Selland v. Selland, 930169
Decision Date | 28 June 1994 |
Docket Number | No. 930169,930169 |
Citation | 519 N.W.2d 21 |
Parties | Penny SELLAND, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. Larry SELLAND, Defendant, Third-Party Plaintiff and Appellant, v. Donna BARD and Diane Zainhofsky, Third-Party Defendants and Appellees. Civ. |
Court | North Dakota Supreme Court |
Penny Selland (no appearance), now Penny Albrecht, pro se.
Larry Selland (argued), pro se.
Carpenter Offices, Bismarck, for third-party defendants and appellees; submitted on brief.
Larry Selland appeals from a divorce judgment. We affirm.
This is chapter three of what has become an ongoing legal battle between Penny Selland and Larry Selland. The facts of this case pick up where we left off in Selland v. Selland, 503 N.W.2d 242 (N.D.1993), reh'g denied (Selland II ); see also Selland v. Selland, 494 N.W.2d 367 (N.D.1992) (Selland I ).
Selland II, 503 N.W.2d at 243. Holding the appeal was interlocutory in nature and therefore unappealable, we dismissed Selland II. Id. The trial court has since granted the divorce, and it is from this final judgment that Larry now appeals.
First, Larry argues that the trial court erred when it dismissed what was referred to as his "third-party complaint." Larry cites to N.D.R.Civ.P. Rule 19 in support of his argument. This argument is without legal merit.
A third-party summons and complaint are appropriate when a person not a party to the action is or may be liable to the third-party plaintiff for all or part of the plaintiff's claims against the third-party plaintiff. N.D.R.Civ.P. Rule 14. Rule 19 addresses compulsory joinder of parties. Joinder and third-party actions are not synonymous. "A person should be joined as a party in an action if (1) in his absence complete relief cannot be accorded, or (2) he claims an interest which he will not be able to protect if he is not joined." Schroeder v. Burleigh County Bd. of Comm'rs, 252 N.W.2d 893, 896 (N.D.1977). Larry's claims against "third-party defendants" Bard and Zainhofsky appear to be civil tort actions seeking money damages, claims in no way related to the divorce action. The trial court appropriately exercised its judicial discretion when it dropped "third-party defendants" Bard and Zainhofsky from the divorce action. See N.D.R.Civ.P. Rule 21 () The order dropping Bard and Zainhofsky in no way bars Larry from bringing separate actions against them in the future.
Next, Larry argues the trial court wrongly dismissed his demand for a jury. Having affirmed the trial court's dismissal of Larry's "third-party complaint," the divorce is the only action remaining. There is no right to a jury trial in...
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