City of Dover v. Barton

29 S.W.3d 698, 342 Ark. 521, 2000 Ark. LEXIS 515
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedNovember 2, 2000
Docket99-1414
StatusPublished
Cited by33 cases

This text of 29 S.W.3d 698 (City of Dover v. Barton) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of Dover v. Barton, 29 S.W.3d 698, 342 Ark. 521, 2000 Ark. LEXIS 515 (Ark. 2000).

Opinions

Ray Thornton, Justice.

This is the second appeal we have had regarding the City of Dover’s [Dover] attempt to construct a sewage-treatment facility. See City of Dover v. A.G. Barton, 337 Ark. 186, 987 S.W.2d 705 (1999). The facts surrounding the dispute are sufficiently laid out in the prior case. In that appeal, we reversed the trial court’s decree and held as follows:

[W]e reverse the trial court’s decree based on Act 1336 which enjoins Dover from continuing construction of the sewage-treatment facility and remand for an order consistent with this opinion.

Id. We also explained that “because the trial court applied Act 1336 retroactively and because the appellees failed to exhaust their administrative remedies, we reverse and remand.” Id. A mandate was subsequently issued by the Supreme Court Clerk and that mandate stated:

This case was submitted to the Arkansas Supreme Court on the record of the Chancery Court of Pope County and briefs of the respective parties. After due consideration, it is the decision of the court that the case be reversed and remanded for the reasons set out in the attached opinion.

On June 9, 1999, when the case was returned to the trial court after remand, the trial court entered a new order. The order found that the previously ordered injunction would remain in place and set a time schedule for appellees to respond to Dover’s motion for summary judgment. Specifically, the order stated:

[O]n this day the court considers the mandate from the Arkansas Supreme Court and the opinion of the Arkansas Supreme Court delivered April 8, 1999. Based upon all matters before the court, the court finds and orders as follows:
The Arkansas Supreme Court has ruled that Act 1336 of 1997, as a matter of law, is not applicable to the conduct of the City of Dover as alleged in this case.
All claims for relief premised upon a violation of Act 1336 of 1997 should be, and hereby are, dismissed without prejudice for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.
The previously issued injunction remains in effect until such time as the court hears the remaining issues, including the claims for relief based upon the ordinances of the City of Russellville.

(Emphasis added.)

On September 13, 1999, without holding a hearing on any issues, the trial court entered an order granting Russellville’s motion for summary judgment and kept the injunction in effect. On September 17, 1999, Dover filed a motion for reconsideration and a motion requesting rulings on outstanding motions. The trial court did not rule on these motions. Dover appeals, raising eight points for our review. Because we conclude that the trial court failed to follow the mandate and our previous opinion in this case, we reverse and remand the matter to the trial court for further action.

We first address the question whether the trial court’s actions in continuing to enjoin Dover’s project without a hearing was in compliance with our mandate and accompanying opinion. In Dolphin v. Wilson, 335 Ark. 113, 983 S.W.2d 113 (1998), we adopted the Third Circuit Court of Appeals’ rules regarding a trial court’s treatment of a case on remand. We held:

The history of the mandate rule was reviewed recently by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. See Casey v. Planned Parenthood, 14 F.3d 848 (3d Cir. 1994). In Casey, the Third Circuit observed:
Of these rules, the most compelling is the mandate rule. This fundamental rule binds every court to honor rulings in the case by superior courts. As the Supreme Court has stated, “In its earliest days this Court consistently held that an inferior court has no power or authority to deviate from the mandate issued by an appellate court.” Briggs v. Pennsylvania R. Co., 334 U.S. 304, 306, 68 S.Ct. 1039, 1040, 92 L.Ed. 1403 (1948).
Casey, 14 F.3d at 856. Quoting from Bankers Trust Co. v. Bethlehem Steel Corp., 761 F.2d 943, 949 (3d Cir. 1985), the Third Circuit went on to underscore the deference a trial court must give to the mandate:
A trial court must implement both the letter and spirit of the mandate, taking into account the appellate court’s opinion and the circumstances it embraces.
Casey, 14 F.3d at 857.

In Dolphin supra, we also explained some of the major precepts regarding mandates. We explained:

A “mandate” is the official notice of action of the appellate court, directed to the court below, advising that court of the action taken by the appellate court, and directing the lower court to have the appellate court’s judgment duly recognized, obeyed, and executed.
5 Am. Jur. 2d § 776.
However, the lower court is vested with jurisdiction only to the extent conferred by the appellate court’s opinion and mandate. Therefore, the question of whether the lower court followed the mandate is not simply one of whether the lower court was correct in its construction of the case, but also involves a question of the lower court’s jurisdiction.
5 Am. Jur. 2d, § 784.
If an appellate court remands with specific instructions, those instructions must be followed exactly, to ensure that the lower court’s decision is in accord with that of the appellate court.
Where a remand limits the issues for determination, the court on remand is precluded from considering other issues, or new matters, affecting the cause. Thus, where the case is remanded for disposition of the remaining post-trial issues that were not addressed by the trial court, any issue the trial court had previously addressed may not be considered on remand. Similarly, when a case is remanded for a specific act, the entire case is not reopened, but rather the lower tribunal is only authorized to carry out the appellate court’s mandate, and the trial court may be powerless to undertake any proceedings beyond those specified.
5 Am. Jur. 2d, § 787.
Any proceedings on remand which are contrary to the directions contained in the mandate from the appellate court may be considered null and void.
5 Am. Jur. 2d, § 791.

Finally, in Dolphin supra, we noted that “directions by an appellate court to the trial court as expressed by the opinion and mandate must be followed exactly and placed into execution. Indeed, the jurisdiction of the trial court on remand is limited to those directions.” Dolphin, supra.

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Bluebook (online)
29 S.W.3d 698, 342 Ark. 521, 2000 Ark. LEXIS 515, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-dover-v-barton-ark-2000.