Opinion ID: 1151568
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Question for Determination.

Text: Assuming that the order of the trial court, directing plaintiffs to return the metal building to the premises or in the alternative to furnish a bond, is void, do plaintiffs have an adequate remedy by writ of error directed to a judgment which the trial court might hereinafter enter in connection with the proceedings in contempt for their failure to comply with the said order? The question is answered in the affirmative. Whether the order of the trial court is a final judgment to which a writ of error will lie we need not determine. If, as contended by plaintiffs, the order is void, they have a right to treat it as a nullity and refuse to comply with it. It could only be enforced by proceedings in contempt, and any judgment of the trial court entered therein unquestionably would be subject to review in our Court by writ of error. The general rule is that, a writ in the nature of prohibition is an extraordinary remedy and should be granted only in cases where the party seeking the writ does not have an adequate remedy by writ of error. McCoy v. District Court of Larimer County, 126 Colo. 32, 246 P.2d 619; People ex rel. Barnum v. District Court of the Fourteenth District, 74 Colo. 48, 218 P. 912. The rule thus stated is flexible and our Court has indulged a wide discretion in cases where relief in the nature of prohibition has been sought. As pointed out in Shore v. District Court, 127 Colo. 487, 258 P.2d 485, 488, `Each case must rest upon its own peculiar facts, and the court should be guided, in the exercise of its discretion, by the needs and deserts of the case in hand.' In the case at bar plaintiffs have treated the questionable order of the trial court as a nullity. A casual understanding of their position in that connection leads to the impression that it has considerable merit. Although a citation for contempt was issued by the respondent judge, he did not sign the order of which complaint is made. We cannot assume that the trial court will commit error by entering a judgment for contempt by which plaintiffs would be punished for failure to obey a void order. In the contempt proceedings instituted by plaintiffs in the district court action, the validity of the questioned order can be challenged and defendants in that action will be afforded full opportunity to justify their failure or refusal to comply therewith. If, by any judgment entered by the trial court in those proceedings, the tenants feel aggrieved, their remedy by writ of error is speedy and altogether adequate for the protection of their rights, and there is no occasion for invoking the original jurisdiction of this Court. Accordingly, the rule to show cause is discharged.