Walker v. Burkham

• Decision Date: 21 March 1951
• Docket Number: No. 3525,3525
• Citation: 68 Nev. 250,229 P.2d 158
• Parties: WALKER v. BURKHAM.
• Court: Nevada Supreme Court

Page 158

229 P.2d 158

68 Nev. 250

WALKER v. BURKHAM.

No. 3525.

Supreme Court of Nevada.

March 21, 1951.

Order Filed July 3, 1951.

Royal A. Stewart, Reno, for appellant.

Kearney & Adams, Reno, for respondent.

MERRILL, Justice.

On August 21, 1950, the opinion of this court upon appeal in this matter was entered in favor of appellant, Walker v. Burkham, 67 Nev. ----, 222 P.2d 205, the matter having been submitted to this court for decision on March 14, 1950. On October 4, 1950, respondent filed a statement of appeal from the clerk's ruling on costs and on October 5, 1950, filed a petition for rehearing.

At this stage in these proceedings, the death of respondent has been suggested to this court by appellant, and the matters with which we are here concerned are appellant's motions for orders of this court dismissing respondent's appeal on costs and petition for rehearing 'unless within a time to be set by the court an administrator is appointed for the estate of the respondent and said administrator substituted as the respondent in the above-entitled action.'

From the record before us, it appears that respondent died on May 19, 1950, after the submission of this matter upon appeal but before rendition of the opinion of this court. (The right of this court to proceed to determination of the appeal itself is not questioned under these circumstances.) No personal representative of respondent has been appointed and no application for such appointment has been made.

Section 8561, N.C.L. 1929 provides: 'An action shall not abate by the death or other disability, of a party, or by the tranfer of any interest therein, if the cause of action survive or continue. In case of the death or disability of a party, the court, on motion, may allow the action to be continued by or against his representative or successor in interest. * * * After verdict shall have been rendered in any action for a wrong, such action shall not abate by the death of any party, but the case shall proceed thereafter in the same manner as in cases where the cause of action now survives by law.'

Rule IX of the rules of this court provides: 'Upon the death or other disability of a party pending an appeal, his representative shall be substituted in the suit by suggestion in writing to the court on the part of such representative, or any party on the record. Upon the entry of such suggestion, an order of substitution shall be made and the cause shall proceed as in other cases.'

Under our statute and rule it would appear that the action does not abate by virtue of death but that substitution of the representative of the deceased party shall be made. We are here faced with the fact that there is now no representative available for such substitution. Counsel for the late respondent contend that jurisdiction of this court is not lost; that we may continue to determine all pending matters without any substitution and that this course, under the circumstances, is the proper one. We find ourselves unable to concur in this view.

At common law, in an action at law before the trial court, death of a party resulted in absolute abatement without right of substitution of the decedent's representative. If the cause of action survived death, the only course was commencement of a new action by the representative.

The Supreme Court of Mississippi, in the case of Gerault v. Anderson, Walk., 1 Miss, 30, 12 Am.Dec. 521, stated: 'To say that the court had jurisdiction over the dead would contradict every principle of law and rule of proceeding. * * * Why is a suit said to abate on the death of either party? The answer is that on the death of the party his interest ceases, and the jurisdiction of the Court ceases also. In courts of justice there must be actor, reus and judex, before the court can act effectually to bind parties.'

Under statutes such as ours the common-law rule is modified to permit substitution in the original suit. The status of an action under such circumstances is explained in 1 Am.Jur. 105, Abatement and Revival, § 159, where it is stated: 'The statement * * * (that the action does not abate by death) must not be taken to mean that upon such event the action proceeds without any change. Upon the death of a party or the happening of any other event which would cause it to abate at common law, the action is suspended and the suspension has the same temporary effect on the rights of the parties as though the suit actually abated. In other words, the cause cannot proceed until someone is substituted for the decedent or other party.'

Upon appeal or review the common-law rule relative to abatement was less inflexible but substitution was still regarded as essential.

In Green v. Watkins, 6 Wheat. 260, 5 L.Ed. 256, it was stated by Mr. Justice Story 'It is clear, therefore, that at common law, in these cases, a writ of error does not necessarily abate; and that the personal representatives may not only be admitted voluntarily to become parties, but a scire facias may issue to require them to become parties.'

In Re Young's Estate, 59 Or. 348, 116 P. 95, 1060, Ann.Cas. 1913B, 1310, dealt with death pending hearing upon appeal. Mrs. Phillips had successfully contested a will in the county court; the proponents of the will had appealed to the circuit court. Pending hearing upon that appeal, Mrs. Phillips died. No substitution was made and the cause was heard and determined as though she were alive. Decree of the county court was reversed and costs assessed against Mrs. Phillips. On appeal to the supreme court the fact of death was disclosed for the first time. After a careful consideration of authorities, it was held that the decree of the circuit court against Mrs. Phillips was absolutely void. While, in the case at bar, we are not concerned with the distinction between void and voidable action, we nevertheless feel the language of the court in the Young case to be pertinent to our particular problem and compelling in its reasoning. The court stated:

'This court has not yet decided whether a judgment, given against a person who dies before the hearing and submission of a case, is void, or whether it is merely voidable, and the authorities are hopelessly divided upon that subject. But upon every principle of reason and justice such a judgment ought to be held an absolute nullity. Mrs. Phillips at her death had a decree in her favor, conferring upon her valuable property and pecuniary rights. Her death revoked the authority of counsel to appear and represent her or her estate in the circuit court. The decree of the circuit court attempted to take these rights away and further to give a personal judgment against her for costs. While many courts, and perhaps a majority, have held that such a judgment is voidable, and not...