Court Opinion

ID: 9448764
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-03 23:44:33.035928+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:31:23.655431
License: Public Domain

McLAUGHLIN, Circuit Judge
(dissenting).
The setting aside of the judgment in this case was an abuse of discretion and arbitrary. Therefore it is appealable. Tozer v. Charles A. Krause Milling Co., 189 F.2d 242 (3 Cir. 1951).
The complaint in the suit was filed June 6, 1960. The summons was served June 7, 1960. After service, an attorney saying he represented the defendant telephoned plaintiff’s attorney and asked him for an extension of time to answer. Plaintiff’s attorney said he would agree to any reasonable extension of time. The other attorney sent a letter to plaintiff’s attorney saying he would have an order prepared “to be executed by the Court and signed by you, the early part of the Week beginning June 20, 1960.” This was not done and no answer or other pleadings were filed on behalf of the defendant. The case appeared on the trial list for December 29, 1960. The district court clerk advised the defendant of this and that the case would be called for trial in January or February of 1961. The clerk told defendant there was no appearance entered for it and suggested it obtain counsel.
Plaintiff’s attorney was notified by the clerk that the action would be tried during the week of February 13, 1961. On that date, almost eight months from the inception of suit, plaintiff had a default judgment entered. Notice of that was mailed defendant by the clerk. There were no further proceedings until six months later when execution was issued. It was only after that, on September 8, 1961, that the attorney entered an appearance on behalf of the defendant and moved to vacate the judgment.
Thereafter there was informal argument on the motion before the court. There was no testimony. That procedure was directly contrary to the district court rule which required the motion to be assigned to the next session of the particu*76lar branch of the court. The judge stated, “I think counsel for the defendant was grossly. derelict in duty in not complying with the provisions of law as they exist in the United States Courts.” He further said'“Should the Court exercise discretion and grant relief where a defendant flagrantly fails to comply with the rules of this Court and flagrantly pays no attention to letters that go out from the Clerk of Court and a default judgment is entered?” Then he vacated the judgment on the condition that the plaintiff’s attorney be paid $750. On September 13, 1961 an order setting aside the judgment on that term was entered “For the reasons set forth in hearing held September 12, 1961, * * * ”. A check was thereafter sent plaintiff’s attorney which he refused to accept and returned to defendant’s attorney.1 On September 26, 1961 plaintiff appealed from the order reopening the judgment. The original record of the litigation was mailed by the district court clerk to this court for filing. On November 13, 1961 while the case was on appeal to this court the district judge entered an order in the matter postponing a pretrial conference. In that order the court said, “ * * * it was my judgment that the interests of justice required that said default judgment be lifted.” This was the first and only time such reason was assigned by the court to its order of more than a month previous.
On the bare statement of what actually happened there was both such abuse of discretion and arbitrary conduct on the part of the trial court “that the interests of justice” call for the reversal of the reopening of the judgment in question. This is no snap judgment which is before us. A most reputable attorney waited fifteen months before taking any final steps in the cause. The court found the other side guilty of gross negligence. It never accorded plaintiff an opportunity to protect his judgment but brushing aside its own salutary rule, peremptorily set aside the judgment and after that when the case was in this court on appeal ascribed as the reason for so doing “that the interests of justice required that said default judgment should be lifted.” Under the facts the district court order cannot be fairly sustained.

. After the Judgment of the district court was affirmed by this court, on January 16, 1962, defendant’s attorney again sent the check to plaintiff’s attorney saying “Now in the light of the U.S. Court of Appeals action vacating the Judgment against us, I am returning herewith the heretofore mentioned check pursuant to Judge Gourley’s original order.” On March 9, 1962, this court vacated its Judgment above mentioned and relisted the appeal for argument which was had May 15, 1962. Plaintiff’s attorney retained the check pending disposition of this appeal until July 26, 1962, on which date he again returned it to defendant’s attorney.