Dove v. Cude
| Decision Date | 19 November 1985 |
| Docket Number | No. 19294,19294 |
| Citation | 710 P.2d 170 |
| Parties | John D. DOVE, Jr., Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Howard CUDE and Etta May Cude, his wife, Defendants and Appellants. |
| Court | Utah Supreme Court |
The defendants in this case appeal from the action of the trial court granting plaintiff's motion to withdraw a stipulation. Since the standard for permitting such a withdrawal was not met here, we reverse.
In May 1981, the plaintiff in this action filed a complaint alleging negligent use of irrigation water. The complaint and summons, which the plaintiff intended to be directed against defendants Cude, contained certain defects including the misspelling of defendants' names. The defendants did not respond to the initial pleadings based on the misspelling and a default judgment was ultimately entered against the Cudes. Following a series of motions by both parties, in March 1982, the trial court denied the Cudes' motion to set aside the default judgment. On April 26, 1982, plaintiff, through his counsel, signed and filed a stipulation agreeing to have the default judgment set aside and the case set for trial. According to defendants, the plaintiff entered into the stipulation after the defendants indicated their intent to appeal.
In September 1982, plaintiff filed a notice of withdrawal of stipulation, to which defendants objected. Plaintiff's counsel stated that there was confusion about the circumstances surrounding the stipulation and that an order to set aside the default had never been approved or filed.
In May 1983, the following minute entry, signed by the trial judge, was recorded: "The court having reviewed the file in this matter hereby grants plaintiff's motion to withdraw the stipulation." Defendants appeal from that decision. 1
We have previously stated that "[p]arties are bound by their stipulations unless relieved therefrom by the court, which has the power to set aside a stipulation entered into inadvertently or for justifiable cause." First of Denver Mortgage Investors v. Zundel, Utah, 600 P.2d 521, 527 (1979) (citations omitted) (emphasis added). It is unlikely that a stipulation signed by counsel and filed with the court was entered into inadvertently. Further, although the trial court has certain discretion in providing relief from a stipulation, if timely requested, see Klein v. Klein, Utah, 544 P.2d 472, 476 (1975), "[o]rdinarily, courts are bound by stipulations between parties." Zundel, 600 P.2d at 527 (citations omitted). In this case, there is no indication that the trial court found as a matter of fact that plaintiff did not understand or agree to the stipulation; nor did the trial court ground its decision to permit withdrawal of the stipulation on any legal or equitable basis. Klein, 544 P.2d at 476. 2 In the absence of any articulated "justifiable cause," Zundel, 600 P.2d at 527, we must reverse the withdrawal of the stipulation.
Reversed. Costs to appellant.
1 A signed minute entry may be a final order for purposes of appeal. See McNair v. Hayward, Utah, 666 P.2d 321, 325 n. 6 (1983). By permitting withdrawal of the stipulation, the trial court determined the rights of the parties in this case. In Cannon v. Keller, Utah, 692 P.2d 740 (198...
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Yeargin v. AUDITING DIV. OF STATE TAX
...see also Higley v. McDonald, 685 P.2d 496, 499 (Utah 1984) (stating that stipulations conclusive and binding on parties); Dove v. Cude, 710 P.2d 170, 171 (Utah 1985) (same). Though these cases address the binding effect of stipulations in judicial proceedings, we extend their applicability ......
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...statement of stipulated facts. A motion to strike stipulated facts is reviewed under an abuse of discretion standard.2See Dove v. Cude, 710 P.2d 170, 171 (Utah 1985). ¶ 8 Second, we address whether the trial court erred in granting Rivera's motion for partial summary judgment concluding tha......
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