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Stanley v. Lennox Industries11/5/2004
2004 Opinion No. 116
The judgment is vacated and this case is remanded.
This is an appeal from the grant of summary judgment dismissing a products liability action and the award of court costs and attorney fees under Idaho Code § 12-121 and Rule 11 of the Idaho Rules of Civil Procedure. We hold that the district court erred in granting summary judgment. We reverse the order granting summary judgment, vacate the judgment in favor of the respondent, and remand this case for further proceedings.
I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
In 1996, the plaintiff-appellant Marjorie Stanley (Stanley) had a new home built in Bonner County, Idaho. A furnace manufactured by the defendant-respondent Lennox Industries, Inc., (Lennox) and a thermostat manufactured by the defendant Maple Chase Company (Maple Chase) were installed in the home. In the summer of 1998, Stanley left for a two-week trip and set the thermostat in her home to turn on the furnace if the temperature dropped below 62 degrees. When she returned, she discovered that the furnace was running and that the interior of her house was extremely hot. The excessive heat allegedly caused substantial damage to her home and its contents.
On July 26, 2000, Stanley filed this action seeking to recover damages. She alleged that her damages were caused by the failure of the Lennox furnace controller and/or the Maple Chase thermostat. On January 20, 2003, Lennox moved for summary judgment, and Maple Chase joined in that motion on February 13, 2003. In their motions for summary judgment, they did not contest Stanley's claim that her damages were caused by the gas furnace elevating the temperature in her home. They contended that she could not prove whether it was the Maple Chase thermostat or the Lennox furnace controller that caused the gas furnace to malfunction. In response, Stanley submitted the affidavit of her electrical engineer. He had previously testified during his deposition that in his opinion Stanley's damages were caused by a malfunction of the Maple Chase thermostat. In his affidavit, he stated that his prior opinion had been based upon erroneous information and that, when considering the correct information, in his opinion a malfunction in the Lennox furnace controller caused Stanley's damages.
The district court heard the motions for summary judgment, and on March 10, 2003, it entered an order granting both motions. The district court concluded that the evidence showed that either the thermostat or the furnace controller could have been the cause of the damage, but it did not show which one was responsible. To select one as the cause would be merely conjecture. On March 25, 2003, the district court entered a judgment dismissing the complaint as to Lennox, and on April 8, 2003, it entered a judgment dismissing the complaint as to Maple Chase.
On April 8, 2003, Stanley filed a motion for reconsideration, and on May 29, 2003, the district court denied the motion. On the same date, the district court entered another judgment, again dismissing the complaint.
On June 12, 2003, Lennox filed a motion seeking an award of attorney fees pursuant to Rule 11 of the Idaho Rules of Civil Procedure and a memorandum of costs. Fourteen days later, Stanley filed an objection to the requested award of attorney fees and to the memorandum of costs. On July 7, 2003, Stanley filed a notice of appeal from the judgment in favor of Lennox and the order denying her motion for reconsideration. On July 30, 2003, the district court issued its order awarding Lennox costs in the sum of $424.20 and attorney fees under Idaho Code § 12-121 in the sum of $27,894.50. The court also ruled that if Stanl
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