New York Life Ins. Co. v. Martin

1934 OK 630, 37 P.2d 645, 169 Okla. 459, 1934 Okla. LEXIS 398
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedNovember 13, 1934
Docket23435
StatusPublished

This text of 1934 OK 630 (New York Life Ins. Co. v. Martin) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
New York Life Ins. Co. v. Martin, 1934 OK 630, 37 P.2d 645, 169 Okla. 459, 1934 Okla. LEXIS 398 (Okla. 1934).

Opinion

BUSBY, J.

This cause presents error from the superior court of Creek county, the appeal being by petition in error with case-made and transcript attached.

The facts, briefly stated, are that on April 14, 1931, Ruth M. Martin, a minor, by next friend, instituted an action for damages against the plaintiff in error, New York Life Insurance Company, and one J. C. Keith, in which it was alleged that the defendants and each of them were guilty of willful, wanton negligence. The plaintiff in error, hereinafter referred to as the company, filed a petition and bond for removal to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma. This petition was presented to the trial court and by that court denied. The company within due time filed a transcript of the proceedings in the United States court. On September 18, 1931, the United States court sustained the motion of the plaintiff below to remand the case, holding that the petition was insufficient to present a removable case. No pleadings of any kind were filed in the state court by the company until September 21, 1931, although answer was due May 14, 1931. No order was made extending the time in the state court in which to plead or answer, nor was any order made, either by the state or federal court, staying the proceedings in the state court.

On September 21, 1931, the company, without any order of court filed a general demurrer to plaintiff’s petition, and five days later plaintiff filed a motion to strike this pleading on the grounds that it was filed out of time and without permission of court. The mandate of the United States court remanding the case was filed in the state court on September 29, 1931. On September 28, 1931, the court sustained the motion of the plaintiff to strike the demurrer of the company, and the company was adjudged to be in default.

The company in its brief states that three questions of law are presented by the record, as follows:

(1) The appealable finality of the order of the trial court.
(2) The separate defendant’s demurrer, having been filed before the order from the United States District Court remanding said cause was filed in the state court, was filed in time, and the decision of the trial court striking said demurrer is void on its face.
(3) The petition of the plaintiff entirely fails to state a cause of action against the separate defendant, New York Life Insurance Company.

AVe will consider the three questions in the order set out above. Following the doctrine laid down by this court in the case of Price v. Sanditen, No. 22801, 170 Okla. —, 38 P. (2d) 533, and the case of Attaway v. Watkins, 25140 (rehearing pending), this day decided, we hold that the plaintiff in error herein should have appealed only after a judgment, if any, was rendered in this cause. Plaintiff in error was only declared “in default.” If default judgment had been rendered, or “judgment had been rendered as per journal entry for the amount sued for,” or evidence should have been heard on the part of the plaintiff in the trial court and judgment rendered, then an appeal would lie.

In the case of Loy v. McDowell, 85 Okla. 286, 205 P. 1089, this court said:

“In Wells v. Shriver, 81 Okla. 108, 197 P. 460, this court said:
“ ‘Under the Oklahoma Code of Civil Procedure there can be but one judgment in an action.
“ ‘A judgment is the final determination of the rights of the parties in an action. To constitute a judgment under the Code, it must judicially determine all of the issues raised by the pleadings except such as are waived or abandoned on the trial of the case.
“ ‘Adjudgment must not only determine the rights of the parties in an action, but must conclude all further inquiry into the issues joined by the pleadings and leave nothing *461 further to he done except carry it into execution.’ ”

In the case of Oklahoma City Land & Development Co. v. Patterson, 73 Okla. 234, 175 P. 934, this court said:

“An appeal does not lie to this court from an intermediate or interlocutory order made during the pendency of an action, which intermediate or interlocutory order leaves the parties in court to have the issues tried on the merits, unless the appeal sought to be taken comes within some one of the special orders from which an appeal is authorized by statute prior to final judgment in the main action.”

See Mangum v. Heatly, 49 Okla. 730, 154 P. 528.

In the case of Tobly v. Dekinder, 85 Okla. 288, 206 P. 201, written by Mr. Justice Mc-Neill, are the following statements:

“If such orders as entered in this case were appealable to this court for review before final judgment, there would never be any end to litigation. The errors complained of in this matter can be excepted to, and when the final disposition is made of the case, and the final judgment or decree entered determining the respective rights of the parties, be reviewed by this court on appeal. This court can then pass upon such questions as may be necessary. It may be the plaintiffs will be unable to establish their claim and the errors herein become immaterial, and likewise they may prevail in the lower court and the errors be immaterial.”

And the syllabus of that case is:

“An appeal does not lie to this court from an order overruling a demurrer of the plaintiffs to portions of the defendant’s answer, which order overruling the demurrer leaves the parties in court to have the issues tried on its merits.”

In the Attaway v. Watkins Case, supra, we held:

“Under section 528, O. S. 1931, which provides that an appeal may be taken from an order which involves the merits of the action or some part thereof an appeal does not lie to this court prior to a final determination of the cause, from an intermediate or interlocutory order which strikes from the answer an alleged material defense, but which intermediate or interlocutory order leaves the parties in court to have the issues tried on the merits.”

During the proceedings in the trial court in the case at bar, that court made the following statements:

“Let the record show that the defendant, New York Life Insurance Company, excepts to the ruling of the court in denying him the right to file demurrer or other pleading and adjudging him in default, and that they have given notice in open court of their intention to appeal from such ruling, and the statutory time is hereby allowed in which to prepare and serve case-made 30-10-5. * * *
“You understand there is no judgment here to supersede, it has not gone to judgment yet. It is untried until it is set for trial. You can’t take a judgment until this question is threshed out — it would be foolish to take judgment until you dispose of that matter on appeal. * * *”

Since the appeal in this case is from an order declaring the defendants in default only, we hold that the same is not appeal-able and that the appeal should be dismissed.

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Related

Tobly v. Dekinder
1922 OK 123 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1922)
State National Bank v. Lowenstein
1915 OK 892 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1915)
Tirey v. Darneal
1913 OK 414 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1913)
Proctor v. Harrison
1912 OK 400 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1912)
City of Mangum v. Heatly
1916 OK 40 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1916)
St. Louis S. F. R. Co. v. Hodge
157 P. 60 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1916)
Hausam v. Parker
1911 OK 387 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1911)
New England Oil & Pipe Line Co. v. Broyles
1922 OK 258 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1922)
New York Life Ins. Co. v. Beaver
1932 OK 192 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1932)
Oklahoma City Land & Development Co. v. Patterson
1918 OK 610 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1918)
Price v. Sanditen
1934 OK 632 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1934)
Wells v. Shriver
1921 OK 122 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1921)
Leforce v. Haymes
1909 OK 280 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1909)
Loy v. McDowell
1922 OK 113 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1922)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1934 OK 630, 37 P.2d 645, 169 Okla. 459, 1934 Okla. LEXIS 398, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/new-york-life-ins-co-v-martin-okla-1934.