Court Opinion

ID: 9524877
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 02:58:03.448348+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:12:12.457372
License: Public Domain

PEDERSON, Justice,
concurring specialty-
This case illustrates that which can occur when Rule 52(a), N.D.R.Civ.P., is given less than complete application, first in the trial court and then in this court. Unless the trial judge and all trial counsel have a clear understanding of the fact issues to be tried before trial starts, it is quite likely that the introduction of testimony to support a necessary finding will be overlooked.
When no evidence is introduced by the lawyers to support a necessary finding of fact, what in the world is the trial judge to do? Naturally, he cannot make that necessary finding. Then when the case is before this court and a required finding is missing and there is no evidence to support the finding, we cannot remand for the making of an appropriate finding of fact pursuant to Rule 35, N.D.R.App.P., as we recently did in Martin v. Martin, 304 N.W.2d 697 (N.D.1981).
Under these circumstances, because we are seeking justice for the parties, we are forced into a further dilution of Rule 52(a), which I think the majority opinion does here, by making it appear that the trial judge must have erroneously excluded evidence and, accordingly, the matter must be remanded for a further evidentiary hearing.