Court Opinion

ID: 9705227
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 01:00:14.549403+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:22:09.070911
License: Public Domain

PEDERSON, Justice,
concurring specially-
The majority opinion points out one of the contract terms (General Conditions, Supplementary Conditions and Modifications, 0104, Section 8) which provides, in part, that claims for damages by either party against the other “shall be adjusted by agreement or arbitration.” Although much of Section 8 is ambiguous, the quoted portion clearly is not. The school district chose to proceed to seek adjustment of its claim in the district court and Linfoot made no objection thereto. Nonetheless, we should not ignore a specific and unambiguous provision that was agreed upon when the contract was executed.
If this issue had been raised I would not have reached any result different than that reached by the majority because the disposi-tive question is entirely one of law and not of fact. It is my position that the judiciary cannot be deprived of jurisdiction to decide legal questions by reason of an agreement between parties or by an enactment of the Legislature. See my dissent in West Fargo Public Sch. Dist. v. West Fargo Ed., 259 N.W.2d 612 (N.D.1977).