DeMarkey v. Greenwich Hospital Ass'n

454 F. Supp. 351, 26 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 190, 1978 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16638
CourtDistrict Court, D. Connecticut
DecidedJuly 12, 1978
DocketCiv. No. 14135
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 454 F. Supp. 351 (DeMarkey v. Greenwich Hospital Ass'n) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Connecticut primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
DeMarkey v. Greenwich Hospital Ass'n, 454 F. Supp. 351, 26 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 190, 1978 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16638 (D. Conn. 1978).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION ON MOTION TO VACATE ORDER AND TO RESTORE TO DOCKET

BURNS, District Judge.

This Motion to Vacate Order of Discontinuance and to Restore to Docket stems from a malpractice suit filed in this Court in November of 1970. The procedural journey undergone by this case between 1970 and the present is rather unusual, and to appreciate the equities involved it is necessary to trace the unbeaten and ultimately circuitous path it travelled in some detail.

In November of 1974, four years after the original filing of the action, the pre-trial and discovery stages of the case were completed and it was assigned for trial before the Honorable Richard H. Levet, Senior Judge of the Southern District of New York, sitting by designation. At that time the parties agreed to submit the case to binding arbitration, and Judge Levet, with the consent of all the parties, entered an Order of Discontinuance on November 18, 1974. The parties agreed that the arbitrator’s decision would be conclusive and that neither party would have the right of appeal. The award was to operate “as final judgment or as final decree, the same as if rendered by the court of last resort in this cause.” The agreement for arbitration also stated that “[a]ll parties hereto have been fully informed of their rights, and fully realize that all other legal actions and rights are being fully and voluntarily relinquished in favor of said arbitration procedure, and agree that the agreement is binding upon all heirs, administrators, successors and assigns.”

The possibility of arbitration was first suggested by the counsel for the plaintiff, and the arbitration agreement was in fact drawn up by plaintiff’s counsel. Before the arbitration hearings commenced on November 20, 1974, the plaintiff’s counsel raised the question whether the arbitrator, Attorney George E. McGoldrick, a member of the Connecticut and federal bars, should take an oath. All counsel expressed confidence in Mr. McGoldrick and agreed he would properly perform his duties as arbitrator whether or not he took an oath.

Arbitrator McGoldrick heard evidence on November 20, 21, 22, 25, and 26, 1974, and, after several extensions of time, on March 4,1975, ruled in favor of the defendants. A memorandum of his decision was filed with this Court the next day. On March 17, 1975, the plaintiff filed with the Connecticut Superior Court an Application to Vacate the Arbitration Award alleging that Mr. McGoldrick had not taken the oath required by Section 52-414 of the Connecticut General Statutes. On April 1,1975, the plaintiff also filed in this Court the instant Motion to Vacate the Order Discontinuing the Action and to Restore the Case to the Docket alleging that the arbitration award [353]*353was invalid for the same reason. For their part the defendants filed with this Court a Motion to Confirm the Arbitration Award and a Motion to Stay the State Court Proceedings. On September 30, 1975, this Court (Zampano, J.) denied the Motion to Stay the State Court Proceedings and re-' served decision on the Motion to Confirm the Arbitration Award. The defendants thereupon filed a Motion to Stay with the state Superior Court.

On February 5, 1976, the Superior Court (DeVita, J.) denied the defendant’s Motion to Stay and vacated the arbitration award on the ground that the arbitrator had not taken the statutory oath. The defendants appealed to the Connecticut Supreme Court, and on April 25, 1978, the Supreme Court affirmed Judge DeVita’s decision vacating the arbitration award, finding the plaintiff had neither waived the statutory oath requirement nor been estopped from asserting the failure of the arbitrator to take an oath in her attack on the award. (39 CLJ No. 43, p. 13) The plaintiff is now before the Court on her Motion to Vacate the Order of Discontinuance and Restore to the Docket and is asking the Court to invoke the discretionary power of F.R.C.P. 60(b) to vacate the 1974 order and restore the case to the trial docket of this Court for an adjudication on the merits. The defendants argue that this Court has no choice but to confirm the arbitration award as prayed in their Motion to Confirm Award or, failing that, to resubmit the case to arbitrator McGoldrick.

The plaintiff particularly invokes the provisions of Rule 60(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure which empower a Court to relieve a party from a final judgment, order, or proceeding for “any reason [other than those previously enumerated and not germane here] justifying relief from the operation of the judgment.” The equitable powers granted to the Court under Rule 60(b)(6) are broad, James Blackstone Mem. Ass’n v. Gulf, Mobile & O.R.R. Co., 28 F.R.D. 385, 387 (D.Conn.1961), and the Court’s discretion should be liberally construed, especially when there has been no final judgment on the merits. Federal Enterprises v. Frank Allbritten Motors, 16 F.R.D. 109 (S.D.Mo.1954) and 7 Moore’s Federal Practice ¶60.27[2] at 362 (2d ed. rev. 1975). As Justice Black stated in the leading United States Supreme Court opinion: “In simple English, the language of the ‘other remedies’ clause [i. e., Rule 60(b)(6)] . vests power in courts adequate to enable them to vacate judgments whenever such action is appropriate to accomplish justice.” Klapprott v. United States, 335 U.S. 601, 614-15, 69 S.Ct. 384, 390, 93 L.Ed. 266 (1948).

However, despite the liberal construction of Rule 60(b)(6) which was designed to allow courts to remedy injustices, there are certain policy restrictions on the use of the rule. These limitations spring mainly from the courts’ desire to promote finality in litigation and efficiency of judicial administration. In the words of Prof. Wright:

The cases show that the courts have exercised their discretion under the rule with a scrupulous regard for the aims of finality. They have required that the motion be made within a “reasonable time,” even though the stated time limit has not expired. They have prevented the needless protraction of litigation by requiring the moving party to show a good claim or defense. They have been astute to consider the hardship that a reopening of the judgment might cause to other persons.

C. Wright, Federal Courts § 98 at 490-91 (3rd ed. 1976). When weighing the interests of finality and efficiency against the interests of preventing a possible injustice, courts have found two factors to be especially helpful in deciding whether or not to uphold a disputed order of judgment: whether the moving party originally exercised a free choice of forum, and whether the moving party has advanced any meritorious claim or defense yet to be adjudicated.

In cases such as the instant one, where relief is sought from a judgment based on a stipulation or a settlement that later proves to have been improvidently made, it is generally held that such a change of heart will not justify relief. 7 Moore, Federal Prac[354]*354tice ¶ 60.27[2] at 371. The leading case here is Ackermann v. United States, 340 U.S. 193, 198, 71 S.Ct. 209, 211, 95 L.Ed. 207 (1950), wherein the Court applied the standards of Rule 60(b)(6) to the petitioner’s choice not to appeal:

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Related

In re City of Bridgeport
132 B.R. 85 (D. Connecticut, 1991)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
454 F. Supp. 351, 26 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 190, 1978 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16638, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/demarkey-v-greenwich-hospital-assn-ctd-1978.