Western Indemnity Co. v. Kendall

233 P. 583, 27 Ariz. 342, 1925 Ariz. LEXIS 331
CourtArizona Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 17, 1925
DocketCivil No. 2209.
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 233 P. 583 (Western Indemnity Co. v. Kendall) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Arizona Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Western Indemnity Co. v. Kendall, 233 P. 583, 27 Ariz. 342, 1925 Ariz. LEXIS 331 (Ark. 1925).

Opinion

LOCKWOOD, J.

— On February 20, 1922, Edward Kendall, hereinafter called the plaintiff, secured judgment in the superior court of Maricopa county against Silver King of Arizona Mining Company, a corporation, for $20,000. On September 29th of the same year he caused a writ of garnishment to be issued on the judgment against Western Indemnity Company, a corporation, hereinafter called the defendant.

Defendant answered the writ denying generally any indebtedness to the Silver King Mining Company, on the twentieth day of October, 1922, and on the same date filed a petition for removal to the federal district court of Arizona. Plaintiff, on the 30th of October, demurred to the petition for removal, and on November 4th filed an affidavit and tendered issue controverting answer of garnishee, under the provisions of paragraph 1447, Bevised Statutes. of Arizona of 1913 (Oiv. Code). On the 14th of November it was stipulated defendant should have until the 24th of November to answer the tender of issue. The superior court sustained the demurrer of plaintiff to the petition for removal, and on the 17th of November defendant filed a certified copy of the record in the federal court, and on the 24th of November filed an answer to the tender of issue made by plaintiff in the said federal court, which was duly served on plaintiff’s attorneys. No an *345 swer, however, was filed in the superior court, and on the 25th. of November, at the request of plaintiff, the clerk of the superior court of Maricopa county-entered a default against defendant.

On December 9th the matter came on for hearing in the superior court, on the issue in garnishment. The court sent word to defendant’s counsel, C. R. Holton, Esq., of the hearing, and the latter was present in court through the entire proceeding. There was a general discussion between Mr. Holton, counsel for plaintiff, Judge Struckmeyer, and the court to which we will refer later. Evidence was offered and the court rendered judgment against the garnishee for $10,000.

On March 30, 1923, the United States District Court remanded the case to the superior court of Maricopa county, and the defendant moved to vacate the judgment of the superior court against it, and tendered an answer to the issue in garnishment. The superior court, on the 12th of June, 1923, denied said motion (annexing a condition that plaintiff remit a certain part of the judgment, which was duly done) on the ground the answer did not set up a meritorious defense to the balance of the judgment. Defendant appeals from the order denying the motion to vacate the judgment and set aside the default.

Plaintiff has moved to dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction in this court, on the ground that the superior court on June 12, 1923, when it made its order denying the motion to vacate the judgment, had lost jurisdiction of the proceedings under paragraph 600, Revised Statutes, of Arizona of 1913 (Civ. Code). He cites the case of Leeker v. Leeker, 23 Ariz. 170, 202 Pac. 397, recently decided by this court, and argues that if the superior court had no jurisdiction to order the judgment vacated, the *346 appeal does not lie from the refusal to make such an order. Counsel overlooked, however, that the superior court, at the time the motion was made, had such jurisdiction and only lost it, if at all, through the lapse of time. As was pointed out by us in Yutich v. Tovrea, 24 Ariz. 41, 206 Pac. 595, the effect of a failure or refusal to act on a motion for new trial was, as a matter of law, the overruling of the motion, and the court in that case considered the appeal as though from an order denying the new- trial. We think this an analogous situation.

If no appeal lay under these circumstances, the trial court, by neglect or refusal to act in the time provided by statute, could entirely prevent any appeal. If it had jurisdiction on the 12th of June, there was an appealable order made on that date. If it lost jurisdiction on the 9th of June by" flapse of time, the motion still being pending, was overruled in effect by operation of law, as of that date. The motion to dismiss the appeal is denied.

The first question raised on the appeal is whether the clerk has a right to enter a default on the failure of the garnishee to meet an issue tendered in garnishment proceedings. It is not necessary, however, that we pass on this point. Defendant had filed no answer and was in default, even though it had not been entered. Had the answer been filed even after default it could not have been disregarded. Pritchard v. Huntington, 16 Wis. 569. It would, however, have been stricken on motion. 31 Cyc. 633.

The court had called the case for trial, and defendant asked leave to file an answer. If the answer would have been stricken on motion had defendant actually filed it without leave of court, certainly, on objection by plaintiff, the court could in its discretion *347 refuse to receive it as it was not required to do a vain thing.

But, of course, it must be a judicial discretion and not an abuse thereof, when leave to file an answer after default is asked. Did the court abuse its discretion? It was asked by Mr. Holton that the default be set aside, and defendant be allowed to file an answer. Counsel for plaintiff agreed that this might be done, provided that defendant would waive its attempt at removal to the federal court. There was some argument back and forth, but it is very clear that plaintiff insisted, before defendant be allowed to answer in the superior court after its time had expired, it should waive any right to removal to the federal court. Defendant insisted with equal strenuosity that it would waive nothing on its right to removal, whereupon the court proceeded with a hearing of the case, and in effect denied leave to file answer unless the waiver was made. Was this an abuse of discretion? It will be noted that defendant was not asked to waive any rights whatever of defense, but was merely required to accept the state court as the forum where those rights should be adjudicated. The right of removal on the ground of diverse citizenship is granted by the federal statutes in a number of cases. It does not in any manner change the law upon which the case will be tided, the federal court enforcing the same rights that would be enforced in a state court.

When a petition is filed for removal, the state court loses 'jurisdiction of the case, provided that it is a proper subject of removal, and any order made by it thereafter, is void. Marshall v. Holmes, 141 U. S. 589, 35 L. Ed. 870, 12 Sup. Ct. Rep. 62 (see, also, Rose’s U. S. Notes).

If, however, it afterwards appears that it was not a proper cause for removal, and the matter is re- *348 mauded by the federal court, any act of the state court made in the interval is valid. Yankaus v. Feltenstein, 244 U. S. 127, 61 L. Ed. 1036, 37 Sup. Ct. Rep. 567.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
233 P. 583, 27 Ariz. 342, 1925 Ariz. LEXIS 331, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/western-indemnity-co-v-kendall-ariz-1925.