Court Opinion

ID: 9563535
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 18:41:19.762599+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:17:54.079838
License: Public Domain

*341Broweting, President,
dissenting:
I respectfully but firmly disagree with the majority of this Court, believing that the majority has unnecessarily complicated a simple issue. The pertinent rules, 59 (b) and 5 (d) are pari materia, the former clearly providing that a motion for a new trial shall be served within ten days after entry of a judgment and the latter just as clearly providing that a copy thereof sháll be filed “with the court within a reasonable time” thereafter; and that there shall be “endorsed on or appended to” such paper “either a certificate of the attorney or the party that the paper was served in the manner prescribed by this rule or a certificate of acceptance of service by the attorney or party to be served.” (Italics supplied.) The filing of a copy of the motion in the clerk’s .office before service was alleged to have been had upon opposing counsel and, five months thereafter, appending to such motion an alleged certificate of service does not in any manner comply with the mandatory requirements of the pertinent rules. Therefore, inasmuch as no valid motion for a new trial was made within the prescribed period neither the court of common pleas nor the intermediate appellate court had jurisdiction to take any action in this case subsequent to the expiration of the statutory four months period except to hold, as a matter of law, that it was without jurisdiction to further consider the case.
In view of the fact that the pertinent rules were not complied with as a matter of law, I would not reach the factual issue of whether, within ten days after entry of judgment, one of the attorneys for the defendants served one of the attorneys for the plaintiff with a motion for a new trial, by mail. However, I shall briefly comment upon certain statements contained in the majority opinion lest by silence I might now or hereafter be accused of giving my consent to, or approval of, those statements.
I do not believe the criticism of the able and highly respected trial judge to the effect that “it is most unfortunate and regrettable that the trial judge did not state more specifically either in his letter opinion or in a court order, in what respect, in his judgment, the defendants *342failed to comply with R. C. P. 59 (b).” is justified. By the hundreds, yes, the thousands, have cases come to this Court on appeal and writ of error in which there was no opinion by the trial court and no specific reason assigned for the court’s decision in the final order. As stated in the majority opinion the written opinion of the trial judge is a part of the record in this case. It states that the trial court had lost jurisdiction to entertain such motion inasmuch as “defendants failed to comply with the provisions of Rule 59 (b) of the Rules of Civil Procedure. . . .” That rule clearly and succinctly provides that “A motion for a new trial shall be served not later than 10 days after the entry of the judgment.” The' trial judge meant what he clearly said, that defendants had not in any manner provided by the Rules served a motion on plaintiff for a new trial within ten days after January 11, 1963, the date of the entry of final judgment in his court.
There can be no criticism of the four points of the syllabus as statements of abstract principles of law but when applied to the facts in this case some, at least, are not applicable. This is the third point of the syllabus: “A certificate of an attorney made pursuant to R. C. P. 5 (d), stating that a motion for a new trial was served, pursuant to R. C. P. 5 (b), by mailing a copy of such motion to opposing counsel, will be regarded in law as a •prima facie showing of the truth of the matters stated in such certificate.” It assumes the timely mailing of a copy of the motion when that was the very question at issue in this case. In the majority opinion it is stated that “the certificate or return of service” must be regarded as a prima facie showing of the truth of matters therein stated and it must be accepted “as proof of the truth” thereof “until the prima facie showing is overcome by competent proof to the contrary”. How could such fact be refuted if a party or his attorney came forward with a copy of a letter properly addressed and dated within the ten day period, in which it was stated that a copy of a motion for a new trial was enclosed, if not by the evidence and circumstances presented here. If it cannot be refuted by facts from which reasonable inferences can *343be drawn or circumstantial evidence, then this Court has laid down a rule which makes such allegation not a prima facie showing but an irrebuttable presumption that in practice can never be overcome by proof to the contrary.
While, of course, it cannot be considered here, plaintiff, in answer to certain affidavits lodged or filed with this Court by the defendants in connection with their application for rehearing, filed the affidavit of the trial judge to the effect that one of counsel for defendants had stated in open court when the question of service of the motion within the ten day period was first raised, that “it was not necessary that a motion for a new trial be served upon opposing counsel and that he did not have to serve plaintiff’s counsel with anything”. This was a factor which, though we may not consider it because it is improperly before us at this time, the trial judge could properly have considered, the same as he may judge of the demeanor and credibility of a witness in a case tried by him without a jury, and if there is sufficient record evidence to support his finding we will not disturb it even though we do not have before us all of the factors of the case which entered into his decision.
I am of the opinion, as three other members of this Court were initially, that there was evidence before the trial judge which, in my opinion, was sufficient to support his holding that the ten day statutory period for giving notice of his request for a new trial was not complied with. The record shows that this matter was discussed with the trial court and that these statements were made which he could consider in arriving at his decision: the final order in this case was entered on January 11, 1963, and the motion to set aside the judgment was filed in the clerk’s office on January 18; on June 24, 1963, three attorneys for the plaintiff and three for the defendants appeared before the trial judge and the court reporter’s record of the proceedings appear on page 613 of the record as follows: One of counsel for the plaintiff stated that “. . . we feel that the Court can not properly consider their motion for a new trial because of their failure to comply with Rules 59 (b) and 5 (d) and that the motion is not properly before this Court.” Another of counsel for the plaintiff stated that “. . . I don’t *344know why counsel [for defendant] would want the Court to rule on the merits of the case and when there is a motion as to whether or not the Court has a right to consider.” After the trial judge inquired if one of counsel for the defendants had on the 19th day of January written a letter to one of counsel for the plaintiff containing a copy of the motion for a new trial, “after your motion was filed in the clerk’s office, and no certificate was appended to the motion showing you had served plaintiff with a copy. . .” one of counsel for the defendants confirmed the fact but stated that he had “since filed an affidavit in the clerk’s office” confirming the mailing of the letter and a copy of the motion to counsel for plaintiff. Thereafter one of counsel for the defendants stated that he had had numerous discussions with counsel for plaintiff with regard to getting a date for hearing on the motion and he finally secured the agreement of one of counsel for the plaintiff to hold a hearing on the motion for a new trial on April 6, 1963, at which time the motion was heard and argued; that on June third a conference was held with counsel for the plaintiff and for “the first time” one of counsel for the plaintiff said that “he had not been served with this notice of this motion and, therefore, the Court had no jurisdiction to consider the motion”. The record further shows that on the very next day following that statement, or June 4, a certificate of service averring service of the motion approximately five months before was “lodged” in the clerk’s office. On the same day, June 24,1963, the following colloquy occurred between counsel in the presence of the trial judge: One of counsel for the plaintiff stated that counsel for the defendants had informed counsel for the plaintiff that “. . . he didn’t have to serve any motion”. When counsel for the plaintiff reminded the attorney for the defendant that the latter had told him that it was not necessary to serve notice of motion for a new trial upon opposing counsel, the defense counsel replied, “Whether I said it was necessary or not ... I mailed to you a copy of this motion and this order on January 19, 1963.”
It is my opinion that a factual question under these circumstances was presented for determination by the trial *345judge as to whether opposing counsel had been served with a copy of the notice for a new trial and, of course, if he had not, that being jurisdictional, the defendants are out of court.
Upon the rehearing of this case, counsel for the defendants requested that this case be remanded to the trial court for the purpose of taking evidence upon the crucial issue of jurisdiction and cited many cases that they considered applicable decided by this Court in which such remand had been ordered. It is my opinion that, assuming that the majority of the Court was correct in finding that jurisdiction was a question of fact and that there is insufficient evidence to support the trial corut’s finding that it was without jurisdiction, there should have been a remand so that the trial judge and counsel for the plaintiff and the defendants might, under oath, give their respective versions of what transpired subsequent to January 11, 1963, when final judgment was entered, so that the jurisdictional question might be determined.
In retrospect, I am sure that this severely and permanently injured plaintiff would have difficulty comprehending the vagaries of the judiciary. The trial judge ruled that the defendants were out of court for the reasons heretofore stated and the able and distinguished judge of the intermediate appellate court, the Circuit Court of Kanawha County, affirmed that finding. This Court granted an appeal, heard arguments and read the briefs of the many counsel in this case and solemnly came to a decision for the plaintiff by a four to one majority [the writer would have affirmed as a matter of law] that there was sufficient evidence to support the factual finding that the trial court had no jurisdiction of the motion to set aside the verdict and grant a new trial. A rehearing was requested and granted, the case was again considered and this time, again by a four to one majority, this Court held that there was no evidence upon which the judgment of the trial court could have been entered.
For the reasons hereinbefore stated, I would affirm the ruling of the trial judge and the intermediate appellate judge.