Hampton v. Superior Court in and for Los Angeles County

• Decision Date: 25 March 1952
• Citation: 242 P.2d 1,38 Cal.2d 652
• Court: California Supreme Court
• Parties: . L. A. 22086. Supreme Court of California, in Bank

Page 1

242 P.2d 1

38 Cal.2d 652

HAMPTON et al. v. SUPERIOR COURT IN AND FOR LOS ANGELES COUNTY et al.

L. A. 22086.

Supreme Court of California, in Bank.

March 25, 1952.

Geo. L. Hampton, Van Nuys, for petitioners.

Ogden, Crocker & Steelman and Samuel Steelman, all of Los Angeles, for Real Party in Interest and respondents.

EDMONDS, Justice.

H. Young sued William J. Hampton and his wife to enforce a mechanic's lien arising out of the construction of a house and garage. The action was based upon a contract which specified that the work was to be done upon a cost-plus basis. The superior court rendered judgment for the contractor. The claim of the Hamptons, asserted by way of cross-complaint, for loss of rent arising out of the failure of the contractor to perform a prior contract for the erection of the same buildings for a fixed amount was disallowed.

Upon appeal, this court reversed the judgment, dismissed the appeal from the order denying a new trial and directed that the superior court enter judgment '* * * denying Helen Young relief upon the cost-plus contract, and denying the Hamptons any recovery for rent'. Young v. Hampton, 36 Cal.2d 799, 806, 228 P.2d 1, 5, 19 A.L.R.2d 830.

The petition in the present proceeding is based upon the asserted failure of the superior court to enter judgment as required by the remittitur and an order setting the cause for further trial. The relief sought is a writ of mandate to compel the entry of the judgment and a writ of prohibition to forbid the continuance of the litigation.

By section 958 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the duties of the clerk of the superior court upon the receipt of a remittitur are defined as follows: 'When judgment is rendered upon the appeal, it must be certified by the clerk of the appellate court to the clerk with whom the judgment roll is filed, or the order appealed from is entered. In cases of appeal from the judgment, the clerk with whom the roll is filed must attach the certificate to the judgment roll, and enter a minute of the judgment of the appellate court in the register of actions. * * *' Upon entry of the minute of the judgment in the register of actions, the judgment is of record and no further action by the superior court is necessary. McMann v. Superior Court, 74 Cal. 106, 107, 15 P. 448; McMillan v. Richards, 12 Cal. 467, 468; Marysville v. Buchanan, 3 Cal. 212, 214. The petitioners allege that the remittitur was received by the clerk of the superior court, and it must be presumed that he complied with the provisions of the quoted code section. Fischer v. Lukens, 41 Cal.App. 358, 182 P. 967. No further entry of judgment is required for the protection of the rights of either party. The petition, therefore, fails to state any ground for the issuance of the writ of mandate.

The Hamptons take the position that the superior court should be prohibited from a further trial of the action because the decision of this court was a final determination of the rights of the parties. Miss Young contends that there are undetermined issues which must be disposed of before complete justice is done.

The points presented upon the appeal solely concerned the validity of each of the contracts. Miss Young was denied any recovery because the second contract, being contrary to public policy, was void. It was also held that the Hamptons were not entitled to damages because of failure to complete the buildings within the time specified in the first contract. None of the parties, it was held, 'intended that contract to be their true agreement. * * * There being no operative promise on the part of Helen Young to complete construction on or before any particular date, there is no basis for the asserted claim for reasonable rental value'. 36 Cal.2d at page 806, 228 P.2d 1, 5, 19 A.L.R.2d 830.

Miss Young does not spell out any issues which were not determined in the former action. She contends that no ruling was made on the validity of the flat price contract. She also asserts that she has not received the final payment of 20 per cent which '* * * would be forfeited by the respondent and petitioners unjustly enriched in the same amount'. Apparently she hopes to be able to continue her action upon the theory of quantum meruit.

When there has been a decision upon appeal, the trial court is reinvested with jurisdiction of the cause, but only such jurisdiction as is defined by the terms of the remittitur. The trial court is empowered to act only in accordance with the direction of the reviewing court; action which does not conform to those directions is void. Rice v. Schmid, 25 Cal.2d 259, 153 P.2d 313; Weaver v. San Francisco, 146 Cal. 728, 81 P. 119; Barnhart v. Edwards, 128 Cal. 572, 61 P. 176; Keller v. Lewis, 56 Cal. 466; Kramer v. Superior Court, 35 Cal.App.2d 239, 95 P.2d 158.

An unqualified reversal by the reviewing court presumes that the cause has been remanded for a retrial. Rinaldo v. Superior Court, 15 Cal.App.2d 585, 589, 59 P.2d 868. The reason for the rule is that, by a reversal, the order or judgment appealed from no longer has any vitality or force. In effect, the order or judgment appealed from is vacated.

Under sections 53 and 956a of the Code of Civil Procedure, by a decision upon an appeal, the entry of a specific judgment may be directed. Under such circumstances, the trial court has no discretion but to enter the judgment called for. Rice v. Schmid, supra, 25 Cal.2d at page 263, 153 P.2d 313; Department of Water and Power v. Inyo Chemical Co., 16 Cal.2d 744, 108 P.2d 410; Weaver v. San Francisco, supra; Carter v. Superior Court, 96 Cal.App.2d 388, 215 P.2d 491; Richardson v. Michel, 59 Cal.App.2d 361, 138 P.2d 774; Phillips v. Patterson, 34 Cal.App.2d 481, 93 P.2d 807; Snoffer v. City of Los Angeles, 14 Cal.App.2d 650, 58 P.2d 961; English v. Olympic Auditorium, 10 Cal.App.2d 196, 52 P.2d 267. The order of the appellate court, as stated in the remittitur, 'is decisive of the character of the judgment to which the appellant is entitled. The lower court cannot reopen the case on the facts, allow the filing of amended or supplemental pleadings, nor retry the case, and if it should do so, the judgment rendered thereon would be void.' Snoffer v. City of Los Angeles, supra, 14 Cal.App.2d at page 653, 58 P.2d 961, 962.

If it be assumed that the order reversing the judgment in favor of Miss Young should not have included a direction for the entry of a final judgment in favor of the Hamptons, the error was judicial. Throughout the trial of the action brought by her and the appeal from the judgment, Helen Young made no claim against the Hamptons on quantum meruit. An appellate court decides only the issues presented by the parties. 'If a court of review inadvertently omits to include in its instructions to a trial court upon the reversal of a judgment essential elements within the issues necessarily determined on the appeal, the aggrieved party has his remedy in a petition for rehearing. A trial court may not exceed the specific directions of a court of review in remanding a cause after a reversal of the judgment on appeal and add thereto conditions which it assumes the reviewing court should have included.' English v. Olympic Auditorium, supra, 10 cal.App.2d at page 201, 52 P.2d 267, 269.

Prohibition is a proper remedy to restrain a trial court from proceeding to trial in violation of the terms of a final judgment of the reviewing court. Kramer v. Superior Court, supra; Lial v. Superior Court, 133 Cal.App. 31, 23 P.2d 795. Nor does the availability of an appeal, were the cause to proceed to final judgment, bar resort to the writ. It may be conceded that an appeal would lie from the final judgment were the superior court allowed to proceed with a further trial of the action. Rice v. Schmid, supra; Richardson v. Michel, supra. But where the remedy by appeal is not speedy and...