Donaldson v. Greenwood

242 P.2d 1038, 40 Wash. 2d 238, 1952 Wash. LEXIS 317
CourtWashington Supreme Court
DecidedApril 3, 1952
Docket31728
StatusPublished
Cited by64 cases

This text of 242 P.2d 1038 (Donaldson v. Greenwood) 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
Donaldson v. Greenwood, 242 P.2d 1038, 40 Wash. 2d 238, 1952 Wash. LEXIS 317 (Wash. 1952).

Opinion

Weaver, J.

This is an action between the parties to a joint venture (a) for an accounting between them; (b) for a declaration that defendants hold one half of the real property involved in trust for plaintiff; and (c) for an order directing defendants to make such conveyance of the real property to plaintiff as would reflect plaintiff’s interest therein, or, in the alternative, for a money judgment in favor of plaintiff for the value of his interest in the property. It is. not, as defendants urge, an action for specific performance of an agreement to deed an undivided one-half interest in certain real property.

The first question raised by appellants’ (defendants’) assignments of error requires we set forth the procedural history of this case in some detail. Trial commenced September 6, 1950. Both plaintiff and E. M. Greenwood, who will be referred to in most instances as the sole defendant, were present in court. On the afternoon of the following day, plaintiff, before his cross-examination had been completed, fell ill. He was confined to a hospital for a short time and directed to take a complete rest for at least thirty days. It was the doctor’s opinion that he had suffered a light stroke.

*241 Over defendant’s objection, the trial was resumed on Friday, September 8th. Five additional witnesses testified for plaintiff and were cross-examined. The trial was continued until Monday, September 11th. On that day, plaintiff being unable to appear in order that his cross-examination be completed, the case was continued until November 13, 1950.

October 18th, defendant signed an affidavit in support of a motion to continue the trial from November 13th to a later, unspecified date. . Defendant’s reasons for the continuance were wholly personal. No emergency existed. The motion was set for hearing October 27th.

In the meantime, defendant left the jurisdiction without the assurance of the trial court that the motion would be granted. The trial court denied it.

The trial was resumed on November 13th. Plaintiff’s cross-examination was completed and an additional witness for the plaintiff examined. The plaintiff rested his case on November 14th. A challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence having been denied, defendant’s counsel renewed his former motion for a continuance. Defendant had sailed for Europe. Between October 27th, the day defendant’s motion for a continuance had been dénied, and November 13th, the date to which the trial had been continued, defendant’s counsel had used unusual diligence, by transatlantic telephone and cable, to inform defendant of the court’s ruling. It appeared to the trial court that defendant did not receive word of the denial of the continuance until his arrival in Paris on November 13th. In view of this, the court continued the case, subject to call, to afford defendant the opportunity of returning to Seattle to testify. Defendant’s counsel cabled him to determine whether he would return to Seattle on any date prior to December 12th.

November 17th, defendant’s counsel received a cablegram from him stating he was leaving Paris almost immediately for South America and that it would be impossible for him to return to Seattle before February, 1951. The reasons for *242 his absence from the jurisdiction were still entirely personal and not of an emergency nature.

Having been so informed, plaintiff’s counsel, on November 22nd, moved to rescind the continuance “subject to call.” On that day, the indefinite continuance was canceled and the case continued until November 29th.

On November 29th, the trial court entered an order terminating all further continuances. Plaintiff having rested and defendant offering no testimony, other than his pretrial deposition, which was received, the trial court announced it was prepared to give judgment for plaintiff. A referee was appointed to report on certain items of accounting between the parties. In due course, findings and judgment were entered for plaintiff.

The denial of a continuance rests in the sound discretion of the trial court and will not be reversed except for manifest abuse. Conner v. Zanuzoski, 36 Wn. (2d) 458, 218 P. (2d) 879; State v. Gillingham, 36 Wn. (2d) 655, 220 P. (2d) 333; see note and cases cited in 26 Wash. L. Rev. 212 (1951).

On October 27th, the trial court had for consideration defendant’s affidavit dated October 18th, which alleged:

“. . . that affiant’s daughter . . . had been attending school in Paris, France; that within the last several days she notified affiant and her mother that she had met a man in Paris whom she desired to marry; that affiant considers it essential and he has, therefore, arranged to leave Seattle, Washington, on the 18th day of October, 1950, to go to Paris, France. ...”

Overlooking the doubtful sufficiency of the affidavit to entitle defendant to an indefinite continuance, and even disregarding the fact that defendant voluntarily assumed the calculated risk of leaving the jurisdiction before he knew whether the continuance would be granted or not, he was, on November 14th, given a continuance to afford him the opportunity of returning to Seattle to testify on any date prior to December 12th. Having been informed of this, he chose to cable from Paris:

*243 “Wedding December Santiago. We all sailing this Saturday Chile. Impossible return Seattle before February.”

A party, knowing the date a cause is set for trial, can not absent himself from the jurisdiction of the court and expect the court to delay the trial merely to suit his personal convenience. Humphrey v. Mutual Life Ins. Co., 86 Wash. 672, 151 Pac. 100.

The record discloses that the trial judge not only did not abuse his discretion in denying a further continuance, but, under the circumstances of this case, exercised a high degree of fairness and judicial restraint.

Plaintiff Donaldson and defendant Greenwood met more than twenty years before the occurrence of the transaction out of which the present litigation arose. Their casual acquaintance grew into one of friendship and mutual confidence.

In October, 1944, plaintiff and defendant orally agreed to purchase and develop some thirty-two hundred acres of patented land and certain mining claims containing valuable lime deposits located in Siskiyou county, California. Each of the parties was to have an undivided one-half interest in the enterprise. Plaintiff was interested in developing the lime deposits; defendant, in a place to breed horses.

Plaintiff, with the knowledge of the former owners of the properties that he had an interest in the purchase, was allowed a two-thousand-dollar commission, which was credited upon the sale. The purchase price, which was $25,000 cash, included livestock on the premises. Five thousand dollars was agreed upon as the value of the mining claims, to be paid later when the claims were assigned. The $20,000 was financed as follows: (a) $2,000 commission credited to. plaintiff; (b) $12,500 mortgage placed upon the property by defendant; (c) $5,500 cash paid by defendant.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Fu-cheng Chen, V. Fukuen Eric Chen And Ming-fen Chen
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2024
Belgica Dargelis Connell
W.D. Washington, 2020
State Of Washington v. Travis Lee Lile
373 P.3d 247 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2016)
In Re the Recall of Lindquist
258 P.3d 9 (Washington Supreme Court, 2011)
Holden v. Farmers Insurance
169 Wash. 2d 750 (Washington Supreme Court, 2010)
Holden v. Farmers Ins. Co. of Washington
239 P.3d 344 (Washington Supreme Court, 2010)
In Re Marriage of Kowalewski
182 P.3d 959 (Washington Supreme Court, 2008)
In re the Marriage of Kowalewski
163 Wash. 2d 542 (Washington Supreme Court, 2008)
Port of Seattle v. Equitable Capital Group, Inc.
898 P.2d 275 (Washington Supreme Court, 1995)
State v. Kleist
895 P.2d 398 (Washington Supreme Court, 1995)
State v. Jacobson
876 P.2d 916 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1994)
Bellevue Plaza, Inc. v. City of Bellevue
851 P.2d 662 (Washington Supreme Court, 1993)
Lewis v. Short (In re Short)
817 F.2d 693 (Ninth Circuit, 1987)
Lewis v. Short
818 F.2d 693 (Ninth Circuit, 1987)
Washburn & Roberts, Inc. v. Park East
795 F.2d 870 (Ninth Circuit, 1986)
State v. Hancock
721 P.2d 1006 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1986)
Time Oil Co. v. City of Port Angeles
712 P.2d 311 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1985)
Merchant v. Peterson
690 P.2d 1192 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1984)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
242 P.2d 1038, 40 Wash. 2d 238, 1952 Wash. LEXIS 317, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/donaldson-v-greenwood-wash-1952.