary objections, the court noted that Defendants should not be surprised by
the matters being admitted into evidence, which the court and the parties were
all well acquainted with. (R. at 268.)
After taking the matter under advisement, the court issued its findings of
fact and conclusions of law. The court found that Defendants improperly
excluded Plaintiff from the Trolley Boats manufacturing facility and retained
funds earned by the business. The court found that Defendants actions destroyed
Plaintiffs ability to benefit from the Hilltop Bank loan, while Defendants
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continued to benefit from the loan by operating the Trolley Boats business and
selling boats manufactured at the Trolley Boats facility. The court concluded
that, because Defendants received the entire benefit from the loan, they were
liable in contribution to Plaintiff for the entire amount of the debt. The court
therefore entered judgment against Defendants for the full amount paid by
Plaintiff to Hilltop Bank, plus post-judgment interest. Defendants appeal.
D ISCUSSION
On appeal, Defendants first argue that the district court erred by hearing
evidence and deciding the case based on equitable considerations when these
considerations were outside of the issues framed by the courts order granting the
motion for a trial setting. Citing to a case discussing the modification of a
pretrial order entered pursuant to Rule 16 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure,
Roberts v. Roadway Express, Inc., 149 F.3d 1098, 1107 (10th Cir. 1998),
Defendants argue that the district court abused its discretion when it fail[ed] . . .
to abide by the terms of the pretrial order with respect to the scope of the issues
for trial[] and . . . decid[ed] the case on an issue not framed by the pleadings or
the pretrial order. (Appellants Br. at 8).
We conclude that Defendants authority is not on point. The district courts
order granting a trial setting was not a pretrial order entered after discussion with
the parties at a pretrial conference as contemplated by Rule 16. Thus, even if the
courts order was intended to state a final formulation of the issues, there is
-6-
nothing in the pre-trial rulings, even if they be called pre-trial orders, to prevent
the trial judge from changing his mind about the applicable law of the case. If
this were so, pre-trial orders might very well serve the function for perpetuating
error rather than facilitating the trial of the lawsuit on the genuine issues of fact
and the law of the case. Lumbermens Mut. Cas. Co. v. Rhodes, 403 F.2d 2, 7-8
(10th Cir. 1968) (rejecting argument that court erred by giving immunity
instruction at trial after ruling in pre-trial proceedings that defense of immunity
was unavailable); cf. R.L. Clark Drilling Contractors, Inc. v. Schramm, Inc., 835
F.2d 1306, 1308 (10th Cir. 1987) (A pretrial order, then, is the result of a
process in which counsel define the issues of fact and law to be decided at trial,
and it binds counsel to that definition. (emphasis added)). Moreover, even if we
were to treat the courts order granting a trial setting as a pretrial order governed
by Rule 16, we would find no abuse of discretion under the four-factor test
articulated by Roberts.
As to Defendants argument that this issue was not framed in the pleadings,
we note that Defendants were the ones who first requested the court to make a
decision in equity and that, after the court agreed with Defendants that the law of
contribution would apply, Plaintiffs motion for a trial setting discussed the issue
of disproportionate benefits. We agree with Plaintiff that Defendants should not
be entitled to raise the issue of contribution in order to limit their liability and
then prevent the court from considering other equitable factors relevant to the
-7-
application of contribution to this case.

Second, Defendants appeal the merits of the district courts judgment,
arguing that, contrary to the district courts conclusion, they did not
disproportionately benefit from the loan and that they should therefore not be
liable in contribution for the full amount of the debt. Defendants also take issue
with the legal authorities relied on by the court, arguing that the court should
have simply used a straightforward mathematical formula to hold Defendants
liable for two-sevenths of the debt.
The application of equitable doctrines rests in the sound discretion of the
district court, and we will not reverse the courts decision in equity absent a
showing that the court abused its discretion. McKinney v. Gannett Co., Inc., 817
F.2d 659, 670 (10th Cir. 1987). We thus will not disturb the district courts
decision unless we have a definite and firm conviction that the [district] court
made a clear error of judgment or exceeded the bounds of permissible choice in
the circumstances. Moothart v. Bell, 21 F.3d 1499, 1504 (10th Cir. 1994). We
will not challenge the district courts evaluation of the salience and credibility of
the evidence unless this evaluation finds no support in the record, deviates from
the appropriate legal standard, or follows from a plainly implausible, irrational, or
erroneous reading of the record. United States v. Robinson, 39 F.3d 1115, 1116
(10th Cir. 1994).
The district court found that Defendants improperly excluded Plaintiff from
-8-
the operation of the Trolley Boats business after taking over the manufacturing
facility, then retained the funds earned from the sale of boats manufactured there.
This finding is supported by the record. For instance, a witness testified that he
reviewed Defendants books and records approximately two years after
Defendants took over the manufacturing facility and saw that Defendants had
generated substantial liabilities in Trolley Boats name while placing money
earned from the sale of trolley boats into a separate account that was not
controlled by Trolley Boats and its managers. The court was also entitled, as
Plaintiff requested, to take judicial notice of its memorandum of order and
judgment from a previous case involving these parties, Amphibious Attractions,
L.L.C. v. Trolley Boats, L.L.C., Nos. 05-CV-29-B & 05-CV-122-B, 2006 WL
1075231 (D. Wyo. April 18, 2006), in which the court made factual findings
regarding the takeover and related matters. See St. Louis Baptist Temple, Inc. v.
FDIC, 605 F.2d 1169, 1172 (10th Cir. 1979) (noting that [j]udicial notice is
particularly applicable to the courts own records of prior litigation closely
related to the case before it). Under the abuse of discretion standard, we see no
cause to disturb the district courts evaluation of the evidence and conclusion that
Defendants actions caused Plaintiff to receive no benefit from the loan.
We likewise see no abuse of discretion in the district courts application of
equitable principles. As the court correctly noted, [c]ontribution is an equitable
doctrine based on principles of fundamental justice. Vickers Petroleum Co. v.
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Biffle, 239 F.2d 602, 606 (10th Cir. 1956). Since the right to contribution is
inherently equitable in nature, it logically follows that where the co-obligors have
received unequal benefits from the common obligation, the portion of the
contribution that each must bear is according to the benefit that each has
received. 18 Am. Jur. 2d, Contribution, 22 (2007) (footnote omitted). Thus,
if one joint obligor offers proof that he did not receive equal benefits, that
obligor is not required to equally contribute. Bossard v. Sullivan, 670 P.2d
1389, 1391 (Mont. 1983); see also Rahall v. Tweel, 411 S.E.2d 461, 464 (W. Va.
1991) (noting that disproportionate contribution may be allowed where one or
more of the co-obligors have received a disproportionate benefit from the
transaction); Sofris v. Maple-Whitworth, Inc. (In re Maple-Whitworth, Inc.), 375
B.R. 558, 570 (B.A.P. 9th Cir. 2007) ([T]he court has authority to make
adjustments based on the circumstances in order to assure that contribution does
not work an injustice.). 2 We see no error in the courts application of these
principles to this case.
For the foregoing reasons, we AFFIRM the district courts order and
judgment.
Although Wyoming law governs in this diversity case, the parties have
cited no Wyoming cases addressing this issue, nor have we found any. Where no
state cases exist on a point, we turn to other state court decisions, federal
decisions, and the general weight and trend of authority. Barnard v. Firemans
Fund Ins. Co., 996 F.2d 246, 248 (10th Cir. 1993) (internal quotation marks
omitted).
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FILED

United States Court of Appeals

July 29, 2008

FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT

AMPHIBIOUS PARTNERS, LLC,

APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

Mark W. Gifford, Casper, Wyoming, for Defendants-Third-Party-PlaintiffsAppellants.

Before BRISCOE, McKAY, and LUCERO, Circuit Judges.

McKAY, Circuit Judge.

application of contribution to this case.

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