Walker v. Walker

28 Ga. 140
CourtSupreme Court of Georgia
DecidedMarch 15, 1859
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 28 Ga. 140 (Walker v. Walker) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Walker v. Walker, 28 Ga. 140 (Ga. 1859).

Opinion

By the Court.

Benning, J.,

delivering the opinion.

The first question is, was the judgment right, rendered on the motion to enter the award on the minutes of the court, and to make it the judgment of the court ? This question depends on the force of the objections to the award.

Those objections were numerous ; the more important of them will be first considered. These may be reduced to three.

1. That N. F. Walker did not have “timely notice” of the meeting at which the umpire acted ; and that in the absence of him and his counsel, the counsel of the opposite party were heard.

[148]*1482. That the award was on a condition.

3. That the award was incomplete, being silent as to the demands set up against N. F. Walker, individually.

What was the force of the first of these objections? This question obviously involves several others. These I will take up in their order.

First, then, was N. F. Walker, entitled to a notice of the meeting, at which the umpire acted.

1. It is a general rule of the common law that the parties are entitled to notice of the meetings of the arbitrators. Anon. 1, Salk. 71. Watson on Arb. 171-2. Russ, on Arb, 191, 169. Indeed, that this proposition is true, was not disputed.

And if it be true that the parties are entitled to notice of the meetings of the arbitrators, it must be equally true that they are entitled to notice of the sittings of the umpire. “The umpire when called upon to act, is in general invested with the same powers as the arbitrators, and bound by the same rules, and has to perform the same duties.” Russ. Arb., 230. In re Salkeld and Slatio, 12, Ad. and Ellis, 767, 4 Dall. 232.

Is there any thing to take the present case out of the common law rule ? Have the pai’ties agreed to dispense with the1 rule ? There is no evidence that they have. There is nothing in the submission to show that they have. The submission is silent on the subject. Its language is, “the parties having closed, the arbitrators assisted, if need be, by an umpire- chosen as aforesaid, shall proceed to make an award within thirty days after the cause is finally submitted to them.” This language is somewhat peculiar. It is not this — the parties having closed, the arbitrators shall make their award within thirty days afterwards, but it is this — the parties having closed, the arbitrators shall make their award within thirty days after the cause is finally submitted to them. Here is room for an implication, that closing the cause by the par[149]*149ties, was not finally submitting it to tbe arbitrators, but was only submitting it to them subject to be resumed if ail umpire was called in. And if there is room for that implication, a regard to justice and propriety requires us to make the implication. If it is just and proper that the parties should be heard by the arbitrators, it can be but just and proper that they should be heard by the umpire. Perhaps, then, it is too much to say, as I have said, that the submission is silent on the point; perhaps, wc ought rather to say that the submission itself speaks by implication, and declares that the parties were to have an opportunity of re-opening the case before the umpire — if one was called in — and, consequently, that they were to have notice of his being called in, and of the time and place of his sitting.

"We think, then, that N. F. 'Walker ivas entitled to notice.

To what sort of notice was he entitled ?

1. There is nothing in the submission on this question. For the solution of the question, therefore, we must resort to the common law ; and that says, in such a case as this, merely what it says in so m,any other similar cases, that the notice must be a reasonable or “timely” notice.

Was the notice in this case a reasonable notice ?

The sitting of the umpire was on the 10th of January, 1857, at Macon. On the 7th of January, 1857, one of the arbitrators, Mr. Stubbs, putin the postofB.ee at’Macon, three letters, one to Mr. Gibson, one to Mr. Greene, who were the counsel of N. F. Walker, and one to Walker himself, properly addressed, in which letters he stated that an umpire had been selected, “to meet and hear the cause, at 12 M., on Saturday the 10th January, 1857, at Macon.” Walker resided in Upson county, at a place about forty miles from Macon, and not near to any rail road. He never received the letter to him. Gibson resided within a mile of Barnesville, a place forty miles [150]*150from Macon, bnt on a railroad. He did not receive hi letter till the 9th of January, at 9 o’clock, A. M.; which was, after the passenger train for Macon had passed by Barnesville. In the afternoon of that day, he replied to* the letter by a freight train, and this is what he said:

“It is both morally and physically impossible for either Mr. "Walker, or his counsel, to be with you, so early as tomorrow, M.; and in behalf of my client, I must beg you will allow him to be heard. Monday we cannot go, on account of Upson adjourned court.” This was duly received; and was read by the arbitrators and the umpire* before the hour of meeting the next day.

Mr. Greene resided in Thomaston, twenty miles from Barnesville. He received his letter, not until the day of the meeting, and after the hour of the meeting. There was a daily mail between Thomaston and Barnesville.

Was such a notice as this a reasonable notice? Surely not, unless there was in the case something peculiar to render it so. And it was argued that there were special matters in the case, which were sufficient to render the notice reasonable. Those matters may be thus stated. The submission contained this stipulation : “and the parties and arbitrators shall so direct the case, as to have the award ready to be entered on the minutes of Upson Superior Court*, at the” next November term, “if possible.” That term was adjourned to Monday the 12th day of January, 1857, two days after the day appointed for the session of the umpire. The disagreement of the two arbitrator’s, and the consequent appointment of an umpire, did not happen until the 7th day of January, 1857. These were the special matters ; and the argument was, that the arbitrators and the umpire were bound by the submission> to make up the award on Saturday the 10th of January, so that they might return it to the court, which was to meet the next Monday; and, consequently, that both, with respect to the notice given, and to the day appoint[151]*151ed. for the umpire’s session, the arbitrators and the umpire did the very best that it was in their power to do. But we do not think it true, that the arbitrators and the umpire were thus bound by the submission. They were to return the award to that term, “if possible.” But what wTas meant by “if possible ”? that they were to so return it, even if in doing so, they would have to violate law— have to disregard a principle so important, as the one which makes reasonable notice of a judicial proceeding, a pre-requisite, to a binding judgment in that proceeding?

Besides, this part of the submission is to be construed with the part which allowed the arbitrators thirty days to make their award in, after the case was “finally submitted to them.” .

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28 Ga. 140, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/walker-v-walker-ga-1859.