American Fuel Co. v. Benton

167 P. 346, 98 Wash. 26, 1917 Wash. LEXIS 932
CourtWashington Supreme Court
DecidedAugust 18, 1917
DocketNo. 14054
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 167 P. 346 (American Fuel Co. v. Benton) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Washington Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
American Fuel Co. v. Benton, 167 P. 346, 98 Wash. 26, 1917 Wash. LEXIS 932 (Wash. 1917).

Opinion

On Petition eor Rehearing.

Holcomb, J.

A motion was made to this court by the appellant for an order permitting it to serve and file its proposed statement of facts on appeal to this court from the judgment of the superior court for Spokane county, to be filed as of the 31st day of January, 1917, and validating in [27]*27all respects the service and filing of the statement of facts which was made on that date, and directing the Honorable Bruce Blake, judge of the superior court in and for Spokane county, to sign and settle appellant’s statement of facts as proposed, if there be no obj ections to the same by respondents other than the time within which it was served and filed.

Upon hearing of this motion before a department of this court, an order was made on April 4, 1917, permitting the filing of the statement of facts in question as of the 31st day of January, 1917, validating the same, requiring the settlement and certification of the same by the trial judge, and allowing the respondents ten days, after the filing of a copy of that order with the clerk of the superior court of Spokane county, within which to serve and file proposed amendments to appellant’s statement of facts, upon terms of appellant’s paying to respondents the sum of $100 on the filing of a copy of such order with the clerk of the superior court. Upon petition, a rehearing of appellant’s motion En Banc was granted.

From the affidavits in support of the application, it appears that the judgment in the case was signed and filed on July 11, 1916. On the same day, a motion for new trial was served and filed, and on September 28, 1916, an affidavit in support thereof was served, which was filed on October 2, 1916. On October 11, 1916, defendants served counter affidavits resisting the motion for a new trial. On October 21, 1916, an order overruling the motion for a new trial was entered. On December 11, 1916, notice of appeal was served, and on December 14, 1916, notice of appeal and an appeal and supersedeas bond were filed. On November 20, 1916, a stipulation was signed by attorneys for appellant looking toward an extension of time, to and including January 20, 1917, within which to serve and file appellant’s statement of •facts. This stipulation was presented for signature by a law clerk of appellant’s counsel, to Mr. Smith, one of the attorneys for the respondents, on or about the date it bears, [28]*28but signature was refused by Mr. Smith. The law clerk, however, it appears, did not inform his employer, counsel for appellant, of the refusal to sign the stipulation, and returned the same some time afterwards; and on February 1, 1917, after he had left the employ of the counsel for appellant, the unsigned stipulation was filed in the office of the clerk of the superior court. On January 10, 1917, upon the application of Raymond P. Kelley, official court reporter of the superior court of Spokane county, Blake, trial judge, signed an order extending the time in which to file the statement of facts to the first day of February, 1917, which order recites that the application for extension of time was made upon application of Kelley, official court reporter.

It is further alleged in support of this application, that W. G. Matthews, one of the firm of counsel for appellant and who had charge of the preparation and trial of the case in the court below, was absent from Spokane during the month of December, 1916, returning to Spokane on January 8, 1917; that, on January 9, 1917, Kelley, who reported the trial of the case, requested Mr. Matthews to grant him more time within which to get out the statement of facts in the case; that Mr. Matthews said he would attempt to make arrangements with counsel for respondents for an extension of time, but that, in any event, the time could not be extended to more than ninety days from the date of the order overruling the motion for a new trial. It is further alleged, that one Kenneth I. Ghormley was working in the office of counsel for appellant up to January 1, 1917; that he had been attending to the details of perfecting the appeal in the case; that he had prepared and filed a stipulation extending the time for serving and filing the proposed statement of facts; that, on January 1, 1917, he left the employ of the firm, counsel for appellant. It is further alleged that, on January 10, 1917, Kelley, without the knowledge or consent of counsel for appellant, obtained from the trial judge the order heretofore mentioned, extending the time for filing the proposed [29]*29statement of facts to February 1, 1917; that counsel did not know that such order had been entered or that the time had been extended beyond the ninety days allowed by law, until after the expiration of the ninety days; that Kelley delivered the statement of facts to counsel for appellant on or about January 30, 1917, and immediately thereafter, to wit, on January 31, 1917, the same was served and filed; that, at the time Kelley presented the order extending the time for filing the proposed statement of facts, he had looked up the record in the case and believed, and so informed the trial judge, that February 1, 1917, was not beyond the ninety days from the date of the overruling of the motion for a new trial allowed by law for the extreme limit of time for filing and serving such statement of facts, and upon such information and belief, the order for extending the time was granted. The latter allegations with reference to the acts and belief of the court reporter are supported by affidavit of Raymond P. Kelley, court reporter.

In support of its application, appellant relies chiefly upon Laws of 1915, p. 303, § 8 (Rem. Code, § 1730-8), reading as follows:

“In case of a failure of the appellant to serve an abstract of record and statement of facts, or the one served is insufficient, the supreme court shall, if such failure is found to be excusable, allow the appellant a reasonable time, upon such terms as the court may impose, in which to supply such abstract of record and statement of facts.”

It was in the exercise of a supposed discretion granted this court by the terms of the above section that the order of the department herein was made.

Appellant relies largely upon our decision in State ex rel. Gold Creek Antimony Mines & Smelter Co. v. Superior Court, 89 Wash. 684, 155 Pac. 145, wherein such an order, upon terms, was granted by this cpurt. That order was so granted by reason of discretion vested in this court by Laws of 1915, p. 303, § 8 (Rem. Code, § 1730-8). In that case, [30]*30however,, the ninety-day period from the date of the judgment for the filing and serving of the proposed statement of facts had not expired, but the statement was filed on the last day of the ninety-day period. There had been no extension, either by stipulation or by order, upon showing in the trial court for the extension of the first thirty days allowed for the serving and filing of the statement of facts, but it was shown that, after the judgment was entered, negotiations were entered into for a settlement of the case. It was not disputed that those negotiations continued during the months of August and September intervening before the ninety-day period would expire, and that they were conducted in good faith and with reasonable hope that the case would be finally settled without appeal.

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Bluebook (online)
167 P. 346, 98 Wash. 26, 1917 Wash. LEXIS 932, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/american-fuel-co-v-benton-wash-1917.