Smith v. American Falls Canal & Power Co.

95 P. 1059, 15 Idaho 89, 1908 Ida. LEXIS 74
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedJune 5, 1908
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 95 P. 1059 (Smith v. American Falls Canal & Power Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Smith v. American Falls Canal & Power Co., 95 P. 1059, 15 Idaho 89, 1908 Ida. LEXIS 74 (Idaho 1908).

Opinion

STEWART, J.

On July 11, 1906, the plaintiff recovered a judgment against the defendant in the district court for Bingham county. A statement on motion for a new trial was afterward prepared and settled by the trial judge and filed in said court on November 6, 1907. An order was made and filed by the trial judge on November 9, 1907, overruling the defendant’s motion for a new trial. A notice of appeal from the judgment, and from the order overruling the motion for a new trial, was served and filed in said court on November 21, 1907. The transcript on appeal was filed in this court on [91]*91January 15, 1908. Counsel for respondent files two motions in this court: 1st. To dismiss the appeal from the judgment, for the reason that the appeal was not taken until more than one year had elapsed after the entry of said judgment or decree. As seen from the above statement, the judgment was entered on July 11,1906. The notice of appeal from the judgment was served and filed on November 21, 1907, more than sixteen months after the entry of the judgment. This motion was confessed upon the argument and the appeal from the judgment was ordered dismissed. (Marchand v. Ronaghan, 9 Ida. 95, 72 Pac. 731; McCrea v. McGrew, 9 Ida. 382, 75 Pac. 67.)

Respondent also filed a second motion to dismiss the appeal from the order overruling the motion for a new trial, for the reason that the motion for a new trial was not passed upon within one year from the rendition of the judgment, and no satisfactory showing has been made accounting for such delay. The judgment was entered on July 11, 1906. The statement was settled by the trial court on November 6, 1907. The motion for a new trial was presented to the court some time between November 6 and November 9, 1907, and upon the latter date, about sixteen months after the rendition of said judgment, was overruled.

In explanation of the delay, counsel for appellant file an affidavit of Wm. A. Lee, one of appellant’s counsel, in which it is stated that the reporter furnished a transcript of the evidence about October 15, 1906; that counsel for appellant prepared its statement or bill of exceptions, and served the same on counsel for respondent on November 21st, and thereupon counsel for respondent was given thirty days to prepare amendments thereto; that the amendments were prepared and served about the 21st of December, and consisted, as shown in the affidavit of counsel for appellant, of about twenty-three pages of closely typewritten matter, consisting of 238 separate proposed amendments, which counsel for appellant were unwilling to accept, and on the 31st day of December returned the same to the clerk for delivery to the judge for settlement, and advised the court that counsel for [92]*92appellant were ready and willing to attend, at any time or place, to aid in the settlement of said proposed amendments; that in February, 1907, affiant counsel for appellant, who resides in Salt Lake City, Utah, having been advised that the district .court was in session at Blackfoot, attended the same for the purpose of having said statement settled, and appeared in open court and requested that the settlement of said statement be taken up, but said court was engaged in the trial of jury cases until the end of the term, and was unable to take up said statement at that time; that again in May following, affiant counsel for appellant went to Blackfoot for the sole purpose of again moving for the settlement of said statement but found the court engaged in the trial of cases and unable to reach said settlement, and, both parties being present, it was agreed that defendant’s counsel should go through said amendments and indicate such amendments as he was willing to accept, and report the same in writing within twenty days, and thereafter plaintiff’s counsel should do likewise; that an order was entered to that effect, and that defendant’s counsel reported in writing to the court and to plaintiff, and requested that said statement be settled at once; that following this record counsel for defendant continued upon every possible occasion to urge its settlement, and signified their willingness to aid the court in such labor.

In opposition to this affidavit John W. Jones, counsel for respondent, files an affidavit, in which he alleges that the proposed amendments and the statement were filed prior to January 1, 1907; that during the time from January 1, 1907, to July 11, 1907, affiant repeatedly urged upon counsel for appellant the necessity of an early disposition of the motion for new trial in this action, and that counsel for plaintiff held himself in readiness at all times to take up and dispose of said matter, and, upon one occasion, William A. Lee, of counsel for appellant, and affiant considered together the right of respondent to prevail with reference to a large number of said proposed amendments to the statement, and agreed upon the allowance of certain amendments, and thereafter the said William A. Lee left the matter of the disposition of the re-[93]*93retaining proposed amendments in an unsettled condition, and nothing was done with reference thereto for a long time; that upon several occasions this affiant made arrangements with the judge of the district court for the hearing of the disposition of said matters, but was unable to get the matter before the court, and that, as counsel for respondent, he waived many of the proposed amendments in said statement in order to expedite the settlement of the statement, and that no engrossed statement was ever filed or presented to the said district court upon said motion for a new trial, but that the amendments allowed were made by interlineation.

This latter affidavit is not contradicted in any way by appellant. The record then discloses that the amendments to the proposed statement consisted of 238 separate proposed amendments. This, of itself, indicates that counsel for appellant may have overlooked a careful preparation of the proposed statement. Of course, this court cannot say whether or not these proposed amendments to the statement were proper and justified or not, but, in this connection, it may serve a purpose to suggest that counsel, in preparing statements or bills of exceptions, should attempt earnestly to embrace therein everything and every part of the testimony and record required to properly present to the appellate court the question under contest, and not leave this labor for respondent. This causes delay. Counsel were unable to agree as to the amendments, and the statement and proposed amendments were lodged with the clerk of the district court for the judge on December 31, 1906. Counsel for appellant seems to have permitted matters to remain in this condition until some time in February, 1907, when counsel attended a session of the district court of Bingham county, for the purpose of having the statement settled, but that the court was engaged in the trial of jury cases and was unable to settle the same at that time. The same fact was stated with reference to another effort in May. At both of these visits the trial court was engaged in the trial of cases and unable to settle the same.

It is rather strange that counsel for appellant became diligent only at times when the trial court was engaged in other [94]*94business. It was not necessary for the court to be in session in order to settle a statement, and the trial court was not obligated to discontinue the trial of a case in order to settle a statement.

Rev. Stat., sec. 4442, provides:

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
95 P. 1059, 15 Idaho 89, 1908 Ida. LEXIS 74, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/smith-v-american-falls-canal-power-co-idaho-1908.