Wolf v. Banks, 2017 MT 132N

Wolf’s Interstate Leasing & Sales, LLC brought a long‑running contract action against Aaron Banks and Glen Croft; the case had prior appeals to this Court (see 2009 decision).
Multiple hearings were scheduled for damages; parties were notified of an October 3, 2014 damages hearing about two months in advance.
Wolf moved to reschedule roughly two weeks before the hearing for "previous scheduled obligations" and offered no other good cause; the district court denied the motion.
After a premature appeal by Wolf, the damages hearing was continued to May 29, 2015; Wolf failed to appear, and the court admitted appellees’ evidence unchallenged and found Wolf waived his contractual right to arbitrate.
Earlier, Wolf failed to appear telephonically at a February 7, 2014 final pretrial conference; the district court entered default on liability and damages and later denied Wolf’s M. R. Civ. P. 60(b) motion to set aside the default for lack of good cause.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (Wolf)	Defendant's Argument (Banks/Croft)	Held
Whether the district court abused its discretion by denying Wolf’s motion to reschedule the October 2014 damages hearing	Wolf argued he had prior obligations and sought continuance	Appellees argued notice was adequate and Wolf gave no good cause	Court held no abuse of discretion — Wolf offered no good cause for extension
Whether Wolf waived the contractual right to arbitrate	Wolf argued the court relied on hearsay and appellees’ evidence improperly to find waiver	Appellees relied on unchallenged evidence at the hearing showing conduct inconsistent with arbitration	Held waiver was properly found; Wolf did not object at the hearing and appellate review of unraised trial objections is generally disallowed
Whether the district court erred by admitting appellees’ evidence at the damages hearing	Wolf claimed the evidence was hearsay and unreliable	Appellees maintained evidence was admissible and Wolf waived objections by not appearing	Held evidence admission was within court’s discretion given lack of any contemporaneous objection
Whether the district court abused discretion in denying Wolf’s M. R. Civ. P. 60(b) motion to set aside default judgment	Wolf claimed relief was warranted to set aside default	Appellees argued Wolf failed to show good cause or meet Rule 60 standards	Held denial affirmed — Wolf failed to show good cause under Rule 55/60

Wolf’s Interstate Leasing & Sales, L.L.C. v. Banks, 353 Mont. 189, 219 P.3d 1260 (Mont. 2009) (prior appellate history and factual background of the dispute)
Fink v. Williams, 367 Mont. 431, 291 P.3d 1140 (Mont. 2012) (district court has broad discretion over trial administration)
Grizzly Sec. Armored Express, Inc. v. Bancard Servs., 385 Mont. 307, 384 P.3d 68 (Mont. 2016) (issues not raised in the trial court will generally not be considered on appeal)