No. 12387 

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MONTANA 

1973 

FARMERS STATE BANK OF CONRAD, 

A Montana banking corporation, 

Plaintiff and Respondent, 

CARL 0. IVERSON, et al, 

Defendants 

and 

RALPH BOW and MRS. RALPH BOUMA, 

Petitioners and Appellants. 

Appeal from: District Court of the Ninth Judicial District, 

Honorable R. D. McPhillips, Judge presiding. 

Counsel of Record: 

For Appellants : 

Dale L. Keil and Gale R. Gustafson argued, Conrad, 

Montana. 

For Respondent: 

Church, Harris, Johnson and Williams, Great Falls, 

Montana. 

C. S. McCracken argued, Great Falls, Montana. 

Swanberg, Koby and Swanberg, Great Falls, Montana. 

Raymond F. Koby argued, Great Falls, Montana. 

Dzivi, Conklin, Johnson and Nybo, Great Falls, Montana. 

James W. Johnson argued, Great Falls, Montana. 

Submitted: March 27, 1973 

Decided: MBY - 3 197~ ,a 

Filed : MAY - 3 ?37:] 
Hon. Edward T. Dussault, district judge, sitting in place of 

Mr. Chief Justice James T. Harrison. 

This is an appeal from an order of the district court 

of Pondera County made August 29, 1972, striking the motion 

of petitioners and appellants to set aside the district court 

judgment of October 2, 1967. 

To fully understand this appeal a brief review of the 

long litigation involving four separate cases in Pondera County 

is appropriate at this point. 

It all began in August 1965, when the Farmers State 

Bank of Conrad, plaintiff and respondent herein, filed its 

complaint in cause No. 7779 in the ninth judicial district, 

County of Pondera, to collect on several notes totaling in excess of $104,000 given to it by Carl 0. Iverson and others, 

defendants herein, said notes being secured by stock of Larry 

C. Iverson, Inc., a Montana corporation. This corporation then 

had assets in land and chattels in Pondera and adjacent counties, 

in excess of a million dollars, but had considerable other indebtedness not pertinent to this discussion. 

Extensive proceedings followed resulting in a sheriff's 

sale of the pledged corporate stock to plaintiff and a judgment 

for plaintiff on October 2, 1967, by the district court approving the sale of the stock, although it allowed the corporation 

to prevent a forfeiture of its stock if its terms of its August 

22, 1966 "purchase of indebtedness" agreement made in open court 

were complied with by October 10, 1967. This compliance never 

occurred so the judgment became final. 

From this judgment an appeal to this Court was taken by 

defendants but never perfected. 

Up to this point it is to be noted that petitioners and 

appellants were - not parties to this litigation, nor in any other 

causes of action being Nos. 8073 and 8221, Pondera County, both 
of which involve the appointment of a receiver for the Carl 0. 

Iverson Corporation and operation of the corporate properties. 

There is a cause of action however in which petitioners 

and appellants are involved as defendants, and that is cause 

No. 8509, Pondera County, wherein the receiver of the Carl 0. 

Iverson Corporation is seeking to have set aside a "contract 

for deed" executed on July 17, 1968 by purported officers of 

the corporation as seller to the petitioners as buyers, and a 

"farm operation" agreement between the corporation and petitioners and appellants dated June 16, 1967. 

Now going back to the original action, cause No. 7779, 

from which this appeal found its beginning. 

Commencing with July 1972, petitioners and appellants 

began filing in this proceeding certain documents now known as 

"Bouma papers". These papers consist of an affidavit of disqualification, petition to set aside judgment of October 2, 

1967, motion for stay of proceedings, affidavit, application for 

oral hearing on motion, motion for advisory jury, brief in support of motion, motion to strike nonparties post-judgment, statement for the record and brief in support of motion to stay proceedings, all filed pro se. 

On August 29, 1972 the district court entered its order, 

filed August 30, 1972, finding: 

"all of said filings of said Ralph and Mrs. 

Ralph Bouma in said cause are frivolous, 

entirely without merit, and that Ralph Bouma 

and Mrs. Ralph Bouma are not entitled to any 

relief of whatever nature in said cause, and 

are strangers into said cause without any right 

whatever to be heard or otherwise participate 

therein; 

"NOW THEREFORE * * * 

"* * * they are hereby stricken from the above 

entitled cause as frivolous". 
From this order petitioners and appellants have 

appealed to this Court and from the date of filing the notice 

of appeal, September 12, 1972, are finally, publicly and openly 

represented by counsel. 

We have experienced little difficulty in finding that 

the trial court was correct and we so hold. 

From a careful review of the three district court files 

we fail to find that petitioners and appellants ever filed 

appropriate papers seeking to intervene in any case in which 

they now say they are "interested parties". 

Rule 32 of the Montana Rules of Appellate Civil Procedure provides: 

"If the Supreme Court is satisfied from the 

record and the presentation of the appeal, 

that the same was taken without substantial or 

reasonable grounds, but apparently for purposes 

of delay, only, such damages may be assessed 

on determination thereof as under the circumstances are deemed proper". 

We have previously held that frivolous appeals will not 

be condoned and to dissuade such practice, damages may be assessed. 

We refer to Weinheimer v. Scott, 143 Mont. 243, 388 P.2d 790, and 

St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co. v. Thompson, 150 Mont. 182, 433 

P.2d 795. 

As a restraint on the activities of petitioners and 

appellants, we hereby assess damages of $1,000 upon them, to be 

paid to the plaintiff and respondent within one month after filing 

of remittitur in the trial court. 

In addition we must comment on the "back door" attempt 

by petitioners and appellants to introduce extraneous evidence 

in these proceedings by attaching Appendix "A" , "B" and "C" to 

their brief on appeal. Said appendices being affidavits of 

appellant Ralph Bouma, to which are attached photostatic copies 
of certain citations and orders in causes 8073 and 8221, 

Pondera County, referred to previously. 

We strongly condemn this practice by counsel for appellants and use this occasion to warn other parties to future 

appeals that this practice will not be tolerated. 

The appeal is dismissed as frivolous. 

Hon. Edward T. Dussault, district 

judge, sitting in place of Mr. 

Chief Justice James T. Harrison. 

We concur: 

/' Associate Justices 1