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Rick v. Sprague12/9/2005
endants remain viable."
Following the district court's order, Sprague filed a motion to reconsider and vacate the portion of the court's order that entered judgment on behalf of Marlene. Sprague contended that the offer to confess judgment was made to the plaintiffs jointly and was not divisible.
In their resistance to this motion, the Ricks maintained that they brought two separate claims and each of them was entitled to settle his or her claim as seen fit. They further maintained that Sprague could not now rescind the offer by claiming he made a unilateral error after Marlene had accepted the offer to confess judgment.
The district court entered an order denying Sprague's motion "for the reasons stated in plaintiffs' resistance to the motion to reconsider."
Sprague appealed following which Marlene filed a motion to dismiss the appeal. She argued, among other things, that the appeal should be dismissed for failing to meet the minimum amount in controversy required by Iowa Rule of Appellate Procedure 6.3 (no appeal shall be taken when the amount in controversy is less than $6000). Marlene further argued that the district court had no authority to enter judgment for more than $5000 because that was the amount of the offer to confess judgment that she had accepted. Because the amount in controversy was less than the $6000 jurisdictional minimum, Marlene also argued that the appeal must be dismissed as a matter of law. In his resistance, Sprague maintained that the motion to dismiss should be denied because the jurisdictional test looks to the pleadings, not to the judgment actually entered. He contends that the plaintiffs' assertion in their petition that the amount in controversy exceeded the jurisdictional amounts satisfies the appellate jurisdictional amount-in-controversy requirement. On the face of the petition, Sprague maintains, the district court could have entered judgment for more than the jurisdictional minimum.
In a single-justice order, this court directed that the issue of the "amount-in-controversy requirements shall be considered by the appropriate appellate court upon submission of this appeal."
III. Issues
The first issue is whether we should grant or deny the motion to dismiss. If we deny the motion, we must then answer the question whether the district court correctly entered judgment pursuant to the offer to confess judgment. That issue turns on whether there was an acceptance of the offer to confess judgment.
IV. Motion to Dismiss
Sprague argues that the appeal satisfies the amount-in-controversy requirement because the court looks to the pleadings, not to the judgment actually entered. Sprague focuses on the allegation in the petition that the amount in controversy exceeds the jurisdictional minimum. Because of that allegation, Sprague claims, the district court could have entered judgment for more than the jurisdictional minimum.
Marlene, on the other hand, argues that the district court could not have entered judgment for more than $5000 because $5000 was the amount of the offer to confess judgment. According to Marlene, the amount in controversy as required by Iowa Rule of Appellate Procedure 6.3 is therefore not satisfied. In addition, Marlene argues that Sprague failed to file a timely application to certify the appeal pursuant to Iowa Rule of Appellate Procedure 6.5. For these reasons, Marlene contends we have no jurisdiction to hear the appeal and we should therefore dismiss it.
The appellate rule concerning the amount in controversy states in relevant part:
Except where the action involves an interest in real estate, no appea
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