Court Opinion

ID: 9735272
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 18:07:40.519677+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:26:56.490804
License: Public Domain

STATON, Judge,
concurring
I concur with Judge Sullivan, but I would like to add some additional rationale which I have gleaned from my forty-five years as a lawyer and judge. If the commencement of an action at law were based solely upon the filing of the complaint, the wheels of justice would quickly become mired down and the judicial system ineffective as a means to settling disputes. Requiring the plaintiff to file a summons shifts the burden where it belongs. Initially, the plaintiff should move the complaint along in the judicial process to the extent that he can by providing the necessary complaint, summons and filing fee so that some further action can be taken by the court and the defendant. Otherwise, the proposed litigation could become stagnant. Clearing court dockets of old, unattended cases is an indispensable adjunct to the quality of justice. The tendency of practicing attorneys to give priority to new cases and immediate attention to inquiries from clients who have pending cases could result in attorneys pursuing a cause of action in segments -e.g. filing only the complaint. This result is especially likely where the location of defendants is in doubt and the number of defendants to be summoned undecided. The result would be a number of cases on the court docket in limbo and some cases developing a dilatory history.