Stebbins v. Stebbins

• Decision Date: 05 March 1996
• Docket Number: No. 93-CV-129.,93-CV-129.
• Parties: Emmett J. STEBBINS, Appellant, v. Charles STEBBINS, et al., Appellees.
• Court: D.C. Court of Appeals

673 A.2d 184

Emmett J. STEBBINS, Appellant, v. Charles STEBBINS, et al., Appellees.

No. 93-CV-129.

District of Columbia Court of Appeals.

Argued January 10, 1995.

Decided March 5, 1996.

Emmett J. Stebbins, pro se.

Ronald F. Mitchell, Seattle, WA, for appellees.

Before STEADMAN and RUIZ, Associate Judges, and MACK, Senior Judge.

RUIZ, Associate Judge:

These are apparently three actions, one from the Civil Actions Branch, one from the Landlord & Tenant Branch and one from the Probate Division, that were consolidated for trial.¹ After the trial court ruled that appellant Emmett Stebbins was not entitled to a jury trial, he filed a petition for a writ of mandamus from this court. While the petition was pending, appellant did not appear on the date in which he knew the bench trial had been set. At that time, the trial court dismissed the case with prejudice for failure to prosecute. Appellant now appeals the dismissal, contending that the trial court did not have jurisdiction to proceed while his petition for mandamus was pending in this court. Because we hold that the trial court had power to act as it did, and did not abuse its discretion, we affirm.

I.

In their civil complaint, appellant and Clarkie Stebbins² named as defendants appellees Charles³ and Rita Stebbins, their grandson William P. Lee and an attorney, Lawrence E. Smith. The complaint asserts that in 1960, as a result of a "domestic dispute," appellant and Clarkie Stebbins deeded their property at 1612 Kearny Street, Northeast to Charles Stebbins "for management purposes only." The complaint alleged that the deed was void because Charles Stebbins had used an attorney as a notary on the acknowledgment, that no consideration was paid, and that it had not been signed before the purported witnesses. The plaintiffs further contended that Rita Stebbins had improperly procured a power of attorney from Charles Stebbins and used it to convey the property to William Lee. The plaintiffs demanded as relief a decree for the conveyance of legal title to them and a judgment for punitive damages.

On the day set for trial, the court announced that there was to be a non-jury trial. Appellant objected arguing that the complaint had demanded a jury trial. In response, the court set a briefing schedule on the issue of appellant's right to a jury trial. After receiving briefs, the court ruled that there was no right to a jury trial in this case. Appellant requested permission for an interlocutory appeal, which was denied. The parties agreed to a trial date of January 4, 1993.

Eleven days before the new trial date, appellant filed with this court a "Petition for Writ of Prohibition and/or Writ of Mandamus" requesting this court to direct the trial court to afford him a trial by jury on his claims.

On January 4, 1993, the date set for trial with the parties' agreement, appellant took the position that the pendency of his petition before this court divested the Superior Court of jurisdiction. The trial court stated that it would take the remainder of the day to determine the merit of that contention. The court also informed the parties that its "initial inclination" was that because appellant would have an adequate remedy on direct appeal, the petition for mandamus did not divest the trial court of jurisdiction. The court therefore specifically directed the parties to be prepared to go to trial on January 6 at 10:00 a.m.⁴

On January 6, neither appellant nor Clarkie Stebbins appeared for trial. At 10:09 a.m. the deputy clerk paged appellant and Clarkie Stebbins and called appellant's home, but there was no answer. At 10:57, the court convened. Counsel for appellees represented that he had seen appellant at the court-house the previous day and that appellant had given to him a paper styled, "Notice to the Court," which stated appellant's position that the court had been divested of jurisdiction by the filing of the petition for mandamus. After making the foregoing representation, counsel moved to dismiss for want of prosecution. The court granted the motion, stating that "it will be with prejudice, as it appears that his actions were deliberate."

On February 3, 1993 a motions division of this court summarily denied appellant's petition for writ of prohibition or writ of mandamus. Emmett J. Stebbins v. Robert A. Shuker, 92-SP-1521 (D.C. Feb. 3, 1993). The following day appellant filed a notice of appeal from the January 6 dismissal.

II.

We review two issues⁵: (1) whether the trial court had jurisdiction to hear and dismiss the case during the pendency of his petition for mandamus; and, if so, (2) whether the trial court abused its discretion in dismissing the action with prejudice for failure to prosecute. We address each in turn.

A. Jurisdiction of Trial Court During Pendency of Petition for Mandamus

Appellant's principal argument is that his request for an extraordinary writ from this court deprived the trial court of jurisdiction to proceed during the pendency of his request. He reasons that the filing of a notice of appeal deprives the trial court of jurisdiction, citing Griggs v. Provident Consumer Discount Co., 459 U.S. 56, 58, 103 S.Ct. 400, 402, 74 L.Ed.2d 225 (1982), and that proceedings on a petition for an extraordinary writ are in the nature of appellate review, citing Ex parte Crane, 30 U.S. (5 Pet.) 190, 193, 8 L.Ed. 92 (1831).⁶ We disagree with both contentions and hold that the pendency of the mandamus petition before this court did not preclude the trial court from proceeding with the case. In determining whether a trial court has jurisdiction to take action after the filing of an appeal or a petition for mandamus, the issue is whether it is judicially efficient for the trial court to take a particular action in the face of the particular matter pending before the appellate court. In this case, we hold that it was appropriate for the court to act.

We recognize that the courts of this jurisdiction have often stated in general terms that an act of the trial court taken during the pendency of appellate review of the matter is void because the trial court lacked jurisdiction. See Abrams v. Abrams, 245 A.2d 843, 844-45 (D.C.1968) (reversing grant of new trial where trial court acted after the opinion and judgment of the appellate court had been issued but before the trial court had received the mandate); Morfessis v. Hollywood Credit Clothing Co., 163 A.2d 825, 827 (D.C.1960) (reversing grant of new trial where losing party had already noted an appeal); Potts v. Catterton, 82 A.2d 133, 134 (D.C.1951) (affirming trial court's denial of motion for relief from judgment made during pendency of appeal on the ground that the trial court had no jurisdiction to grant the motion); Maltby v. Thompson, 55 A.2d 142-43 (D.C.1947) (holding that grant of new trial by trial court after appeal had been noted was ineffective); Lasier v. Lasier, 47 App.D.C. 80 (1917) (reversing trial court's order correcting clerical mistake in decree where appeal had previously been perfected); see also Pyramid Nat'l Van Lines v. Goetze, 66 A.2d 693, 694 (D.C.1949) ("When the mandate of an appellate court is filed in the lower court, that court reacquires the jurisdiction which it lost by the taking of the appeal."); Smith v. Pollin, 90 U.S.App.D.C. 178, 180, 194 F.2d 349, 350 (1952) ("It is clear that the District Court could not grant a motion for a new trial in a case which is pending in this court upon appeal. Jurisdiction of the case is in this court while the appeal is pending.").

These cases, however, do not stand for the proposition that the trial court loses all power to act in a case whenever an appeal is filed from any aspect of the case. What the cases do is apportion the proper scope of action of the trial court vis—vis the matter pending in the appeal court. As we have observed,

while the line that marks the division between what the trial court may and may not do is usually cast in terms of "lack of jurisdiction," the doctrine is judge-made, designed to avoid the confusion and waste of time that might flow from having two courts deal with a single case at the same time. Hence, it is subject to a common-sense flexibility in application.

Carter v. Cathedral Ave. Coop., 532 A.2d 681, 684 n. 7 (D.C.1987).

The term "jurisdiction" traditionally has been used to refer to the types of disputes, as defined by the legislature or constitution, for which a court is created, and usually is applied at the outset of a case to determine a court's competence to hear a matter. The "jurisdiction" of a trial court following an appeal, on the other hand, is circumscribed by decisional law in order to avoid confusion and waste of time stemming from parallel proceedings concerning the same matter. The latter is a matter of scope, not competence.

The rule against trial court action affecting matters on appeal is grounded not in metaphysical notions regarding transfer of power, but on practical considerations concerning efficient judicial administration. It is clear, for example, that "a party may seek disposition in the trial court of other matters which do not result in revocation or alteration of the judgment on appeal." Padgett v. Padgett, 478 A.2d 1098, 1100 (D.C. 1984) (per curiam) (emphasis added). Hence, a trial court may award attorney fees to a prevailing party even though the underlying order is on appeal. Id. A trial court may proceed with pretrial discovery while an interlocutory appeal is pending from denial of a motion for forum non conveniens. Aurell v. Furst, 539 A.2d 1081 (D.C.1988). A trial court also may proceed with a motion for recusal, conventional reviews and modification of a conditional custody order to take into account new circumstances while the order is pending interlocutory appeal. In re S.C.M., 653 A.2d 398, 403 (D.C.1995). The trial court may order that a fund be disbursed to one party, even though its denial of another party's motion seeking the...