Court Opinion

ID: 9785556
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-30 22:12:08.48967+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:36:29.294600
License: Public Domain

Greene, J.,
concurring: I write separately only to emphasize my concern regarding the practice of the trial court adopting verbatim the proposed findings of one party. Although the majority opinion cites only Ortiz v. Biscanin, 34 Kan. App. 2d 445, 455, 122 P.3d 365 (2004), I believe there is a more widespread body of law discouraging this practice.
In Stone v. City of Kiowa, 263 Kan. 502, 506, 950 P.2d 1305 (1997), our Supreme Court recognized that adopting a party’s findings and conclusions in their entirety “ ‘is the sort of shorthand that would be susceptible to abuse’ ” and “ ‘not a practice to be encouraged.’ ” In LDF Food Group, Inc. v. Liberty Mut. Fire Ins. Co., 36 Kan. App. 2d 853, 146 P.3d 1088 (2006), rev. denied 283 Kan. 931 (2007), our court noted that heightened scrutiny on appeal of any findings made through this practice might be appropriate, and that “[(Independent consideration and judgment in determining findings and conclusions in deciding summary judgment motions are the essence of the judicial function and should not be delegated to counsel,” citing Sierra Club, Lone Star Chap. v. Cedar Point Oil, 73 F.3d 546, 574 (5th Cir. 1996).
I agree that the record supports the findings made here, but I stress that verbatim adoption of one party’s proposed findings without any assurance of an independent review of the record is clearly not the better practice and may invite heightened scrutiny of such findings on appeal.