Montgomery, Zukerman, Davis, Inc. v. Chubb Group of Insurance Companies

698 N.E.2d 1251, 1998 Ind. App. LEXIS 1466, 1998 WL 599450
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedSeptember 11, 1998
Docket49A05-9804-CV-193
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 698 N.E.2d 1251 (Montgomery, Zukerman, Davis, Inc. v. Chubb Group of Insurance Companies) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Montgomery, Zukerman, Davis, Inc. v. Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, 698 N.E.2d 1251, 1998 Ind. App. LEXIS 1466, 1998 WL 599450 (Ind. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinion

OPINION

BAILEY, Judge.

Case Summary

Appellants-Plaintiffs Montgomery, Zuker-man, Davis, Inc., and Instant Access Storage Systems, Inc. (“Insured”) appeal the adverse summary judgment entered in favor of their insurer and its agents, Appellees-Defendants Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, Federal Insurance Company, and Chubb & Son, Inc. (“Insurance Company”). We dismiss for lack of jurisdiction. However, we grant Insurance Company’s request for an award of appellate attorney’s fees.

Issues

The dispositive issues may be restated as:

I.Whether Insured’s failure to file the record of proceedings with this court within ninety days of the date it filed its prae-cipe has divested this court of jurisdiction to determine the merits of this appeal. II. Whether Insured’s conduct in prosecuting this appeal, including its failure to disclose the fact that it had filed a praecipe for the purposes of filing an appeal on November 1, 1996, warrants an award of appellate attorney fees in favor of Insurance Company.

Facts

The dispositive facts reveal that on October 2,1996, the trial court entered the following order styled “ORDER ON MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT:”

Comes now the Court after having conducted oral argument on Defendant’s, Chubb Group of Insurance Companies and Chubb and Son, Inc. (collectively referred to as “Federal Insurance Company”), Motion for Summary Judgment, and finds as follows, to wit:

1. No genuine issues of material fact remain for trial.
2. There is no factual dispute and this cause may be determined as a matter of law.
3. The law is with the Defendants and against the Plaintiffs.
4. Federal Insurance Company’s Motion for Summary Judgment is granted.

(R. 77; pertinent part only). Accordingly, on November 1, 1996, Montgomery filed a timely “PRAECIPE FOR RECORDS FOR PURPOSE OF FILING AN APPEAL.” (Supp. R. 7). However, no petition for an extension of time in which to file the record was ever filed in this court.

In January of 1998, Montgomery filed another “PLAINTIFFS’ PRAECIPE FOR RECORD AND NOTICE OF INTENT TO APPEAL.” (R. 188-191). The record of proceedings was filed in this Court on April 9, 1998, almost a year and a half after the first praecipe had been filed.

Discussion and Decision

I. Jurisdiction

It is the duty of the Court of Appeals to determine whether it has jurisdiction *1253 before proceeding to determine the merits of any case. Dailey Oil, Inc. v. Jet Star, Inc., 650 N.E.2d 345, 346 (Ind.Ct.App.1995). When this court determines that it does not have jurisdiction, it shall dismiss the appeal. Bayless v. Bayless, 580 N.E.2d 962, 964 (Ind.Ct.App.1991), trans. denied.

Indiana Appellate Rule 3(B) reads in pertinent part as follows:

[T]he record of the proceedings must be filed with the clerk of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals within ninety [90] days from the date the praecipe is filed.

Filing of the record is a jurisdictional act, and the failure to timely file the record is clear grounds for dismissal of the appeal. American Fletcher National Bank and Trust Co. v. Pavilion, Inc., 453 N.E.2d 156, 158 (Ind.1983). Strict compliance with the ninety day time limit of App.R. 3(B) is required and failure to do so results in the forfeiture of the right to appeal. Id.; See also State v. Innkeepers of New Castle, Inc., 271 Ind. 286, 392 N.E.2d 459, 461 (1979); Atwell v. State, 399 N.E.2d 412, 413 (Ind.Ct.App.1980).

Insured argues the trial court’s October 2, 1996, order granting summary judgment is not a final judgment upon which an appeal could be taken. Specifically, Insured points out that the trial court did not use the words “decreed” or “adjudged,” nor did it enter a formal judgment or separate document entitled “Entry of Judgment.” Insured argues that these formalities are required under Ind. Trial Rules 54(A) and 58 before a final appealable judgment is effected. We disagree.

A final appealable order or judgment is one which disposes of all of the issues as to all of the parties and puts an end to the particular case. Stowers v. Norwest Bank Indiana, N.A., 624 N.E.2d 485, 489 n. 1 (Ind.Ct.App.1993) (entry of summary judgment in favor of trustee effectively put an end to the ease as to the parties and thus was a final appealable judgment), trans. denied; Doperalski v. City of Michigan City, 619 N.E.2d 584, 585 (Ind.Ct.App.1993); Bayless, 580 N.E.2d at 964. The sufficiency of a judgment is to be tested by its substance rather than its form. Henderson v. Sneath Oil Co., Inc., 638 N.E.2d 798, 803 (Ind.Ct.App.1994). The judgment must show distinctly, and not inferentially, that the matters litigated have been disposed of in favor of one of the parties and the rights of the parties have been finally adjudicated. Id. Even where the trial court’s order lacks some of the details or formalities generally required in a judgment, the order is nevertheless a final appealable judgment where it disposes of all claims of all of the parties. See Chesterfield Management, Inc. v. Cook, 655 N.E.2d 98, 100 (Ind.Ct.App.1995), trans. denied; See also, Conner v. Conner, 666 N.E.2d 921, 925-26 (Ind.Ct.App.1996) (dissolution decree was effectively entered in accordance with T.R. 58 where the entry included all of the essential terms of the decree but had omitted only the formal language of the order); Henderson, 638 N.E.2d at 803-04 (technical noneompliance with T.R. 58 with respect to the form of the judgment will not warrant reversal unless a substantive right has been prejudiced).

The October 2, 1996, order, as set out above, plainly states 1) that no genuine issue of material fact remains for trial, 2) that the cause may be determined as a matter of law, and 3) that Insurance Company’s motion for summary judgment is granted.

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Bluebook (online)
698 N.E.2d 1251, 1998 Ind. App. LEXIS 1466, 1998 WL 599450, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/montgomery-zukerman-davis-inc-v-chubb-group-of-insurance-companies-indctapp-1998.