Court Opinion

ID: 6466426
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2022-06-26 14:04:10.109823+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:53:40.581618
License: Public Domain

Prince, Chief Justice: This case is brought by writ of error from the second judicial district. It is an action of ejectment, and was originally commenced in Socorro county, where the property in question is situate, the declaration being filed October 16,1877. The defendant pleaded, March 14th, 1878, by W. L. Rynerson, Esq., his attorney, and afterwards, on the 15th of May, 1878, interposed another plea by Messrs. Conway & Risque. Thereupon issue was joined, and the case tried before a jury, May 17, 1878, resulting in a disagreement of the jury. Having been continued on motion and affidavit at the October, 1878, term, it came up for trial again on the 15th of May, 1879. On that day the record shows that a jury was called and sworn, and thereafter the plaintiff’s attorney, “ having opened his cause to the jury, and before any testimony had been introduced, the court having examined the said declaration in said cause, and being of the opinion, and so ruling, that the same was insufficient and void, for reason of the uncertainty in the description of the premises in question, the court directed a nonsuit to be entered in said cause, and the jury to be discharged.” “ To this opinion and ruling of the court, the plaintiff, by his counsel then and there objected and excepted.” The specific assignments of error are: 1. The court erred in directing a nonsuit without permitting the plaintiff to introduce any evidence. 2. The court erred in directing a nonsuit without the consent of the plaintiff. 3. The court erred in deciding on its own motion that plaintiff’s petition was insufficient. On the hearing of the appeal, quite elaborate arguments were made, and numerous authorities cited, for and against the proposition that the description of the land in the declaration was so vague and uncertain as to make the declaration defective, and, therefore, justify action in the court below. These questions, however, are not important if the court did not in any case have the power to direct a nonsuit without the consent of the plaintiff. That question is the primary one for consideration. The action of the court in directing the nonsuit on its own motion, after an examination of the declaration, was evidently based upon the 24th section of the Practice Act of 1851 (General Laws, p. 119), which reads as follows: “ When any matter is plead by either party, at any stage of the cause, within the time of pleading, it shall be the duty of the court, before the same is submitted to the jury, to consider and determine upon the sufficiency of the matter, whether excepted to or not.” In this particular case, not only had no objection been made by the defendant to the sufficiency of the declaration, but he had twice pleaded to it, and the case had been once already tried before a jury, on the pleadings so made up. The action, therefore, was entirely that of the court, as was altogether proper under this 24th section; and the question that arises is, whether the precise kind of action taken was correct under the law as existing here. This court, at its last session, in the case of Herrera, v. Chaves, ante, p. 86, decided that the district courts have no power in any case to order a peremptory nonsuit against the will of the plaintiff, basing that decision on the uniform rulings of the Supreme Court of the United States, in a long series of cases, from the time of Elmore v. Grimes & Beatie, 1 Peters, 468, to the present, and the fact that the decisions of that court are conclusive upon the courts of New Mexico so long as it remains a territory. It was contended on the argument herein by counsel for the defendant, that the line of decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States, and that of this court, in the case of Herrera v. Chaves, supra, only applied tocases arising under the common law, where there was no statutory regulation, and that the section above cited from the Practice Act of 1851 gave, by direct enactment of the legislature, this power to the courts in the cases included within its scope. The precise language of that section is, “ It shall be the duty of the court to consider and determine upon the sufficiency of the matter, whether excepted to or not.” The intention is, we think, to give the court the power, or, rather, to devolve upon it the duty of doing certain things of its own volition, which otherwise would only be done on motion or objection by a party, but not to give it authority to perform any act which it could not legally do in any other case, even on such motion or objection. It means that it shall be the duty of the court to do precisely as much on its own motion as it might do were the motion made by a party, and to do it in the same way. The most natural action of the defendant, on finding the plaintiff’s declaration defective, would be to demur, and we think the practical effect of this statute is to place every declaration in the same position before the court as if a demurrer had been filed against it. Whatever action the court could take, if such or any other appropriate course had been pursued by the defendant to bring in question the sufficiency of the declaration, it has the right, under that statute to take, without any suggestion or action by the defendant whatever, but no more. Section 26 of the same act (General Laws, p. 119), says: “ When legal exceptions are sustained, the opposite party shall have leave to :amend.” The most appropriate form of the action of the court would probably be in exact conformity with the statute, to enter its determination, that the matter in the declaration was insufficient, with leave to amend. But, at all events, it has no greater power to direct a non-suit in such a case, against the will of the plaintiff, than in a similar case where such action is directly asked by the opposing party by motion. This case was tried long before the adjudication in this court of the case of Herrera v. Chaves, supra, and at a time when, as the record shows, even the plaintiff’s counsel suggested and insisted that, for a proper cause it was correct practice at that stage of the case to direct and order a nonsuit; but this does not change the law, nor lessen the obligation of the decisions of the U. S. Supreme Court, by which we are bound so long as we are a territory. It may not be improper to add here that, were New Mexico a state, and, consequently, possessing independent power to settle its own practice, it is more than doubtful whether this court would have followed the decisions of the U. S. Supreme Court in this matter, rather than the preponderance of decisions in state courts, which conflict with it. Without considering it necessary to inquire into any of the other points involved in the case, we have to hold that it was error for the court below to direct a nonsuit against the will of the plaintiff. The judgment, therefore, is reversed, and the case remanded to the district court for a new triaL All concur.