Case Name: Glenn v. Killough
Court: Arkansas Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Arkansas
Decision Date: 1934-05-14
Citations: 189 Ark. 265
Docket Number: 
Parties: Glenn v. Killough.
Judges: 
Reporter: Arkansas Reports
Volume: 189
Pages: 265–284

Head Matter:
Glenn v. Killough.
Opinion delivered May 14, 1934.
Marvin P. Watkins, Charles Q. Kelly and Melbourne M. Martin, for petitioner.
Donham \& Fulk, for respondent.

Opinion:
Butler, J.
On the 7th day of February, 1934, Mrs. II. Y. Glenn filed a suit against Studebaker Corporation of America and others, the same being case No. 96 in the first division of the circuit court of Poinsett County, Arkansas, Subsequent to the filing of this suit, and after certain preliminary matt.ers were attempted to be had in the second division of the circuit court of that county, Mrs. Glenn filed her petition in this court for a peremptory writ of mandamus in which the Hon. Neil Killough, one of the judges of the circuit court of Poinsett County, was made respondent. The petition alleged the filing of the suit and, in effect, that on March 3, 1934, the defendants gave notice to the plaintiff that on March 5, 1934, there would be presented to the Poinsett Circuit Court defendants' petition and bond for the removal of said cause to the United States District Court; that said cir cuit court convened on March 5, 1934, in regular session, and on that date counsel representing the defendants appeared and announced that he desired to be heard upon the petition and bond for removal which he had on that day filed in said court, having given notice to opposing counsel of such intention; that thereupon the Hon. Neil Killough, the presiding judge, advised Marvin P. Watkins, one of counsel for plaintiff, and Martin Fulk, counsel for defendant, that he had no jurisdiction to take any steps in the cause pending in-the first division of the Poinsett 'County Circuit Court, which position was maintained by the court despite the insistence of Fulk that the court should rule upon his petition. Thereupon, the defendants, through said counsel, moved the court for permission to strike from the files of the cause the petition and bond for removal; that the court then directed the clerk to hand to the defendants' attorney said bond and petition, and, pursuant to defendants' motion, took his pen and struck the filing marks from said petition and bond and directed the clerk to permit the withdrawal of the same and surrendered them to defendants' counsel. The petitioner further alleged that the docket and record in said cause do not reflect the motion of the defendant Studebaker Corporation to strike said pleadings and for leave to withdraw their bond and petition for removal, nor do they reflect the order of the court made upon said motion. It is alleged that the motion aforesaid and the order of the court made pursuant thereto results in the entry of the general appearance of the defendants in that cause. The petitioner further alleged that, subsequent to the aforesaid proceedings, to-wit, on March 13, 1934, she presented to the Poinsett Circuit Court, still functioning in regular session, her motion to enter upon the docket in said cause its order made on March 5th permitting the defendants to withdraw the petition and bond for removal and to reflect upon the said docket that the order sought to be entered was made upon motion of defendants for leave to withdraw said petition and bond, and that the same were withdrawn and delivered to defendants ' counsel pursuant to his motion. The petitioner further alleged that the docket in the action failed to reflect the proceedings had by the defendants in said court and that she is entitled to have the facts reflected by the record and to have the Poinsett County Circuit Court take jurisdiction for the purpose of trial; that, while in regular session as aforesaid, she presented to the Hon. Neil Killough, presiding judge of the court and the respondent named in her petition, her motion for judgment by default in said case No. 96, being entitled thereto for the reason that more than twenty days had elapsed since the issuance of the summons and that defendants had appeared generally in the cause, and, having failed to file any pleadings, she was entitled to the judgment prayed and the impaneling of the jury to assess her damage; that said presiding judge refused to take jurisdiction in the cause and neither granted nor denied said motion, although, as above stated, petitioner was entitled to her judgment by default.
Petitioner further alleged that the said presiding judge refused to take jurisdiction in the premises and refused to make any order whatsoever on the motion filed by her, and "she therefore prays a peremptory writ of mandamus to require said Hon. Neil Killough, judge of the second judicial district and judge presiding over the Poinsett County Circuit Court, to enter the motion of defendants for leave to withdraw their bond and petition for removal to the United States District Court and the order of said court heretofore made permitting the withdrawal of said pleading's and to enter upon the docket in said cause No. 96, styled Mrs. H. Y. Glenn v. Studebaker Corporation of America et al., to the end that her cause of action may be properly heard in said Poinsett County Circuit Court"; and in the final prayer further relief was prayed "that this court direct the respondent herein, as judge presiding over said Poinsett County Circuit Court, to grant petitioner, as plaintiff below, in said cause a default judgment, and to require the said respondent herein to impanel a jury for the purpose of assessing plaintiff's damages; for costs and all other proper relief."
As an exhibit to the petition, the petitioner filed a copy of her motion for judgment by default made on March 13, 1934, and the vacation order made and signed on that date by the Hon. Neil Killough, the presiding judge. That order, signed by the judge, is as follows:
"At 9 o'clock a. m. on March 5,1934, the second division of the Poinsett County Circuit Court convened pursuant to statute, in regular session, at which time the business of said division of court was entered upon and the grand and petit jurors impaneled. At some time during the said day, Hon. Martin K. Fulk, of Little Rock, advised the undersigned as judge presiding at said court that he wished to be heard on a motion filed in the cause of Mrs. H. Y. Glenn v. Studebaker Corporation of America et al., number 96, then pending and docketed in the first division of the said Poinsett County Circuit Court, said motion being for a removal of said cause to the United .States District Court on the ground of diversity of citizenship and severability of causes; Mr. Fulk at that time advised the undersigned that he had filed his said petition and bond in proper form and had notified the Hon. Melbourne Martin, of Little Rock, opposing counsel, that the said petition for removal would be presented on that date. Mr. Melbourne Martin was not present in person, but it was stated by Hon. Marvin Watkins, of Harrisburg, that he, the said Mr. Watkins, was associated with Mr. Martin in the case, and that Mr. Martin could not be present on the said 5th day of March, but asked that the hearing on the petition be set for another day in the future, and suggested Friday of the same week. Mr. Fulk then stated that he had given proper notice to Mr. Martin and presented to the undersigned the said notice and objected to a continuance of the hearing. The undersigned then suggested to Mr. Watkins and Mr. Fulk that the first division of the Poinsett County Circuit Court was not in session, and that in his view the second division had no jurisdiction to take any step in a cause pending in the first division, unless said cause was transferred to the second division either by agreement of counsel on consent of the judge or court or by an order to that effect by the judge of the court, and that, if Mr. Martin had no objection to the transfer of said cause filed by him in the first division, it could and would be transferred, to the second division by agreement of counsel, and that the petition for removal could then be heard on the said Friday of the first week, or at any other time while the said second division was in session suitable and convenient to counsel. Mr. Watkins then stated that he was not authorized to say whether or not such transfer would be agreeable to Mr. Martin and could make no statement whatever about the matter. The discussion was then continued approximately two hours in order to enable Mr. Watkins to get in touch with Mr. Martin over the telephone. This he was unable to do. The matter wás then called up again by Mr. Fulk, and the undersigned advised Mr. Fulk that it was the universal practice in this district that civil canses should not stand for trial or disposition of any sort by the second division of the circuit court unless said canse had been originally filed in said second division, or unless they had been transferred, after filing, from the first division to the second division. The undersigned then suggested to Mr. Fulk that the apparent dilemma in which he was placed conld be solved by the removal of the petition, bond and notice from the files of the said first division of the Poinsett Circuit Court, and that under the circumstances the clerk would be directed by the undersigned to permit the said withdrawal of said papers. At that time the clerk had made no docket entry of any sort in regard to the filing of said papers, but the said papers were actually in the file of said cause No. 96, and had been stamped by the clerk with his filing stamp. Upon this suggestion being made and the statement to Mr. Fnlk, whether the undersigned was in error in that statement or not, that that would have the same effect as if the petition, bond and notices had not been filed at that time, Mr. Fulk did act upon the suggestion related to him, and the clerk, by direction of the undersigned, removed from said file and cause number 96, the said petition, bond and notice and delivered them to Mr. Fulk in the presence of the undersigned.
"Nothing else in this matter transpired until the 13th day of March, 1934, at which time the said second division of said circuit court was still in session. At that time Mr. Melbourne Martin, in person, presented his motion to enter the order of the court permitting defendant to withdraw upon its motion the petition and bond for removal to the Federal court, and this motion for default judgment in said cause number 96, at which time it first appeared that the clerk had entered on the civil docket in said cause the following notations:
" 'March 5-34. Petition for removal to Federal court filed. March 5-34. Bond for removal to Federal court filed. March 13-34. Motion to enter order of court permitting defendant to withdraw upon its motion the petition and bond for removing to Federal court filed. March 13-34. Motion for default judgment filed'; that none of said entries were made by the court or by the court's direction or by the undersigned.
"The said undersigned, being of the opinion that the second division of the Poinsett County Circuit Court now in session has no jurisdiction whatever in this civil case, and, under the circumstances outlined above, has refused to either sustain or deny the said motions filed by the plaintiff on this 13th day of March, 1934, as a court, but does, at the request of plaintiff's counsel, make this statement and explanation of his refusal in the form of a vacation order, and, for the reasons stated, refuses to take any jurisdiction of said cause. The defendants were not represented, either in person or by attorney, in any of these matters, except those outlined and detailed on the 5th day of March, 1934, nor was any notice given to defendant or counsel in regard to the motion to enter order or motion for default judgment. During all of the discussion had on this, the said 13th day of March, 1934, the plaintiff was present in person and by her attorneys, Hon. Melbourne Martin and Hon. Marvin Watkins, and also present Dr. A. L. Jobe, of Little Rock, a witness for the plaintiff.
"The clerk of the Poinsett County Circuit Court is directed to enter this order as a vacation order of the Poinsett County Circuit Court, First Division."
To this petition the respondent filed a response by his attorney, admitting the allegations of the petition except denying that the said petition and bond were with drawn from the files on motion of defendants' attorney in action No. 96, but alleged that the same were withdrawn on the initiative of the court for the reason that the case had been filed in the first division of the Poinsett Circuit Court, the division in which, pursuant to law, civil actions are due to be. filed, and it was the practice that such civil actions were not due to be disposed of by the second division of the court unless said cause had been originally filed therein, or unless it had been transferred after filing, from the first to the second division. The respondent denied that any action had been taken on the 5th of March, 1934, or any orders made, or any notations authorized by the court to be made on the docket or record thereof, and that none of the entries copied in the petition for mandamus were made by the court or by its direction or by the respondent as judge thereof; that it was the opinion of respondent that the second division of said circuit court had no jurisdiction in cause No. 96, and, under the circumstances set out, refused to sustain or deny the motions filed by the plaintiff on March 13, 1934, as a court, but made a written statement and explanation of his said refusal in the form of a vacation order which appears in the transcript.
Supporting this motion was the affidavit of Martin K. Fulk, the attorney, who appeared in the Poinsett Circuit Court on March 5, 1934, and supporting the petition is the affidavit of the deputy circuit clerk, which is in effect that the withdrawal of the bond and petition and their delivery to the defendants' counsel were made upon motion of said counsel.
The affidavits of Fulk and of the deputy circuit clerk are in conflict, but we think the facts are settled by the formal written findings of the presiding judge made and signed by him on March 13, 1934, which had been copied herein, and that these findings sustain the contention made by the respondent, to-wit, that the court refused to entertain the petition and bond for removal for the reason that the case was pending in the first division of the Poinsett Circuit Court, and that he, while presiding* over the second division of that court, had no jurisdiction to hear and determine any proceedings in cause No. 96 filed in the first division except in accordance with the procedure pointed out by the statute governing the practice in the second judicial circuit; that this practice was that, where a case was filed in one division, it might be transferred by the judge of that division to the other division, or might be heard by the judge of the division other than the one in which the cause was filed on consent of the parties. It also appears from the response and the written findings of fact made by Judge Killough that on March 5, 1934, both the plaintiff and defendants in cause No. 96 were present and represented in the court by counsel; that the court called the act governing the practice in that circuit to the attention of counsel and announced, upon the defendants' request that he hear the petition for removal, that he would do so if the plaintiff (petitioner) would agree that the cause be lifted from the first division and heard by him in the second division, but to this proposition plaintiff's counsel would not agree.
The majority of the court agree that the prayer of the petition should be denied for the following reasons :
1. The refusal of the plaintiff (petitioner) to agree that the cause be transferred from the First to the Second Division of the circuit court is the reason why this was not done and why Judge Killough did not proceed to determine the question presented by the petition and bond for removal and such as might subsequently follow, and that it would now present an anomalous situation for this court to mandamus the circuit judge and compel him to do those things on petitioner's request, which he would have done had the petitioner, in the first place, agreed that he might. The refusal of the court to take any action in the cause while presiding in the Second Division was brought about by the action of petitioner, herself, and she is therefore in no position to complain of the failure of the court to act, and for that reason her prayer for mandamus should be denied.
2. We judicially know that the court will sit in the First Division on May 14, 1934, and at that time petitioner's case No. 96 is due to be called for trial or other proceeding, whereas the Second Division over which Judge Killough presides (unless by agreement between himself and Judge Keck he presides over the First Division), will not be in session until a time subsequent to the convening of the court in its First Division. For these reasons whatever order this court might make would serve no useful purpose and courts are not called upon to do vain things. International Shoe Co. v. Wagner, 188 Ark. 59, 64 S. W. (2d) 82.
3. The majority are also agreed that the petitioner is not entitled to that part of the relief prayed which asks this court to direct the trial court to render a judgment in her behalf by default and to impanel a jury to assess her damage. The ground on which the prayer for this relief is based is that the defendants entered a general appearance when they filed their motion for leave to withdraw the petition and bond for removal from the files of the court for the. purpose of refiling in the First Division. In the first place, the finding of the presiding judge negatives this contention and clearly indicates that the filing marks on the petition and bond were stricken out and the papers returned to defendants' counsel on the court's initiative, and not by reason of any motion having been made for that purpose.
In the next place, if, under the circumstances narrated in the petition, response, and in the "vacation order" signed by Judge Killough, defendants had made the motion to withdraw their petition, it is certain that this was for the purpose of presenting it in the First Division, the one in which the cause was pending, their right to have the same heard in the Second Division having been denied without the agreement of plaintiff having been obtained, that agreement being refused by her counsel. So, all that was done was in furtherance of the assertion of the defendants' right to have the case removed, and it was for that purpose that all the proceedings were. had.
It is well settled that the filing of a petition to remove a cause from a State to a Federal court does not amount to the entry of a general appearance, and it is especially the case where, as in the case at bar, the peti tion recited that appearance was made only for the purpose of presenting the petition; and, as we have seen, if it be granted that the petition was withdrawn on defendants' motion, this was an act, in view of the position taken by Judge Killough, essential to secure a removal of the cause to the Federal court. The special purpose for which the petition was filed would still remain, during all the proceedings, to secure the relief prayed in the petition, and such proceedings would not amount to a general entry of appearance as contended by the petitioner. We have been cited to no authority to sustain her view, but the authorities cited by the respondent support our conclusion and comport with sound reason. In 4 C. J., § 34, p. 1344, the general doctrine is thus stated: "Where a petition for removal does not amount to a general appearance, a motion for leave to withdraw such petition is not a general appearance." As authority for the text the author cites the. case of Bryan v. Norfolk, etc. Ry. Co., 119 Tenn. 349, 104 S. W. 523. In that case the court notices the argument that the motion to withdraw the petition, not being in pursuance of any federal statute, was a voluntary abandonment of a right under that statute, and amounted to a voluntary appearance, and answered that argument thus: "We do not think this contention is sound. The defendant company, having the acknowledged right to make a special appearance for the purpose of filing a petition for the removal of the cause to the Federal court, might properly appear and withdraw that petition without being charged with a general appearance. It was at least an appearance for a special purpose, whether for the filing of the petition for removal in the first instance or the withdrawal of that petition in the. last instance." See also Flint v. Coffin, 176 Fed. 872; Coffin v. Flint, 217 U. S. 602, 30 S. Ct. 693.
Mr. Justice Smith, Mr. Justice McHaney and the writer are of the opinion that the petition should be denied, not only on the grounds stated above but for reasons which will appear in a concurring opinion. The Chief Justice, Justices Humphreys and Kirby dissent.
The writ is denied.