Court Opinion

ID: 9548797
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 18:08:49.558756+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:19:26.085282
License: Public Domain

CARMODY, Chief Justice (dissenting). I must dissent from the majority opinion. It is a glaring example of the truth of the saying that “hard cases make bad law.” It is also a striking illustration of an appellate court attempting to do what it feels is substantial justice as distinguished from correcting errors. We have a relatively simple case involving a contract between the parties. The rights, duties and obligations of the parties, alone are concerned. No interest of the Indians can be affected by this decision and I fail to see how the rescission or nonre-scission of the contract contains any question of a general public nature affecting the interest of the state. Neither party requested findings nor conclusions, and the court made none. In an almost unbroken line of cases, this court has plainly held that, absent a request for findings and conclusions, a general judgment will be sustained. See Carlisle v. Walker, 1943, 47 N.M. 83, 136 P.2d 479; Teaver v. Miller, 1949, 53 N.M. 345, 208 P.2d 156; Gilmore v. Baldwin, 1955, 59 N.M. 51, 278 P.2d 790; Scuderi v. Moore, 1955, 59 N.M. 352, 284 P.2d 672; Owensby v. Nesbitt, 1956, 61 N.M. 3, 293 P.2d 652; In re Guardianship of Caffo, 1961, 69 N.M. 320, 366 P.2d 848; and Gillit v. Theatre Enterprises, Inc., 1962, 71 N.M. 31, 375 P.2d 580; and cf. Edington v. Alba, 1964, 74 N.M. 263, 392 P.2d 675. It is of interest that Gilmore v. Baldwin, supra, was decided upon a motion to dismiss at the close of plaintiffs case, just as occurred in the instant case. The majority in this case, however, have remanded with instructions to vacate the judgment, make findings and conclusions, and to enter a new judgment. They rely heavily upon Prater v. Holloway, 1945, 49 N.M. 353, 164 P.2d 378, in support of their position. In my view, even Prater, which stands alone among our many decisions, does not support what the majority have done here. In Prater, contrary to the instant case, the court did make findings of ultimate facts in the judgment itself, as distinguished from setting them forth in a separate instrument denominated a decision as required by Rule 52(B) (a) (§ 21-1-1 (52) (B) (a)). That opinion there discussed the failure to state the findings separately; to state findings separately from conclusions ; to separately number each and to include them all in a separate instruction as required by the rule. The remand there was to solely make findings and conclusions as required by the rule and return them to this court. Prater did not reverse the judgment with permission to reopen the case. .In my view, Prater only contemplated the preparation of the decision, i. e., the findings and conclusions separately stated and in a single instrument, and its return to this court. The majority in the instant case go much farther and reverse the decision itself, and direct a reconsideration of the entire case. Reliance is placed upon Boswell v. Rio De Oro Uranium Mines, Inc., 1961, 68 N.M. 457, 362 P.2d 991, as supporting the majority’s remand. Boswell, however, was limited to the proposition that this court could supply a single finding of fact necessary to support the judgment when that fact was evidenced by uncontroverted documentary evidence. In any event, the majority opinion plainly discloses that Boswell has no application to the instant case. Neither Boswell, nor the cases cited as examples justifying remand for findings, are any support for the decision today announced. I have no fault to find with the majority’s quotations from Sage v. Hampe, 1914, 235 U.S. 99, 35 S.Ct. 94, 59 L.Ed. 147, but that decision is applicable only where the court has before it facts by which to base a determination of law. Here, there are no facts; therefore, there is nothing for the court to consider. By its decision today, the majority have, in effect, determined that subsection (7) of Rule 52(B) (a) should take precedence over subsection (6), the over-all result that even though findings are waived under subsection (6), this court will, nevertheless, principally, on the equities, render decisions on the merits. The function of the Supreme Court is to review the action of the lower court, Mountain View Corporation v. Horne, 1964, 74 N.M. 540, 541, 395 P.2d 676, not to rectify errors of counsel under the guise of promoting the speedy determination of litigation. We require compliance with the rules of procedure by attorneys and by the trial courts. I feel that this court should ignore neither our rules nor the precedent of our former decisions in an effort to arrive at what might seem to be an equitable result in a simple case. Our system of jurisprudence is based upon stability by following the precedent of the decided cases until we are convinced that those cases should be overruled. The exception in Sais v. City Electric Co., 1920, 26 N.M. 66, 188 P. 1110, is not applicable in the instant case because that exception has only been applied to certain facts found to exist. Here, we have no facts and under our rules, we are not permitted to examine the evidence or determine the facts. The majority have cited no case nor have I been able to discover one in which the Sais exception has been applied where the true facts have not been determined. For the reasons given, I must respectfully dissent from the opinion announced by the majority.