Cottage Capital, LLC v. Red Ledges Land Dev.

Cottage Capital, LLC brought this action to enforce a guaranty agreement against Red Ledges Land Development. The district court dismissed the enforcement action with prejudice, concluding that the enforcement action was precluded as a compulsory counterclaim because it arose out of the same transaction or occurrence as a previously filed declaratory judgment action between the parties, and there could be no waiver of the preclusive effect of Utah R. Civ. P. 13(a). The Supreme Court reversed, holding that Rule 13(a) was not implicated in this case because (1) Rule 13(a) does not extend to a counterclaim that has not yet matured at the time of a civil proceeding; and (2) Cottage Capital’s enforcement claim had not matured at the time of the earlier proceedings between the parties, and therefore, this claim was not precluded. Remanded. View "Cottage Capital, LLC v. Red Ledges Land Dev." on Justia Law