Johnson v. Linquist, 54401
| Decision Date | 11 March 1971 |
| Docket Number | No. 54401,54401 |
| Citation | 184 N.W.2d 681 |
| Parties | Wendell JOHNSON, d/b/a Johnson Construction Company, Appellant, v. Jack E. LINQUIST and Darlene M. Linquist, Appellees. |
| Court | Iowa Supreme Court |
Getscher & Getscher and John S. Redd, Hamburg, for appellant.
Clovis, Falk & Norris, Shenandoah, for appellees.
This is an appeal from the district court's order dismissing plaintiff's cause of action and from an order overruling plaintiff's motion to reinstate under Rule 215.1, Rules of Civil Procedure. We reverse and remand.
This case originated as a law action filed by plaintiff to recover for the value of a Butler Steel Building constructed on defendants' farm. Since the case comes to this court on a procedural dispute, it is necessary to set out in chronological order the various events leading up to this appeal.
The plaintiff alleged the cause of action arose on or about December 1, 1963, and his petition was filed on May 22, 1967. An answer to the petition was filed July 25, 1967. On August 12, 1968 the clerk of the district court of Page County, pursuant to the requirements of rule 215.1, R.C.P., filed a Try or Dismiss Notice with copies to the attorneys of record. On December 2, 1968, an order of court was entered granting a continuance of the case and setting a trial date certain as February 11, 1969. No trial was had on February 11, 1969 due to unavailability of a judge, but the court on that date announced a later date for trial of the case would be fixed. On May 13, 1969 the defendant filed a motion to dismiss the cause of action under rule 215.1. An order dismissing plaintiff's cause of action without prejudice was entered by the district court on May 13, 1969. The plaintiff did not receive any notice of the filing of defendants' motion to dismiss and later filed, on May 20, 1969, a motion to reopen the case. Plaintiff further filed an application to reinstate the action under the amendment to rule 215.1, on June 6, 1969. The court overruled both the motion to reopen and the motion to reinstate the action. Plaintiff then filed a motion for a new trial, which was also overruled.
I. The issue in this case is whether the district court exercised its discretion as to reinstatement under the amendment to rule 215.1, R.C.P. Resolution of the issue must involve a determination of whether the district court ruled that it had no discretion as to the dismissal only, or had no discretion as to the application to reinstate.
II. This court has considered the application of rule 215.1 in several cases. Without a proper continuance the dismissal of a case that has been noted for trial or dismissal is mandatory and automatic. Baty v. City of West Des Moines, 259 Iowa 1017, 1023, 147 N.W.2d 204, 208; McKinney v. Hirstine, 257 Iowa 395, 399, 131 N.W.2d 823, 826; Schmidt v. Abbott, 261 Iowa 886, 889, 156 N.W.2d 649, 650.
Rule 215.1 was amended by the Sixty-first General Assembly adding the following:
This court has not decided any cases involving the reinstatement section of rule 215.1 since the amendment was adopted. Two cases have dealt with rule 215.1 in its present amended form, but neither Baty v. City of West Des Moines, supra, nor Schmidt v. Abbott, supra, concerned interpretation or application of the reinstatement amendment. Thus the issue raised in this case is one of first impression. There is some discussion of the amendment in a case comment in 51 Iowa L.Rev. 496, 500--501, where the author expresses the opinion that the change in the rule indicates greater emphasis on a policy of trials of cases on the merits as opposed to the original and continuing policy of rule 215.1 that of expediting litigation.
This particular case presents a relatively narrow question, and does not involve a consideration of whether there was an abuse of discretion in exercising the reinstatement section of rule 215.1.
A determination of the basis for the trial court's order is essential to a resolution of this case. Following the entry of the dismissal on May 13, 1969, the plaintiff filed motions to reopen and to reinstate the cause of action. A resistance to the dismissal was filed immediately on receipt by plaintiff's counsel of copy of motion to dismiss on May 14, 1969 and the motions to reopen and to reinstate were filed May 20, 1969 and June 6, 1969, respectively. All of the plaintiff's motions set forth various and similar grounds in support of the argument that the case should not have been dismissed, or should have been reinstated.
On February 9, 1970 the trial court issued an order ruling on plaintiff's motions to reopen and reinstate. In the trial court's conclusions of law, it stated, '* * * the Rule is mandatory and automatic, entitling the defendants to a dismissal without prejudice as a matter of right, and the court is without discretion as to the matter of dismissal.' The court's order then discussed four Iowa cases from which it concluded the court had no discretion as to dismissing or not dismissing. The court states, * * *' (emphasis added.)
There are several factors in the district court's order of February 9, 1970, which led to the conclusion the court felt it had no discretion to reinstate the plaintiff's...
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Schimerowski v. Iowa Beef Packers, Inc., 53380
...trial court overruled the continuance motion, plaintiff and intervenors might have filed application to reinstate. See Johnson v. Linquist, 184 N.W.2d 681 (Iowa 1971). Under the reasoning set out in trial court's decision, such application would have been granted. The result to defendant wo......
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Rath v. Sholty
...and rule 252 (vacating final judgment or order). The clause, 'may, in its discretion' permits no other meaning. In Johnson v. Lindquist, 184 N.W.2d 681 (Iowa 1971) we not only held trial court had discretion, but was in error in failing to exercise However, the legislature plainly dictated ......
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Rhiner v. Arends, 63590
...application in district court nor his brief in this court invoke trial court's discretionary power to reinstate. See Johnson v. Linquist, 184 N.W.2d 681, 683 (Iowa 1971). Rather, plaintiff apparently contends he is entitled to mandatory reinstatement because the record discloses the dismiss......
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Wharff v. Iowa Methodist Hospital
...and rule 252 (vacating final judgment or order). The clause, 'may, in its discretion' permits no other meaning. In Johnson v. Linquist, 184 N.W.2d 681 (Iowa 1971) we not only held trial court had discretion, but was in error in failing to exercise '* * * 'Our review in those peripheral area......