Soderling v. Standard Oil Co.

95 N.E.2d 298, 229 Ind. 47, 1950 Ind. LEXIS 98
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 8, 1950
Docket28,721
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 95 N.E.2d 298 (Soderling v. Standard Oil Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Soderling v. Standard Oil Co., 95 N.E.2d 298, 229 Ind. 47, 1950 Ind. LEXIS 98 (Ind. 1950).

Opinion

Gilkison, J.

By his seventh paragraph of amended complaint, appellant sought to recover damages from appellee for personal injuries alleged to have been received by appellant as a result of the negligence of appellee on May 17, 1938. The case was put at issue and tried in the Warrick Circuit Court, resulting in a verdict and judgment for the present appellant. From this judgment the present appellee appealed to the Appellate Court, where the judgment was reversed on June 16, 1942, with instructions to sustain the present appellee’s motion for new trial and further proceedings agreeable with the opinion. Thereafter the present appellant’s motion for rehearing was denied by the Appellate Court and his motion to transfer the cause to the Supreme Court was also denied. See Standard Oil Company v. Soderling (1942), 112 Ind. App. 437, 42 N. E. 2d 373. Thereafter, the regular Judge of the Warrick Circuit Court disqualified himself because he had been of counsel for plaintiff-appellant, and a special judge was selected to try the cause, who duly qualified as such.

At the September term of the court on October 13, 1949, plaintiff-appellant filed his statement in the cause, which omitting caption and signature, is as follows:

*50 “The plaintiff in the above entitled cause shows to the court that on a new trial of said cause, if had, pursuant to the mandate of the Supreme Court of Indiana on the appeal of the Standard Oil Company, from the judgment heretofore rendered in this court in said cause on the issues formed by the seventh paragraph of plaintiff's amended complaint and the defendant’s answer thereto, he cannot produce any other or different evidence than that introduced in support of said issues on said former trial in which said judgment of the Warrick Circuit Court, so reversed by the Appellate Court of Indiana, was rendered.”

Thereupon and on the same date the court made its record, finding and judgment, which, omitting caption, is as follows:

“Comes now the Honorable Eldo W. Wood, heretofore duly appointed, qualified and acting special judge in the above entitled cause and assumes the bench and the following proceedings are had in said cause:—

“Come again the parties, and pursuant to the mandate of the Appellate Court of Indiana, in its opinion reversing the judgment of this court heretofore spread of record in this cause, the court now sustains the motion of the defendant Standard Oil Company for a. new trial thereof; and now this cause being assigned for trial on this day the plaintiff files in open court his statement in writing that on a new trial of said cause he cannot produce any other or different evidence than was introduced in support of his cause of action stated in his seventh paragraph of amended complaint herein on the former trial, and which evidence was held insufficient in the opinion of the Appellate Court of Indiana reversing the former judgment of the Warrick Circuit Court in this cause.

“And now the parties in open court waive the right to question on appeal the authority of this court to *51 render a judgment based on the opinion of the Appellate Court of Indiana and said statement of the plaintiff.

“And now the court finds, solely on the basis of plaintiff’s said statement and said opinion of the Appellate Court handed down in this cause, that the plaintiff is not entitled to recover in this action, to which ruling of the court the plaintiff Peter Soderling at the time excepts.

“It is, therefore, considered and adjudged by the court that the plaintiff, Peter A. Soderling, take nothing by his action herein and that the defendant, Standard Oil Company, recover its costs herein paid, laid out and expended, to which the plaintiff at the time objected and excepted.

Eldo W. Wood,

Special Judge.”

From this judgment the appeal is taken.

By his several assignments of error, appellant seeks a review of the Appellate Court’s opinion reversing the first judgment in this cause rendered in the Warrick Circuit Court. By his petition to transfer the cause after that opinion, and its denial on December 3rd, 1943, appellant has had such review of that opinion as is provided by the laws of the State. Clause second, Sec. 4-215, Burns’ 1946 Replacement; Rule 2-23, Rules of Supreme Court; Lesh v. Johnston Furniture Co. (1938), 214 Ind. 176, 179, 13 N. E. 2d 708, 14 N. E. 2d 537. He is not entitled to another review of that opinion by this court. We think it is beyond controversy that questions decided upon an appeal become the law of the case in all subsequent stages of the cause. When a judgment has been reversed by this court, and an appeal is again brought in the same action, no question that was before the *52 court and decided in the former appeal can be again reviewed and decided. Gerber v. Friday et al. (1882), 87 Ind. 366, 368; Dodge v. Gaylord et al. (1876), 53 Ind. 365. In the latter case as in the case at bar, there had been a jury trial and a verdict and judgment in favor of plaintiff from which an appeal was prosecuted, the judgment was reversed and the cause was remanded for new trial. It was submitted to the jury on the second trial upon identically the same facts as at the first trial. The court peremptorily instructed the jury to return a verdict for defendant and the jury so found and the court rendered judgment accordingly. From the latter judgment an appeal was taken. In deciding the appeal this court, among other things, said:

“It was the solemn and imperative duty of the court below to carry out the decision and instructions of this court. ... if such cause be submitted to the court or jury for a retrial upon the same identical facts upon which the decision was rendered, such decision remains the law of the case and the trial court must apply the law as laid down by the Appellate Court to the facts submitted to the jury.”

This law is quite controlling in the instant case, and effectively bars a reconsideration of the Appellate Court decision in Standard Oil Co. v. Soderling (1942), 112 Ind. App. 437, supra. See Smith v. State ex rel. (1907), 169 Ind. 260, 262, 82 N. E. 450; State ex rel. Mavity V. Tyndall (1947), 225 Ind. 360, 363, 74 N. E. 2d 914, and cases there cited.

The trial court was right in obeying the mandate of the Appellate Court to sustain the “motion for new trial, and for further proceedings consistent with” the opinion. Since the cause was submitted by ■ the parties on precisely the same *53 evidence as presented in the first trial, the trial court was quite right in rendering a judgment for the defendant. Dodge v. Gaylord et al. (1876), 53 Ind. 365, 367, 368, supra; Chicago, etc., R. Co. v. Dinius (1913), 180 Ind. 596, 603, 103 N. E. 652; Union Trust Co., etc. v. Curtis (1917), 186 Ind. 516, 524, 116 N. E. 916; State ex rel. Mavity v. Tyndall

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Burcham v. Singer
277 N.E.2d 814 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1972)
Welling v. Welling
272 N.E.2d 598 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1971)
Manring v. Hodson
234 N.E.2d 870 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1968)
Bierce v. Lewis
224 N.E.2d 514 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1967)
Cook v. Herring
162 N.E.2d 108 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1959)
State Ex Rel. Terminix Co. v. Fulton Circuit Court
132 N.E.2d 707 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1956)
Public Service Commission v. Indiana Bell Telephone Co.
130 N.E.2d 467 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1955)
Todd v. State
101 N.E.2d 45 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1951)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
95 N.E.2d 298, 229 Ind. 47, 1950 Ind. LEXIS 98, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/soderling-v-standard-oil-co-ind-1950.