Tooele Meat & Storage Co. v. Morse

136 P. 965, 43 Utah 515, 1913 Utah LEXIS 92
CourtUtah Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 17, 1913
DocketNo. 2504
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 136 P. 965 (Tooele Meat & Storage Co. v. Morse) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Utah Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Tooele Meat & Storage Co. v. Morse, 136 P. 965, 43 Utah 515, 1913 Utah LEXIS 92 (Utah 1913).

Opinion

DEI OK J.

Upon tbe application of tbe plaintiff herein tbis court issued an alternative writ of mandate directed to tbe defendant, tbe Honorable Charles W. Morse, as judge of tbe district court of Tooele County, Utah, requiring him to show cause why a permanent writ should not issue compelling him to reinstate and bear a certain appeal which bad been dismissed by him in a case wherein tbe Eite Candy Company was plaintiff and tbe Tooele Meat & Storage Company, tbe plaintiff herein, was defendant. Tbe appeal aforesaid was taken from a judgment entered on tbe 8th day of February, 1912, in tbe justice’s court of Tooele City in favor of said plaintiff and against said defendant. Tbe appeal was taken pursuant to Comp. Laws 1907, section 3744, which, so far as material here, is as follows:

“Any person dissatisfied with a judgment in a justice’s court, whether tbe same was rendered on default or after trial, may appeal therefrom to tbe district court of tbe county at any time within thirty days after tbe rendition of any final judgment. Notice of tbe entry of tbe judgment must be given to the losing party by tbe successful party either personally or by publication, and tbe time of appeal shall date from tbe service of said notice.”

[518]*518On the 18th day of September, 1912, the attorney for the plaintiff in the action in which judgment as aforesaid was entered wrote the attorneys for the defendant in said action in part as follows:

“Evans & Evans, Attys. Salt Lake City, Utah: In pursuance to the request of your Mr. P. 0. Evans at Wendover at a recent meeting we had there, I desire to say the case of Eite Candy Company, a corporation, which I represented as plaintiff against Tooele Meat & Storage Company, a corporation, in which you represented the defendant, before L. E. Framer, city justice of the peace of Tooele City, Tooele County, Utah, that judgment .was entered in said court in favor of the plaintiff and against the defendant on the 8th day of February, 1912, for the sum of $110.93, and for $5.20 costs. That an abstract of judgment was issued from said court and filed in the district court on the 13th day of May, 1912. Since that date there has been accruing costs in the sum of six dollars. The judgment, with interest to date, would be $188.35 and costs due would make a total due of $193.55.”

In addition to the foregoing the letter also stated that the plaintiff would discount the amount of the judgment twenty per cent, if paid. On the 21st of September, 1912, the attorneys for the defendant, in a letter to the attorney aforesaid, acknowledged receipt of the foregoing letter and informed him that they would consider the subject-matter of his letter later and would advise him further in the matter. ■■ Without further communication between the parties the attorneys for the defendant, on the 28th day of Ocober, 1912, attempted to appeal from the judgment aforesaid by serving the statutory notice of appeal. The transcript was accordingly sent to the district court, where counsel for the plaintiff in said action moved to dismiss the appeal upon the ground that it was not taken within the time required by the statute aforesaid. The district court received the letters aforesaid in evidence and granted said motion and dismissed said appeal, whereupon this proceeding to reinstate the same was commenced, as before stated.

[519]*519The only question presented for determination by the parties is whether the letter written by plaintiff’s attorney and received by defendant’s attorneys in the action aforesaid was a substantial compliance with the statutory provision we have quoted above respecting the giving of the notice of entry of judgment in the justice’s court. The district court held that the letter constituted sufficient notice of the entry of judgment in the justice’s court to set the time in motion within which an appeal must be taken, and in view that the notice of appeal was not served within thirty days after said notice was received and acknowledged by the attorneys for the defendant in said action that the appeal was not taken in time. The plaintiff herein contends that the letter did not constitute the notice contemplated by the statute, and hence was no better than if no notice had been given, and that therefore the appeal was taken in time.

1,2 We think the law is well settled that, where a statute requires notice to be given but is silent with respect to the manner of notification, written notice is understood. (29 Cyc. 1117.) The statute to which we have referred being silent with respect to the kind or character of notice that should be given, we shall assume, and so hold, that a notice in writing is contemplated. It must, however, also be kept in mind that the statute does not prescribe any particular form of notice, but all that is required is that “notice of the entry of judgment must be given to the losing party.” A substantial compliance with the statute in that regard is, we think, all that is necessary.

The law respecting notice is well stated, in 29 Oyc. 1117, in the following words:

“The general rule in respect to notices is that mere infor-malities do not vitiate them so long'as they do not mislead, and give the necessary information to the proper parties.”

[520]*5203 [519]*519Of course, where the statute prescribes a particular form of notice, then, as a general rule, the form required must be followed with reasonable strictness, as under such cir[520]*520cumstances tbe form may be regarded as matter of substance. But where tbe statute does not prescribe a form, tbe question ordinarily is whether tbe notice actually given constitutes a substantial compliance with tbe statute. If tbe notice required by tbe statute therefore emanates from an authentic source and is such as to apprise tbe party to be notified fully of tbe whole substance of tbe matters concerning which tbe statute requires notice to be given, tbe notice is ordinarily held sufficient. (Fry v. Bennett, 7 Abb. Prac. [N. Y.] 352.) See, also, 5 Words and Phrases, pp. 4842 to 4844.

4 We think tbe notice in this case fully measures up' to tbe foregoing requirements. Tbe court wherein the judgment was obtained and tbe names of tbe parties to tbe action were given, and tbe date of tbe judgment and tbe amount thereof, with costs, were clearly stated. We cannot see bow it can well be said that anything more could have been required in order to fully inform tbe defendant in that action of tbe entry of tbe judgment and tbe time when, and tbe amount for which, it was entered. From a mere inspection of tbe letter tbe defendant could prepare its notice of appeal, and this is certainly all tbe information that could be required. Counsel for tbe plaintiff herein, however, do not claim that tbe contents of tbe letter were insufficient as a notice of tbe entry of judgment; but what they do claim is that notice of that fact cannot be imparted or served in tbe form it was done. They contend that in order to constitute notice it must be a formal notice of tbe entry of judgment and nothing else. It seems to us that counsel’s own conduct shows that they deemed tbe notice sufficient in tbe form it was given. In attempting to take tbe appeal, so far as tbe record shows, they acted upon tbe notice only and upon nothing else.

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Bluebook (online)
136 P. 965, 43 Utah 515, 1913 Utah LEXIS 92, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tooele-meat-storage-co-v-morse-utah-1913.