Granite Stone v. Allen

Granite Stone v. Allen

IN THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS

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Granite Stone, L.C.,

Plaintiff and Appellee,

v.

Cari Allen and Log Furniture, Inc.,

Defendant and Appellant.

MEMORANDUM DECISION

(Not For Official Publication)

Case No. 20040770-CA

F I L E D

(November 26, 2004)

2004 UT App 435

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Third District, Salt Lake Department

The Honorable Tyrone E. Medley

Attorneys: Cari Allen, Bountiful, Appellant Pro Se

Steven T. Waterman and Steven C. Strong, Salt Lake City, for Appellee

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Before Judges Billings, Bench, and Orme.

PER CURIAM:

Cari Allen seeks to appeal the trial court's order vacating a pretrial order as moot. This matter is before the court on Granite Stone, L.C.'s (Granite) motion for summary disposition.

Granite asserts that Allen lacks standing to challenge the trial court's order vacating the pretrial order. To establish standing to maintain a claim before a trial court, "a plaintiff must have suffered 'some distinct and palpable injury that gives him [or her] a personal stake in the outcome of the legal dispute.'" Society of Prof. Journalists v. Bullock, 743 P.2d 1166, 1170 (Utah 1987) (quoting Jenkins v. Swan, 675 P.2d 1145, 1148 (Utah 1983)) (alteration in original). On appeal, an appellant must show that he or she had standing in the proceeding before the district court. See id. at 1171. Additionally, "an appellant generally must show both that he or she was a party or privy to the action below and that he or she is aggrieved by that court's judgment." Id.

The pretrial order defined a dispute over ownership of stock of Log Furniture, Inc. (LFI) between Granite and Golden Meadows Properties (Golden Meadows). Although Allen was once the sole owner of the LFI stock, she no longer had any interest in the stock as of September 2003 at the latest, when the stock was sold at an execution sale. Even before the execution sale, Allen represented to the trial court that she did not own the stock. With no interest in the stock, Allen has no personal stake in the outcome of the ownership dispute. Allen has not shown how she was aggrieved by the trial court's order since she has no interest in the subject matter of the order.

It appears that Allen is attempting to assert claims on behalf of Golden Meadows, a third party with an interest in the stock. However, "a party may generally assert only his or her own rights and cannot raise the claims of third parties who are not before the court." Provo City Corp. v. Thompson, 2004 UT 14,¶9, 86 P.3d 735. Allen has not shown that she has a right of her own to assert in this matter, and she cannot pursue the claims of Golden Meadows. In sum, Allen lacks standing to bring this appeal.

Accordingly, this appeal is dismissed.

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Judith M. Billings,

Presiding Judge

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Russell W. Bench,

Associate Presiding Judge

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Gregory K. Orme, Judge