Opinion ID: 2013429
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: demurrer as proper pleading

Text: On appeal, Shirley asserts that a demurrer is not a proper pleading in response to a petition filed pursuant to § 60-503 and that as a consequence, the district court erred in considering Neth's demurrer to his petition. The thrust of Shirley's argument is that an action brought under § 60-503 is akin to an appeal, to which a demurrer is inappropriate. We reject Shirley's claim and conclude that a demurrer is allowed as a responsive pleading to a petition filed under § 60-503. Section 60-503(1) provides: Any person aggrieved by an order or act of the department under the Motor Vehicle Safety Responsibility Act may, within thirty days after notice thereof, file a petition in the district court of the county where the aggrieved person resides, but in the event the aggrieved person is a nonresident, then such petition shall be filed in the district court of Lancaster County for a review thereof. The filing of such petition shall suspend the order or act pending a final determination of the review. The license or registration of any person claiming to be aggrieved shall not be restored to such person in the event the final judgment of a court finds against such person until the full time of revocation as fixed by the department shall have elapsed. The court shall summarily hear the petition as a case in equity without a jury and may make any appropriate order or decree. (Emphasis supplied.) Although § 60-503 provides that the district court shall summarily hear the petition, as a matter of statutory interpretation, we conclude that the explicit provision in § 60-503 that a petition filed pursuant to that section is to be heard as a case in equity and the further provision that the court may make any appropriate order or decree, taken together, indicate that a case brought under § 60-503 is not a summary proceeding. A case brought in equity presupposes a civil action. See Neb.Rev.Stat. § 25-101 (Reissue 1995). In considering the process under § 60-503, we have stated that a petitioner proceeding under § 60-503 is afforded an opportunity to present evidence and cross-examine witnesses at the hearing held in the district court. Wollenburg v. Conrad, 246 Neb. 666, 671, 522 N.W.2d 408, 412 (1994). Because an action brought on by a petition under § 60-503 is to be heard as a case in equity, including the opportunity to present evidence and to cross examine witnesses, the process to be followed under § 60-503 is that applicable to civil actions. Neb.Rev.Stat. § 25-803 (Reissue 1995) provides that in civil actions, including cases in equity, [t]he only pleadings allowed are (1) the petition by the plaintiff; (2) the answer or demurrer by the defendant; (3) the demurrer or reply by the plaintiff; and (4) the demurrer to the reply by the defendant. We further note that Neb.Rev.Stat. § 25-806 (Reissue 1995) provides: The defendant may demur to the petition only when it appears on its face (1) that the court has no jurisdiction of the person of the defendant or the subject of the action; (2) that the plaintiff has not legal capacity to sue; (3) that there is another action pending between the same parties for the same cause; (4) that there is a defect of parties, plaintiff or defendant; (5) that several causes of action are improperly joined; or (6) that the petition does not state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action. Taking §§ 25-803 and 25-806 together, it is clear that a demurrer is a proper responsive pleading to a civil action, including one brought as a case in equity under § 60-503, and that the grounds for a demurrer listed in § 25-806 may be raised against a petition filed pursuant to § 60-503. Because petitions filed pursuant to § 60-503 are to be heard as civil cases in equity and because the challenges that may be raised by demurrer may be raised against a petition filed pursuant to § 60-503, we conclude that a demurrer is a permissible responsive pleading to a petition filed pursuant to § 60-503. We therefore conclude that the district court did not err in considering the demurrer filed by Neth, and we reject Shirley's first assignment of error.