Gabriel Ex Rel. Gabriel v. Murphy

421 P.2d 336, 4 Ariz. App. 440, 1966 Ariz. App. LEXIS 509
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arizona
DecidedDecember 14, 1966
Docket1 CA-CIV 206
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 421 P.2d 336 (Gabriel Ex Rel. Gabriel v. Murphy) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gabriel Ex Rel. Gabriel v. Murphy, 421 P.2d 336, 4 Ariz. App. 440, 1966 Ariz. App. LEXIS 509 (Ark. Ct. App. 1966).

Opinion

CAMERON, Judge.

This is an appeal from a verdict and judgment in favor of the defendant in an action involving personal injuries sustained by the plaintiffs as a result of an automobile accident.

Plaintiffs appeal not only from the judgment, but from the minute entry order denying the motion for new trial, and we are called upon to determine;

(1) the jurisdiction of this Court to hear the appeal,
(2) whether appellants may assign as error on appeal the giving of an instruction to which the appellants did not timely object, and
(3) whether it was error for the trial court to “deny” plaintiffs’ motion for new trial.

On or about 14 March 1963, about 10:40 a. m., the plaintiffs were traveling in an easterly direction on Indian School Road in Phoenix, Arizona. Mrs. Gabriel was driving in the right or curb lane at a speed of 10 to 15 miles per hour. Her son, Glenn Allen Gabriel, was a passenger in the automobile. Two automobiles ahead of her stopped and she, giving an arm and hand signal, slowed down and stopped. Defendant, driving a three-fourths ton, van-type wagon, was following about 30 feet behind, and testified he was traveling from 25 to 30 miles per hour. The wagon struck plaintiffs’ car on the left rear and left fender, but did not move from the point of impact. Plaintiff, Alma Christine Gabriel, suffered a straightening of the lordatic curve of the neck and sustained muscle spasms and severe headaches. She received therapy and traction and wore a neck collar off and on for some eight weeks. At the time of the trial, two years later, she was still having headaches and suffering from nervous tension neck pain, which the testimony indicated might be permanent.'

After a three day trial, the jury returned a verdict for the defendant, and plaintiffs bring this appeal.

I.

The question is raised concerning the timeliness of the plaintiffs’ appeal. For the purposes of discussion we set below the pertinent dates in this matter:

23 March 1965—jury verdict for defend- • ant
29 March 1965—motion for new trial filed by plaintiffs
6 April 1965—formal written judgment signed and filed
15 April 1965—minute entry order denying motion for new trial
20 April 1965—notice of appeal filed by plaintiffs

The notice of appeal stated that plaintiffs appealed from the judgment entered 6 April 1965, and from the order of 15 April 1965, “denying” plaintiffs’ motion for new trial.

It is well established that the appellate court will undertake to examine into its own jurisdiction even absent the issue being raised by the parties. Howard P. Foley Co. v. Harris, 4 Ariz.App. 294, 419 P.2d 735 (1 November 1966). And before this Court may have jurisdiction to consider a matter on appeal, an appellant must comply with the rules and statutes concerning appeals:

“Appeal being a matter of statutory privilege rather than a right, statutory pro *442 visions establishing jurisdictional requirements must be strictly complied with to achieve entrance to appellate review.” City of Tucson v. Wondergem, 4 Ariz. App. 291, 419 P.2d 552 (1966).

In the instant case, the appellants have attempted to appeal from the judgment and from the minute entry order “denying” the motion for a new trial. Appellant urges that the motion for new trial was denied even though by a minute entry. In this posture it is not an appealable order. Before a party may appeal from an order denying a motion for a new trial, as permitted by A.R.S. § 12-2101, subsec. F, par. 1, that order must be in writing:

“All judgments shall be in writing and signed by a judge * * * the judgment is not effective before such entry (filing with the clerk) [of such judgment].” Rule 58(a), Rules of Civil Procedure. State v. Birmingham, 96 Ariz. 109, 112, 392 P.2d 775 (1964).

Rule 54(a) of the Rules of Civil Procedure specifies that since an order denying a motion for new trial is an appealable order, it is a specie of judgment subject to Rule 58(a). Plaintiffs’ attempted appeal from the minute entry order in relation to their motion for new trial is premature. We do not have jurisdiction to consider an appeal from the minute entry order relative to the motion for new trial.

The appeal from the judgment, however, was made within the 60 day period required by the rules:

“ * * * 1. When an appeal is permitted by law * * * it shall be perfected by notice filed with the superior court within sixty days from the entry of the judgment or order appealed from * * Rule 73(b) (1), Rules of Civil Procedure, 16 A.R.S.

Before an appellant may take advantage of the extension of time in which to appeal, he must see that the motion for new trial is denied by operation of law, Foley v. Harris, supra, Bergman v. Bergman, 1 Ariz.App. 209, 401 P.2d 163 (1965), or have the order reduced to written form. State v. Birmingham, supra.

A.R.S. § 12-2102, however, controls this case:

“A. Upon an appeal from a final judgment, the supreme court shall review any intermediate orders involving the merits of the action and necessarily affecting the judgment, and all orders and rulings assigned as error, whether a motion for new trial was made or not.
“B. If a motion for new trial was-denied, the court may, on appeal from-the final judgment, review the order-denying the motion although no appeal is taken from the order.
“C. On an appeal from a final judgment the supreme court shall not consider the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain the verdict or judgment in an action tried before a jury unless a motion for a new trial was made.”

This matter was tried before a jury and a. motion for new trial was made. This statute indicates that an appeal may be taken from a judgment alone without a motion for a new trial having been made. The statute requires that, in order to take advantage on appeal of defects in the sufficiency of the evidence, a motion for new trial must be made. In other words, a motion for new trial must be made before the scope of the appeal may be enlarged to; include the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain the verdict or judgment. That scope may not be enlarged, however, beyond the matters assigned as error in the-motion for new trial.

The reason for this rule is sound in that the trial court must be given the opporr tunity to correct any errors at the trial court-level before an appeal is taken.

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Bluebook (online)
421 P.2d 336, 4 Ariz. App. 440, 1966 Ariz. App. LEXIS 509, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gabriel-ex-rel-gabriel-v-murphy-arizctapp-1966.