Opinion ID: 886152
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: issues

Text: ¶ 8 Does § 3-1-804(1)(c), MCA, preclude a joined party from substituting a district court judge, without cause, after the time period for the original parties to substitute has expired? ¶ 9 PPL cites Challinor v. Glacier Nat'l Bank (1994), 266 Mont. 396, 399, 880 P.2d 1327, 1328, for the proposition that Montana law entitles each adverse party in a civil or criminal case to one substitution of a district court judge. PPL also argues that § 3-1-804(1)(c), MCA, allows a party named in a summons to move for substitution of the district court judge within thirty days of the date on which it is served with that summons. PPL contends that the statutory exclusion from the right of substitution pertains only to voluntary intervenors. PPL insists that it did not enter the litigation voluntarily, it was subsequently named in and served with a summons, and it filed a motion to substitute within thirty days of receiving such service. Accordingly, PPL requests that we reverse the District Court's order. ¶ 10 A court's function, when construing a statute, is to ascertain what it provides, not to insert what has been omitted or to omit what has been inserted. Section 1-2-101, MCA. Further, statutory language must be construed according to its plain meaning and, if the language is clear and unambiguous, no further interpretation is required. Infinity Ins. Co. v. Dodson, 2000 MT 287, ¶ 46, 302 Mont. 209, ¶ 46, 14 P.3d 487, ¶ 46. Finally, we must endeavor to avoid any statutory construction that renders any sections of the statute superfluous and does not give effect to all of the words used. State v. Berger (1993), 259 Mont. 364, 367, 856 P.2d 552, 554. ¶ 11 Section 3-1-804, MCA, pertaining to the substitution of district court judges, provides as follows: 1. A motion for substitution of a district judge may be made by any party to a proceeding only in the manner set forth herein. In a civil or criminal case, each adverse party, including the state, is entitled to one substitution of a district judge. .... (c) When a judge is assigned to a cause for 30 consecutive days after service of a summons, or 10 consecutive days after service of an order to show cause, information or other initiating document, and no motion for substitution of judge has been filed within said time period, the plaintiff or the party filing the order, information or other initiating document, and the party upon whom service has been made shall no longer have a right of substitution. Any party named in a summons who is subsequently served shall have 30 consecutive days after such service in which to move for a substitution of judge.... After the time period shall have run as to the original parties to the proceeding, no party who is joined or intervenes thereafter shall have any right of substitution, except that one third party defendant who is not an original party in any pending case may have a right of one substitution within 30 consecutive days after the service upon the third party defendant of a third party complaint. ¶ 12 Each party relies on a different provision in § 3-1-804(1)(c), MCA. PPL relies on the provision that [a]ny party named in a summons who is subsequently served shall have 30 consecutive days after such service in which to move for a substitution of judge. Conversely, Plaintiffs contend that PPL did not file a timely motion because [a]fter the time period shall have run as to the original parties to the proceeding, no party who is joined or intervenes thereafter shall have any right of substitution.... It is undisputed that PPL was not an original party and that the time had run for the original parties by the time PPL moved to substitute. ¶ 13 If read separately, the provisions are arguably inconsistent. However, when read together their meaning is clear. We cannot apply them separately but must arrive at a statutory construction which gives effect to all of the words used. When considered in its entirety, § 3-1-804(1)(c), MCA, clearly provides that parties originally named in a summons have thirty days, following service, within which to file a motion for substitution, but that after the time has expired for the original parties to do so, no parties who were not originally named in the summons may move to substitute. Although this issue was not presented by either case, to the extent that language in Challinor and Taylor v. Matejovsky (1993), 261 Mont. 514, 863 P.2d 1022, infers that each adverse party in a civil case is entitled to one substitution of a district court judge, without cause, we hereby clarify and limit those statements by our holding in this case. ¶ 14 Accordingly, § 3-1-804(1)(c), MCA, effectively affords an original party thirty days, from the service of summons, to move for substitution of the district judge. Once the time expires for the original parties to move for substitution, subsequently joined parties may not do so. Section 3-1-804(1)(c), MCA, does reserve the right of third party defendants to file a motion for substitution following expiration of the original parties' time. However, that provision is not before us. ¶ 15 Because PPL is a subsequently joined party to the action and the time for the original parties to file a motion for substitution, without cause, had expired, we hold that § 3-1-804(1)(c), MCA, precluded PPL from moving to substitute the District Court Judge and, therefore, affirm the court's denial of its motion to do so.