Opinion ID: 2171880
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Continuance Order.

Text: The plaintiff filed her suit in April, 1981. In November, 1981, she took the defendant's deposition. During the deposition, the defendant refused to answer a question about why she had been crying just prior to the collision. (The plaintiff claims this matter bore on the defendant's state of mind at the time of the incident.) When the defendant refused to answer, the deposition ended. The plaintiff obtained an order under rule of civil procedure 134(a) to compel discovery, but the defendant continued to refuse. While sanctions under rule 134(b) were available to enforce the court's order, the plaintiff chose not to use them. The plaintiff again moved for a continuance during the trial, this time to deal with testimony by the defendant that a sticky accelerator had caused the accident. She argues that this evidence caught her by surprise. The rule is that [a] continuance may be allowed for any cause not growing out of the fault or negligence of the applicant, which satisfies the court that substantial justice will be more nearly obtained. It shall be allowed if all parties so agree and the court approves. Iowa R.Civ.P. 183(a). A ruling on a motion for continuance rests in the sound discretion of the trial court. Michael v. Harrison County Rural Electric Cooperative, 292 N.W.2d 417, 419 (Iowa 1980). A district court's ruling on such matters is presumptively correct, and a party challenging the ruling has a heavy burden to overcome the presumption. Id. Under rule 183(a), the reason for seeking a continuance must not grow out of the fault or negligence of the applicant. In this case, we believe the court was justified in concluding that the circumstances did not fit the requirements of that rule. The lawsuit had been on file for over three years. The plaintiff had adequate opportunities to obtain discovery or seek sanctions to deal with the defendant's failure to comply. The plaintiff rationalizes her failure to pursue sanctions on the basis that the defendant's insurance carrier might claim lack of cooperation by their insured and therefore deny indemnity on any judgment which the plaintiff might obtain against her. We doubt that such a fear could ever rise to the level of excusing a party's failure to pursue the remedies of our discovery rules. In any event, the argument lacks persuasiveness here. The plaintiff candidly admitted she had expected the defendant not to appear for trial and had planned to take a default judgment against her. A total default would have been the ultimate failure to cooperate. The district court was also well within the scope of its discretion when it denied the continuance motion based on the surprise testimony by the defendant. This evidence could have been discovered prior to trial by routine discovery procedures. This was not a case of the defendant's refusal to answer. When the deposition of the defendant hit a snag over the question about her crying, the plaintiff apparently abandoned all other areas of inquiry. Under these circumstances, the plaintiff should not be permitted to claim surprise when confronted by the evidence of the sticky accelerator. We affirm the trial court on the continuance issues.