Court Opinion

ID: 9529187
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 03:48:36.559357+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:27:42.264897
License: Public Domain

Hennessey, C.J.
(concurring). I concur, but I add that I have some apprehension that the result here may be misinterpreted by some lawyers and litigants. The trial judges have (and must have) broad discretion in dealing with requests for continuances in civil proceedings. Dismissal may well be called for, when a litigant’s course of action has been unreasonable, and the order for dismissal by a judge of the trial court should ordinarily have finality. The court here calls for restraint by judges in ordering dismissals: “Involuntary dismissal is a drastic sanction which should be utilized only in extreme situations.” ante at 128. My view is that the appellate court must show similiar restraint in contemplating reversal of an order of dismissal. I add that I think the court’s opinion is consistent with my thoughts: “in the unusual circumstances of this case . . . the motion for continuance should have been allowed” (emphasis supplied) ante at 129.