Monaco Apartment Homes v. Figueroa
Monaco Apartment Homes v. Figueroa, 2021 UT App 50 (Mortensen, J.)
Contracts
In this consolidated appeal, two landlords initiated eviction actions against two tenants. Each landlord reached agreements with each tenant, resulting in an execution of a Stipulation and Confession of Judgment. Each tenant, thereafter, breached the stipulation; each landlord, thereafter, filed the Confession of Judgment and sought attorney fees. In two sparse paragraphs, the district court reduced the award of attorney fees and denied the additional rents requested. The Utah Court of Appeals vacated and reversed, holding:
- The district court either failed to award attorney fees in line with the Stipulation and Judgment, or it failed to explain why it refused to enforce that agreement. The district court should award attorney fees unless the it articulates a valid legal basis for not doing so.
- The appellate court cannot review the issues before it, because the district court did not explain the basis of its future rents decision. The district court should enter additional findings of fact and conclusions of law explaining its decision.