S-25-0429 Big Iron Auction Company (Appellee) v. Harder Capital, LLC, and Ryan M. Harder (Appellants)
Appeal from the District Court for Hall County, Judge Andrew C. Butler
Attorneys: Jared J. Krejci (Smith, Johnson, Allen, Connick & Hansen for Appellants) and Keith A. Harvat and Justin D. Eichmann (Houghton Bradford Whitted PC LLO for Appellee)
Civil: Costs, attorney fees, and injunctions
Proceedings Below: Appellee sued Appellants for breach of contract and obtained a temporary injunction against Appellants that enforced a restrictive covenant. After an arbitrator determined that the restrictive covenant was invalid, the district court vacated the temporary injunction. Because Appellants incurred damages and attorney fees when the temporary injunction was issued, they sought a damages award, which the district court denied. On its own motion, the Nebraska Supreme Court ordered this case to be transferred from the docket of the Nebraska Court of Appeals to its docket.
Issues: Appellants assign the following errors: 1) The district court erred in denying Appellants’ motion to assess damages, costs, and fees for wrongful injunction and erred in failing to award Appellants their damages, costs, and fees as requested in the motion; 2) The district court erred in failing to enter judgment against Appellee in the amount of $587,104.68 for damages, costs, and fees caused by the wrongful injunction; 3) The district court erred in apparently determining that Harder Capital’s motion to assess damages, costs, and fees for wrongful injunction was barred by claim or issue preclusion as a result of a previous arbiter’s award; and 4) The district court erred in apparently determining that Harder Capital’s motion to assess damages, costs, and fees for wrongful injunction was barred by claim or issue preclusion even though Appellee never raised preclusion as an affirmative defense.