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Rick v. Sprague12/9/2005
Defendant appeals from judgment entered in favor of one of the plaintiffs pursuant to his offer to confess judgment. REVERSED AND CASE REMANDED.
In this personal injury action, the defendant, Wilbur Sprague, appeals from a district court judgment for $5000 in favor of Marlene A. Tri Rick, one of the plaintiffs in this action, on Sprague's offer to confess judgment. Sprague contends the district court misinterpreted his offer to confess judgment, which he claims was for both Marlene's loss of consortium claim and her husband Howard M. Rick's claim for personal injuries. Marlene moved to dismiss the appeal on the grounds the appeal does not meet the amount-in-controversy requirement of Iowa Rule of Appellate Procedure 6.3 and Sprague failed to file a timely application to certify the appeal pursuant to Iowa Rule of Appellate Procedure 6.5.
We treat the appeal as an application to certify the appeal pursuant to Iowa Rule of Appellate Procedure 6.304, grant the application, and deny the motion to dismiss. Because we conclude there was no mutual assent to the terms of the offer to confess judgment, we reverse the district court's judgment and remand for further proceedings.
I. Background Facts
Howard and Marlene are husband and wife. On April 3, 2000, the automobile driven by Howard was struck in the rear by the automobile driven by Sprague. Marlene was a passenger in Howard's automobile at the time.
II. Proceedings
On March 27, 2002, the Ricks sued Sprague seeking damages stemming from the April 3, 2000 automobile accident. In the petition, Howard sought damages for his alleged injuries, and Marlene sought damages for her alleged loss of spousal consortium. There was no money demand in the petition. However, the petition did state that " he amount in controversy exceeds the jurisdictional requirements set forth in Section 631.1, The Code and the jurisdictional amount set forth in The Iowa Rules of Appellate Procedure." See Iowa R. Civ. P. 1.403(1) ("Except in small claims and cases involving only liquidated damages, a pleading shall not state the specific amount of money damages sought but shall state whether the amount of damages meets applicable jurisdictional requirements for the amount in controversy. The specific amount and elements of monetary damages sought may be obtained through discovery.").
Later, Sprague filed an offer to confess judgment, which stated:
The defendant, Wilbur Sprague, after answer and before trial herein, offers to confess judgment pursuant to Iowa Code ยง 677.7 (1985) as follows:
1. In the amount of Five Thousand and no/100 Dollars ($5000.00) including pre-judgment interest and court costs to the date of filing this offer to confess judgment on plaintiffs' claim.
2. The amount offered above is the total sum that is being offered to the plaintiffs. Pre-judgment interest and court costs are a part of the amount offered.
Howard rejected the offer to confess judgment and stated that such rejection "specifically relates solely to his individual claims and does not include or affect any claims brought by plaintiff Marlene A. Tri Rick."
At the same time, Marlene accepted the offer to confess judgment and stated that such acceptance "specifically relates solely to her personal consortium claim and does not include or affect any claims brought by plaintiff Howard M. Rick."
A short time later, the district court entered an order directing the clerk of court to "enter judgment against defendant Wilbur Sprague and in favor of plaintiff Marlene A. Tri Rick in the amount of $5000. Plaintiff Howard M. Rick's claims against def
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