Doyle v. McLeod

31 P. 96, 4 Wash. 732, 1892 Wash. LEXIS 308
CourtWashington Supreme Court
DecidedAugust 31, 1892
DocketNo. 410
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 31 P. 96 (Doyle v. McLeod) 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
Doyle v. McLeod, 31 P. 96, 4 Wash. 732, 1892 Wash. LEXIS 308 (Wash. 1892).

Opinion

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Hoyt, J. —

Respondent moves to dismiss the appeal herein on two grounds — (1) That the appellant is neither [734]*734aggrieved by, nor interested by, the judgment appealed from; (2) that the proper parties have neither joined nor been served in appeal. As to the first ground, respondent makes no argument, excepting that there may be gathered in a vague way from his brief that he claims that the Washington Southern Railroad Company had never been properly substituted for the Satsop Railroad Company as defendant in the action. We think the record shows that such substitution had been made, and that if it had not, that the Satsop Railroad Company must be held to have been the party which appealed, instead of the Washington Southern Railroad Company.

As to the second point, the record shows that at the time of the rendition of the judgment, notice of appeal was given in open court. Under our statute this is sufficient notice to all persons properly parties to the appeal. The argument of the respondent is, that in this case such a notice could not affect the fifty-three original plaintiffs, for the reason that the suit as to them had been long before decided, and their claims paid. His contention in this regard is doubtless true, but the same argument establishes the fact that these original plaintiffs were no longer interested in any manner in the result of the action, and were not in any proper sense parties to the judgment, at that time rendered, and therefore were not necessary parties to the appeal. The motion to dismiss the appeal must, therefore, be denied.

Respondent also moves to strike the statement of facts on various grounds set out in his motion. The two principal ones being — (1) That no notice of the settlement thereof was given as required by statute; and (2) that matter, not included in the proposed statement on file at the time the notice of settlement was given, had been included in the statement as settled. It is not contended but that regular notice of the settlement of the statement at the pity of [735]*735Montesano, on the 20th day of November, was given, but it is claimed that there was no proper adjournment of such settlement from thattimeuntil the time when it was actually settled in the city of Olympia. The j udge, in his certificate, however, certifies that regular notice had been given of the settlement on the day named, at Montesano, and that such settlement had been by him adjourned from time to time until the day when it was finally settled in the city of Olympia, as above stated. We think such certificate establishes, prima facie at least, the fact that the settlement was adjourned by order of the court, as required by the statute. It is argued by respondent that no such order appears in the record. If this were true- it could not prove anything as against the recitals of the judge in said certificate. In the absence of any such recitals, the fact that no order of adjournment appeared in the record might be sufficient to show want of jurisdiction, but the presence of such recitals show that in fact the order of adjournment was made. And if such order is not found in the transcript it is prima facie the fault of the clerk, or parties, in not having the proper entry of the order made. The order, however, is that which adjourns the hearing upon the settlement, and not the entry thereof. Besides, there has been an additional transcript filed, which supplies the defect in said record as to the entry of said order.

On the other ground the rule should be that the statement placed on file as a foundation for the proceeding for the settlement of the facts in the action should be so far complete as to give evidence of a bona fide effort on the part of the moving party to present a statement which completely embodies the facts material to the appeal-When this is done, the foundation for jurisdiction in this regard is complete, and the fact that the court or the other party may suggest, and there be incorporated in the statement, additional facts, can in no manner affect the settle[736]*736ment. Apply this rule to the case at har, and we think the proposed statement conferred jurisdiction. In fact, we are of the opinion that all the matters added to said proposed statement, and settled as part of the facts on appeal, were absolutely irrelevant thereto, and the fact that the court saw fit to include them in said statement could in no manner affect the rights of the moving party.

Respondent also moves to strike the statement, upon the ground that the certificate of the judge is insufficient. The judge certifies that the statement contains all the material facts, including all exhibits in the case, but does not certify that the same contains all the testimony on which the cause was tried, together with all objections or exceptions taken to the reception or rejection of testimony. It is claimed that the omission to certify as to this latter fact renders the certificate insufficient. This court has used language in some of its opinions which would, perhaps, warrant this contention on the part of the respondent, but as we are now advised, it has never decided the precise question here presented. The statute provides that it shall be sufficient if the judge certifies that the statement contains all the material facts. It then goes on to provide that in a law case, the statement need contain no more than was formerly necessary in a bill of exceptions, but that in an equity case, tried upon its merits, it should contain all the testimony upon which the cause was tried, together with any objections or exceptions to the reception or rejection of testimony. It is the duty of the court tp construe this whole section together, and thus construed, we are of the opinion that in any case, whether at law or in equity, the certificate of the judge that the statement contains all the material facts is, prima facie, sufficient to give this court jurisdiction. If, however, upon an examination of the transcript itseif, this court finds that in a suit in equity the testimony upon which the cause was tried, together with the obj options [737]*737and exceptions relating thereto, have not been included in the statement, the prima fade presumption of jurisdiction will be destroyed, and it would be unable to hear and determine the action. It is the plain intent of said section that in a law case a single question may be brought to this court for review and if so much is brought here as a statement of facts as would have been a sufficient bill of exceptions under the old rule to require this court to pass upon such single question, then the judge could properly certify that all the material facts were embodied in the statement. It is equally clear that in an equity case, tried upon its merits, the case can only be brought here as a whole, and this court, before it can proceed at all in an appeal in such a case, must be fully placed in possession of the entire case as it was presented to the court below. In other words, the material facts which must be contained in the statement are the facts material to the appeal, and such words have no reference whatever to facts in the case as presented to the trial court. The difference in the requirement of what must be contained in the statement in a law case and in an equity case grows entirely out of the different relation which this court bears to suits at law and in equity. In the one, as we have seen, it may review any single question which either of the parties see fit to bring here for that purpose; in the other it tries the case de novo

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
31 P. 96, 4 Wash. 732, 1892 Wash. LEXIS 308, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/doyle-v-mcleod-wash-1892.