Court Opinion

ID: 9539882
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 16:11:21.559126+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T14:59:26.676899
License: Public Domain

BISTLINE, Justice,
specially concurring.
Having joined Justice Johnson’s opinion I write to suggest that the lack of jurisdiction mentioned in Wayne v. Marquardt was, as it is here, in the power sense, i.e., the power or authority which was conferred upon the court to hear and determine a timely motion for a new trial. Although the district court, in the person of a district judge, if not otherwise disqualified, was cloaked with jurisdiction in rem and jurisdiction in personam, the statute (in Wayne v. Marquardt) and the rule (in this case) provided jurisdiction only within the time limits delineated.
Moreover, the particular district judge who granted the motion and vacated the judgment directed by this Court, had been timely disqualified from acting further in this case.
This Court’s remittitur was sent to the court below under date of 12 March, 1987, and copies were presumably mailed to the parties. On April 16, the plaintiffs filed and served their Motion for Disqualification, requesting that another judge be substituted in the place and stead of the judge who had presided in the trial which culminated in the appeal to this Court, S.Ct. No. 15580.
Under date of 14 May, 1987, an order was entered by Chief Justice Shepard which, after reciting the aforesaid disqualification, reassigned the O’Neil case, “First Judicial District, Kootenai County No. 34967, to the Administrative District Judge for the purpose of reassigning this case to a district judge in the First Judicial District, who has not before been disqualified in this action, etc.....”
The case was thereafter assigned to the Honorable James N. Judd for the disposition of any pending and further proceedings.
Thereafter, on the 8th day of May, 1987, the defendants moved for reconsideration of the order of automatic disqualification1 based on the grounds that said defendants “wanted” the disqualified judge to hear their motion for a new trial.
The administrative judge heard the motion for reconsideration on May 27, 1987. The court minutes of that date reflect in pertinent part: that the judge had made numerous contacts with the disqualified judge who had agreed to hear the case, with Court Administrator Bianchi, and with Judge Judd. Subsequently on June 17 a written order was presented for signature which contained language concluding that the disqualification was untimely within the meaning of IRCP 40(d)(1) as to a pending motion for new trial. The order was executed by the administrative judge, thus compelling the plaintiffs to argue against the motion before the judge whom they had disqualified, being the same judge who had ruled against them on the defendants’ motion for judgment N.O.Y. — which had precipitated the prior appeal.
*511Clearly there was no jurisdiction — in the power or authority sense — in any of the involved district judges to disregard the rule which allows a timely motion for automatic disqualification. Equally clear, the disqualification was not untimely.
Moreover, it was highly improper, as well as an excess of jurisdiction, to not comply with this Court’s aforesaid directive in the matter of the assignment of a judge. As a result the disqualified judge who was improperly reassigned to preside did not have jurisdiction to preside over the cause, over the parties, or to entertain the motion for a new trial, even had it been timely filed.

. The provisions of Rule 40(d)(1)(F) clearly allowed the plaintiffs to file a motion for disqualification without cause. The resultant order is automatic, and there is no right to move for reconsideration of an automatic (without cause stated) disqualification.