Taylor v. Smith

24 A.D. 519, 49 N.Y.S. 41
CourtAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
DecidedDecember 15, 1897
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 24 A.D. 519 (Taylor v. Smith) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Taylor v. Smith, 24 A.D. 519, 49 N.Y.S. 41 (N.Y. Ct. App. 1897).

Opinion

Green, J. :

Motion is made to strike out from the notice of appeal the statement that it is the appellant’s intention to bring up for review the order denying a motion for a new trial, which order is contained in the printed case. The time within which an appeal may be taken from such an order had expired when the notice of the appeal from the final judgment was served.

Two questions are presented: First, whether the statement in the notice is equivalent to an explicit or direct notice of appeal, within section 1300, Code Civil Procedure. Second, whether an order denying a motion for new trial, made before entry of judgment, may be reviewed as an intermediate order, which necessarily affects the final judgment,” notwithstanding the expiration of the time within which a separate appeal therefrom might have been taken. (§ 1316.)

The first question must be answered in the affirmative. (See Pfeffer v. Buffalo Railway Co., 4 Misc. Rep. 465, and authorities referred to below.)

So that, if the time limited for appeals from orders of that character had not expired, the notice of intention would stand good as a notice “ to the effect ” that the appellant appeals from the order, and [521]*521the second question stated would not arise. But since such time had expired, the appellant is compelled to maintain the affirmative of the second proposition, and that requires careful consideration by the court.

The former Code of Procedure provided that “ upon an appeal from a judgment the court may review any intermediate order, involving the merits and necessarily affecting the judgment.” (§ 329.)

Section 1316 of the present Code provides that an appeal, taken from a final judgment, brings up for review an interlocutory judgment or an intermediate order, which is specified in the notice of appeal, and necessarily affects the final judgment, and which has not already been reviewed, upon a separate appeal therefrom, by the court, or the term of the court, to which the appeal from the final judgment is taken. The right to review ah interlocutory judgment, or an intermediate order, as prescribed in this section, is not affected by the expiration of the time within which a separate appeal therefrom might have been taken.” Section 1301 provides that “ where the appeal is from a final judgment, or from a final order in a s]iecial proceeding, and the appellant intends to bring up for review thereupon an interlocutory judgment, or an intermediate order, he must, in the notice of appeal, distinctly specify the interlocutory judgment, or intermediate order, to he reviewed.” Sections 1347 and 1351 provide, among other things, for appeals from orders granting or refusing a new trial.

Under the former Code of Procedure there was no express requirement that an intermediate order of the character described should be specified in the notice of appeal, though it may, perhaps, be implied from the language of section 330. Yet it was said that if the order is one that involves the merits, and necessarily affects the judgment, it is reviewable on appeal therefrom, and it is immaterial that it is not mentioned in the notice of appeal. (Selden Case, infra.)

In such a case, it would seem, the right of review would not be affected by the circumstance that the time for appeal from the order had expired ; for, if it both involved the merits and necessarily affected the judgment appealed from, it must require or deserve consideration in determining the matters in controversy.

Section 1316 of the new Code is based on section 329 of the [522]*522former Code, but it lias been limited, as required by sections 1301 and 1317, to interlocutory judgments and intermediate orders specified in the notice of appeal, and which have not already been reviewed. (Throop’s note.)

The 1st clause of section 1316 discriminates between those intermediate orders which do, and those which do not, necessarily affect the final judgment. Section 1301 provides for all intermediate orders without regard to their character or legal effect; while section 1316 has reference only to those which necessarily affect the judgment; and the words, “ as prescribed in this section,” refer only to orders of that character. In respect to intermediate orders, which do not necessarily affect the judgment, there is no provision that the right of review shall not be impaired by the expiration of time. In view of the fact that, by section 1301, it is contemplated that an appeal from a final judgment shall bring up for review any intermediate order specified in the notice, and, irrespective of its character or its necessary effect upon the judgment, we are. unable to perceive the purpose of the words in the 1st clause of section 1316 — and necessarily affects the final judgment ” — unless they were intended to mark a distinction between the two classes of orders in respect to the expiration of the time to appeal, as provided by the last clause, or unless they were intended to restrict the right of review to orders that necessarily affect the judgment, and thus to limit the effect and operation of section 1301 to orders of that character. But the latter construction would be unwarranted. In the note to section 1316 it is stated that this section will relieve a party from the real or supposed necessity of taking such an appeal, by providing that the interlocutory judgment may always be reviewed upon appeal from the final judgment. Under the present system the unsuccessful party is, or generally supposes himself to be, compelled to appeal, under the penalty of being conclusively bound by the interlocutory judgment.” Whatever consideration or effect may be given to this statement, it cannot control the plain provision of the section. An interlocutory judgment in most, if not in all, cases may be said to affect the judgment more or less, or necessarily involve the merits of the controversy, or the matters in litigation. But the same cannot be said of ihany intermediate orders.

[523]*523It will be instructive to review the pertinent adjudications before finally determining the proper application of section 1316 to 'the order appealed from.

In Selden v. Delaware & Hudson Canal Co. (29 N. Y. 634), after entry of judgment, defendant made two successive motions to set aside the verdict on the grounds of surprise, that the trial was irregular, the misconduct of a juror, and that the verdict, was against the weight of evidence. These motions were denied, and the judgment and orders were affirmed. In the notice of appeal from the judgment of the General Term these orders were not mentioned; and the court said, “ It is not material that they are not mentioned in the notice of appeal. If they were reviewable here under any circumstances, they would be so on the appeal from the judgment. They are not, however, intermediate orders involving the merits and necesssarily affecting the judgment, within subdivision two of the eleventh section of the Code of" Procedure. They are not intermediate orders in any sense, but entirely outside of the judgment.”

In Thurber v. Harlem Bridge, etc., Co. (60 N. Y. 326) it was held that an order denying a motion for a new trial made upon the minutes is not brought before the General Term, and is not reviewable on appeal from a judgment, as an intermediate order involving the merits and necessarily affecting the judgment (Code of Proc.

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Bluebook (online)
24 A.D. 519, 49 N.Y.S. 41, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/taylor-v-smith-nyappdiv-1897.