Bitter v. Gold Creek Mining Co.

273 N.W. 509, 225 Wis. 55, 111 A.L.R. 921, 1937 Wisc. LEXIS 184
CourtWisconsin Supreme Court
DecidedMay 25, 1937
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 273 N.W. 509 (Bitter v. Gold Creek Mining Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wisconsin Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bitter v. Gold Creek Mining Co., 273 N.W. 509, 225 Wis. 55, 111 A.L.R. 921, 1937 Wisc. LEXIS 184 (Wis. 1937).

Opinion

Fritz, J.

It is undisputed that the service of the summons on the defendant was insufficient, but the plaintiff contends that, notwithstanding that insufficiency and the defendant’s special appearance on applying for the vacation of [57]*57the service, the court acquired jurisdiction of the defendant because, in an order to show cause why service should not be vacated, a proposed adverse examination, under sec. 326.12, Stats., was enjoined until further order of the court. The affidavit, upon which the order to show cause was based, stated that it was made in support of a motion on a special appearance for the vacation of the service because of facts, stated in the affidavit, rvhich showed that it was unauthorized. It was also stated in that affidavit that a subpoena for an adverse examination, under sec. 326.12, Stats., had been served, but there was no statement therein of any other facts as basis for enjoining that examination, or that the affidavit was made for that purpose. Upon a hearing pursuant to that order to show cause, the trial court ordered the service of the summons vacated, notwithstanding the plaintiff’s contention that by reason of the temporary enjoining of the adverse examination the defendant had waived its special appearance. That order vacating the service was reversed upon the submittal of the appeal in this court. However, upon reconsideration of the matter on defendant’s motion for a rehearing, we have concluded that the trial court’s order must be affirmed for the reasons hereinafter stated.

It is well established in this jurisdiction that, “when a party seeks to take advantage of a want of jurisdiction, he must object on that ground alone, and keep out of court for every other purpose” (Coad v. Coad, 41 Wis. 23, 26). The principle to be extracted from our decisions is, as was stated in Blackburn v. Sweet, 38 Wis. 578, 580,—

“Where the moving, party asks some relief which can only be granted upon the hypothesis that the court has jurisdiction of the cause and person, this is a submission to the jurisdiction, and waives all defects in the service of process.”

The following cases illustrate the repeated application of that principle: Northrup v. Shephard, 26 Wis. 220; Grantier [58]*58v. Rosecrance, 27 Wis. 488, 491; Alderson v. White, 32 Wis. 308, 312; Dikeman v. Struck, 76 Wis. 332, 45 N. W. 118; Gilbert-Arnold Land Co. v. O’Hare, 93 Wis. 194, 67 N. W. 38; Bestor v. Inter-County Fair, 135 Wis. 339, 115 N. W. 809; Corbett v. Physicians’ Casualty Asso. 135 Wis. 505, 115 N. W. 365; State ex rel. Engle v. Hilgendorf, 136 Wis. 21, 116 N. W. 848; Rix v. Sprague C. M. Co. 157 Wis. 572, 147 N. W. 1001; Driscoll v. Tillman, 165 Wis. 245, 161 N. W. 795; Simon v. de Gersdorff, 166 Wis. 170, 175, 164 N. W. 818; Farmington Mut. Fire Ins. Co. v. Gerhardt, 216 Wis. 457, 257 N. W. 595; Schwantz v. Morris, 219 Wis. 404, 263 N. W. 379; State ex rel. Nelson v. Grimm, 219 Wis. 630, 263 N. W. 583; Evans v. Orgel, 221 Wis. 152, 266 N. W. 176.

Plowever, in connection with the approval of that established principle, this court has recognized an exception thereto when on only the showing relied upon for establishing the insufficiency of the service sought to be vacated on a motion made on a special appearance for solely that purpose, there was also an application or order for other relief, which was merely incidental to and consistent with vacating the service as insufficient, and to which the defendant was entitled without any additional showing. Under such circumstances, the application or order for the incidental and consistent relief does not result in a waiver of the special appearance or the right to rely upon the lack of jurisdiction. Thus, in Blackburn v. Sweet, supra, the court, in connection with stating the principle, as quoted above, said:

“In the motion in this case no relief was asked thé granting of which would be inconsistent with an entire want of jurisdiction. True, the defendant asked that the execution and levy made upon it be set aside for the reasons assigned. But though this relief asked was for something which occurred in the cause after the service of process, still it was entirely consistent with the claim that there was no judgment [59]*59upon which the execution could issue because the court had no jurisdiction to render it. The defendant by his motion appeared for no purpose incompatible with the supposition that the court had acquired no power or jurisdiction over him on account of defective service of process; and we therefore think there was no waiver of the defect of jurisdiction.”

Likewise in point is Sanderson v. Ohio Central Railroad and Coal Co. 61 Wis. 609, 611, 21 N. W. 818, 819, in which an order to show cause, obtained by the defendant on a special appearance, asked for relief as follows:

“Why an order should not be made setting aside the service of the summons herein/and dismissing this action for want of service of the summons, or restraining any further proceeding in the same until the summons shall be served, or such other or further order as the court shall deem meet to protect the rights of said defendant.”

The plaintiff contended,—

“That these words are sufficiently general to justify the court in granting relief other than setting aside the service of the summons and which would be consistent with the general appearance of the defendant in the action.”

The court, in holding that the defendant had not waived its objection to the sufficiency of the service and the consequent lack of jurisdiction, because no relief was asked “except such as is consistent with the want of jurisdiction of the court over the person of the defendant,” said:

“When the order to show cause is read in connection with the affidavits upon which it is founded, it will very clearly appear that no relief could be granted thereon except the setting aside of the service of the summons in the action, as there is no ground laid in the affidavits for any other relief therein; certainly for no other relief except such as would be proper to grant as a consequence of setting aside such service. . . . There is nothing in the order to show cause which indicates a purpose on the part of the defendant to ask for any relief except such as is consistent with the want [60]*60of jurisdiction of the court over the person of the defendant, and the affidavits upon which the order is based lay no foundation for any relief except the setting aside the service of the summons.”

Kingsley v. Great Northern R. Co. 91 Wis. 380, 385, 386, 64 N. W. 1036, is another case in which the exception to the rule in question was recognized. The court said:

“In the present case the defendant asked that the service of the summons be set aside, and ‘the action be dismissed, with costs,’ and, in a subsequent part of the notice, such relief is asked, ‘with the costs of motion.’ The defendant did not ask for costs of the action, but, in effect, for proper and rightful costs in consequence.

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Bluebook (online)
273 N.W. 509, 225 Wis. 55, 111 A.L.R. 921, 1937 Wisc. LEXIS 184, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bitter-v-gold-creek-mining-co-wis-1937.