Grove v. Morris
| Decision Date | 27 February 1915 |
| Citation | 151 N.W. 779,31 N.D. 8 |
| Court | North Dakota Supreme Court |
Appeal from the District Court of Foster County, Coffey, J.
Reversed.
J. J Youngblood and B. F. Whipple (Palda, Aaker, & Greene of counsel), for appellant.
The respondent did not take the steps necessary to give the trial court authority or jurisdiction to grant a new trial, and for that reason the trial court should have refused to consider a motion for a new trial. Louder v. Hunter, 27 S.D 271, 130 N.W. 774 and cases cited; Traxinger v Minneapolis, St. P. & S. Ste. M. R. Co. 23 S.D. 90, 120 N.W. 770; Nerger v. Commercial Mut. Fire Asso. 21 S.D. 537 114 N.W. 689.
The statement of the case, when settled, must be signed by the judge, with his certificate showing its allowance, and then filed with the clerk. No statement was filed in this case before the hearing of the motion. Rev. Codes 1905, § 7058, Comp. Laws 1913, § 7655.
T. F. McCue, for respondent.
A motion for a new trial, made within the time allowed by law, must necessarily stay operation of the judgment and preserve all rights until it can be heard and determined. Lurvey v. Wells, F. & Co. 4 Cal. 107; Copper Hill Min. Co. v. Spencer, 25 Cal. 17; Walker v. Hale, 16 Ala. 26; Vallentine v. Holland, 40 Ark. 338; McGee v. Ancrum, 33 Fla. 499, 15 So. 231; Central R. & Bkg. Co. v. Farley, 89 Ga. 180, 15 S.E. 34; State ex rel. Druliner v. Clark, 16 Ind. 97; Spalding v. Meier, 40 Mo. 176.
The presumption is that the trial judge had jurisdiction to make the order. The district court is one of general jurisdiction. Danforth v. Egan, 23 S.D. 43, 139 Am. St. Rep. 1030, 119 N.W. 1021, 20 Ann. Cas. 418; Richards v. Matteson, 8 S.D. 77, 65 N.W. 428.
Error must affirmatively appear, whether it be one of jurisdiction, or one of fact, or of procedure. Gould v. Duluth & D. Elev. Co. 3 N.D. 96, 54 N.W. 316; Martinson v. Marzolf, 14 N.D. 301, 103 N.W. 937; Bruegger v. Cartier, 20 N.D. 72, 126 N.W. 491.
Plaintiff recovered a judgment for $ 235.50 in district court after trial by jury, and notice of the entry thereof was served upon attorneys for defendant February 9, 1912. A statement of the case was settled September 26, 1912. Thereafter, defendant claims he served upon the attorneys for plaintiff notice of intention to move for a new trial and notice of motion for a new trial, which latter he alleges was dated September 27, 1912, and was returnable at Carrington on the 14th of October, 1912. Defendant's attorneys, however, have filed an affidavit denying the receipt of such notice of motion. The trial court in a supplemental statement states that such a motion "was brought on . . . on the 14th of October, 1912, and that on account of the nonappearance of counsel for plaintiff I ordered the said motion to be continued until such time as counsel could be heard."
Without deciding who is right relative to this dispute, we pass on to say that no hearing upon the merits of this motion was had and on the 22d of March, 1913, defendant served a notice of motion for a new trial, returnable at Jamestown on the 7th of April, 1913. About the existence of this motion there is no dispute. When such hearing was reached, plaintiff appeared and entered a special appearance, and objected to the jurisdiction of the court in the premises for the reason that more than one year had passed since the entry of judgment and service of the notice of entry of judgment therein, whereby the defendant had abandoned his right to a new trial, and had abandoned his right to an appeal. Notwithstanding this objection to its jurisdiction, the trial court heard and allowed said motion for a new trial, and this appeal follows. Plaintiff stoutly insists that the defendant's alleged motion for a new trial under date of September 27, 1912, is an after thought and in support of this points to an order of the trial judge in the case below and dated the 31st day of May, 1913, requiring the defendant's attorney to return forthwith any records or files in his possession in the above-entitled case, to the clerk of court, including all original notices, motions, and orders, and that in pursuance of said order said attorney filed certain papers including the motion for a new trial, dated March 22, 1913, and no notice of any other date, and that the statement of the case was thereafter made upon the present appeal, containing merely the latter notice of motion for new trial, and such was the state of the record until the amended statement was filed by the trial judge. We do not consider it necessary to decide this controversy, as appellant must prevail in any event. If, as insisted by defendant, a motion was served in September, 1912, it was clearly abandoned by failure of the parties to bring the same on for decision, and by the specific act of the...
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