Opinion ID: 1924615
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Vacated Judgment.

Text: A. The State asserts that the order approving settlement left nothing upon which to base preclusion. Thompson and Stephenson argue that, while the order approving settlement stated that the ruling and judgment in the Stephenson case were to be vacated, the court had no jurisdiction to do so. They contend the requirements of Iowa Rules of Civil Procedure 252 and 253 are jurisdictional and must be strictly followed in order to confer power upon the court to vacate a judgment. Iowa Rule of Civil Procedure 252 provides the grounds for vacation of a judgment: Judgment vacated or modified grounds. Upon timely petition and notice under R.C.P. 253 the court may correct, vacate or modify a final judgment or order, or grant a new trial on any of the following grounds: (a) Mistake, neglect or omission of the clerk; (b) Irregularity or fraud practiced in obtaining the same; (c) Erroneous proceedings against a minor or person of unsound mind, when such errors or condition of mind do not appear in the record; (d) Death of a party before entry of the judgment or order, and its entry without substitution of his proper representative; (e) Unavoidable casualty or misfortune preventing the party from prosecuting or defending; (f) Material evidence, newly discovered, which could not with reasonable diligence have been discovered and produced at the trial, and was not discovered within the time for moving for new trial under R.C.P. 244. Rule 253 supplements rule 252 by establishing the procedure for vacation. It requires a petition for vacation, a notice, trial, and a supplemental judgment. Under rule 253, proceedings to vacate may be brought at any time within a year following entry of the judgment. It is conceded by the State that the requirements of rules 252 and 253 were not met in the earlier case but, it contends, those requirements were waived. Thompson and Stephenson respond with their argument that these requirements are jurisdictional and cannot be waived, citing Hammon v. Gilson, 227 Iowa 1366, 1374, 291 N.W. 448, 452 (1940) and Workman v. District Court of Delaware County, 222 Iowa 364, 367, 269 N.W. 27, 28 (1936). In those cases, however, the court had lost its jurisdiction following entry of the judgment and expiration of the time for post-trial motions. The parties' attempt to reassert the court's jurisdiction under those circumstances must be contrasted with the present case, where all parties, and the subject matter remained before the court, pending disposition of the post-trial motion. In vacating the judgment, the court's action here did not require a reassertion of jurisdiction of the person or subject matter under rules 252 and 253, as it was never lost. The order of vacation was actually more in the nature of a modification of the judgment, under rule 179(b). Any procedural irregularities were waived by the parties, who obtained the order they both sought. We conclude that the judgment was nullified by the court's order. We now consider the effect of that nullification on the application of issue preclusion. B. Stephenson asserts that the order of the court was nothing more than an approval of settlement, and even if the judgment was vacated, its underlying finding, that the State's negligence was the sole proximate cause of the accident, was not nullified. First, it must be noted that the court's order appeared to do more than merely approve the settlement; it vacated its ruling as well as its judgment. If the underlying findings, as well as the judgment were nullified, they could have no preclusive effect, because when a judgment is vacated or set aside, it ceases to be final. Restatement (Second) of the Law of Judgments § 13, at 132 comment f (1982). See also Staples v. Zinn, 302 Minn. 149, 151, 223 N.W.2d 415, 417 (1974); Merchants and Manufacturers Transfer Co. v. Johnson, 55 Tenn.App. 537, 540, 403 S.W.2d 106, 107 (1966); 46 Am.Jur.2d Judgments § 465, at 632-33 (1969); 50 C.J.S. Judgments § 625, at 50-51 (1947). Second, even if we assumed the court's underlying fact findings survived the vacation of the judgment, for purposes of issue preclusion, it is doubtful we should apply it here. The concept of issue preclusion is based upon practical considerations, on the one hand, a desire not to deprive a litigant of an adequate day in court; on the other hand, a desire to prevent repetitious litigation of what is essentially the same dispute. Restatement (Second) of the Law of Judgments, § 27, at 252. Accord, Kempkes, Issue Preclusion: Park Lane Hosiery v. Shore Revisited, 31 Drake L.Rev. 111, 112-13 (1981); see also A. Vestal, Res Judicata/Preclusion V-7 to V-12 (1969). Even if we were to apply issue preclusion as to the State's negligence in this case, there are other issues which would have to be litigated, including the contributing negligence, of the plaintiff. [1] Under our recent case of Goetzman v. Wichern, 327 N.W.2d 742, 754 (Iowa 1982), the State's negligence would have to be examined in any event, to weigh it against a negligence of the plaintiff under the doctrine of comparative negligence. There would be little, if any, saving of judicial resources if we were to apply issue preclusion here. We conclude the district court erred in applying the doctrine of issue preclusion. REVERSED AND REMANDED.