Opinion
DA 24-0237
05-14-2024
DENNIS MENDERS, an individual; and BLACK DIAMOND QUARRY. INC., a Montana Corporation, Plaintiffs, Counter-Defendants and Appellants, v. ESTATE OF JOHN M. FANUZZI; and CHRISTOPHER FANUZZI, Defendants, Counterclaimants, Third-Party Plaintiffs and Appellees, v. CHRISTINE MEINER, an individual; and ELISABETH SKOGEN, an individual, Third-Party Defendants.
ORDER
Appellee the Estate of John M. Fanuzzi moves to dismiss this appeal on the ground that there is no final judgment or order subject to appeal. Appellants Dennis Menders and Black Diamond Quarry (collectively "Menders") oppose the motion.
Attached to Menders's Notice of Appeal is the order from which appeal is taken, the Sixth Judicial District Court's April 1, 2024 order denying their motion to enforce a settlement agreement that would ostensibly resolve Fanuzzi's complaints against Menders, a Complaint for Partition of Property and Damages and a separate complaint alleging numerous causes of action and seeking punitive damages. The parties allegedly reached a settlement that was reduced to writing and executed by Fanuzzi prior to his death. In a February 2024 order, the District Court denied the Estate's motion for summary judgment on the validity of the settlement agreement after finding disputed issues of material, fact regarding Fanuzzi's physical and mental condition as they relate to his ability to contract. The court found that "the disputed facts further create an issue regarding the assertion of undue influence."
In its April 1,2024 Order, the District Court noted its earlier ruling "that a summary ruling could not be made on the Validity of the Settlement Agreement." For similar reasons, the court denied Menders's motion to enforce, finding genuine issues of material fact that "must be determined by the finder of fact after, and if, the fact-finder determines that the Settlement Agreement is valid." The court issued a second order the same day vacating in part a scheduling order that set a hearing on the motion to enforce the Settlement Agreement and limiting the hearing to issues concerning a receiver.
The Estate contends that the appeal is premature and must be dismissed. Menders responds that the appeal is properly before the Court for three reasons: (1) Menders appeals from the District Court's ruling on the Estate's Rule 60(b) Motion; (2) Menders's Motion to Enforce may be treated as a motion for lack of subject matter jurisdiction; and (3) the District Court's order denying the motion to enforce the Settlement Agreement is an order in a partition action refusing to direct a partition of real property to be made.
Upon review, we conclude that appeal is premature. Notwithstanding Menders's contention that the order is appealable as a ruling on a motion under M. R. Civ. P. 60(b), the District Court's order partially vacating the hearing expressly observed that its "Order Scheduling Hearing was not a Final Judgment, Order, or Proceeding and therefore, the Court will not address the Estate's Rule 60(b) argument." The District Court properly declined to view the motion under Rule 60(b), and this Court does as well. Menders!s other arguments lack merit.
A party may not take an appeal until the trial court has issued either a final judgment that has determined all rights and claims in the underlying proceeding or an order otherwise appealable under the Montana Rules of Appellate Procedure. M. R. App. P. 4(1), 6(1), 6(3). The District Court's order in this case denied relief because of the need to resolve material questions of fact before the validity or enforceability of the Settlement Agreement could be finally determined. There has been no decision on whether a partition of real property will be made or whether the Settlement Agreement will resolve the issues raised by the Estate. No exception under Rule 6(3) applies to exempt this appeal from the final judgment requirement.
IT IS IHEREFORE ORDERED that this appeal is DISMISSED without prejudice to either party's right to appeal from any final judgment or order as provided in the Montana Rules of Appellate Procedure. The Court declines to impose sanctions as the Estate requests.
The Clerk is directed to provide notice of this Order to all counsel of record.