Liedtke v. Schettler
| Decision Date | 30 June 1982 |
| Docket Number | No. 18106,18106 |
| Citation | 649 P.2d 80 |
| Parties | Elwood L. LIEDTKE, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. Mr. and Mrs. Carl SCHETTLER, Defendants and Respondents. |
| Court | Utah Supreme Court |
Robert Van Sciver, Edward K. Brass, Salt Lake City, for plaintiff and appellant.
Mr. and Mrs. Carl Schettler, pro se.
We are asked to measure § 78-6-10, Utah Code Ann. 1953, as amended, against the guarantee in Article I, § 24, Utah Constitution that all laws of a general nature shall have uniform operation. 1
Plaintiff filed a complaint against defendants in the small claims division of the Fifth Circuit Court, Salt Lake Department, and defendants counterclaimed. At the trial on the matter, each party's complaint was dismissed for no cause of action. Thereafter, plaintiff filed a timely appeal in the district court for Salt Lake County, but defendants did not appeal. In the district court, plaintiff's complaint was dismissed on the ground that § 78-6-10 does not permit an appeal by a plaintiff from the dismissal of his complaint in a small claims court.
Plaintiff appeals from the district court judgment, contending that § 78-6-10 is unconstitutional under Article I, § 24 of the Constitution of Utah.
The small claims courts were established as separate departments of justice of the peace courts and circuit courts in this state for the purpose of providing speedy adjudication of money claims not exceeding $400. Sections 78-6-1, et seq., provide expedited procedure, reduced filing fees, and informal presentation of evidence and witnesses in small claims courts, so that the fees for an attorney may be avoided.
The challenged statute provides:
78-6-10. The judgment of said court shall be conclusive upon the plaintiff unless a counterclaim has been interposed. If the defendant is dissatisfied, he may, within five days from the entry of said judgment against him, appeal to the district court of the county in which said court is held. Such district court may award the prevailing party on such appeal a reasonable attorney's fee to be fixed by the court.
Under this statute, plaintiff may appeal only from judgment against him granted on a counterclaim to defendants. The judgment on his own complaint is conclusive upon him. Defendants are afforded an appeal from any judgment.
Statutes which treat classes of citizens differently do not offend equal protection guarantees unless the classification and different treatment bear no rational relationship to the objective of the legislation. State v. J. B. and R. E. Walker, Inc., 100 Utah 523, 116 P.2d 766 (1941); Gronlund v. Salt Lake City, 113 Utah 284, 194 P.2d 464 (1948). Plaintiff contends that there is no rational basis to deny him a right to appeal while granting full right to appeal to the defendants in small claims courts. Plaintiff argues that since § 76-6-11 provides for a trial de novo upon appeal from these courts, the classification in § 76-6-10, and different treatment of the litigants does not promote the objective of speedy adjudication of claims, as defendant may always thwart that purpose by appealing.
We see the matter in a different light. Plaintiff has the choice of filing his complaint in the small claims court, the circuit court, or the district court, all of which would have...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Malan v. Lewis
...given the classes must be based on differences that have a reasonable tendency to further the objectives of the statute. Liedtke v. Schettler, Utah, 649 P.2d 80 (1982); Allen v. Intermountain Health Care, Inc., Utah, 635 P.2d 30 (1981); Carter v. State Tax Commission, 98 Utah 96, 96 P.2d 72......
-
Criminal Investigation, 7th Dist. Court No. CS-1, Matter of
...clause of the fourteenth amendment to the United States Constitution. Malan, 693 P.2d at 669, n. 13 (citing Liedtke v. Schettler, 649 P.2d 80, 81 n. 1 (Utah 1982)). Because the substance of respondents' equal protection claim remains unchanged regardless of its constitutional source, we ana......
-
Gallivan v. Walker, 20020545.
...same general principles"); Mountain Fuel Supply Co. v. Salt Lake City Corp., 752 P.2d 884, 888 (Utah 1988) (same); Liedtke v. Schettler, 649 P.2d 80, 81 n. 1 (Utah 1982) (stating that article I, section 24 is "generally considered the equivalent of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Am......
-
Mountain Fuel Supply Co. v. Salt Lake City Corp.
...stated that in many circumstances the state and federal provisions are to be considered equivalent. Id. at 243 n. 4; Liedtke v. Schettler, 649 P.2d 80, 81 n. 1 (Utah 1982). And we have previously observed that when matters of economic regulation are involved, including tax measures, both fe......