Court Opinion

ID: 9529431
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 03:50:46.713988+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:27:47.005375
License: Public Domain

Submitted on plaintiff-respondent’s objection to defendants’-appellants’ cost bill.
BRAND, J.
The defendants-appellants having prevailed upon their appeal have filed a cost bill to which the plaintiff-respondent makes objections. Defendants assert a claim for $10.08 paid to the railway express agency for transportation of the documents to this court. The objection to this item is sustained. Menefee v. Blitz, 181 Or 100, 143, 179 P2d 550.
Objection is made to the allowance of the amount of $103.90 paid to a surety company for the undertaking on appeal for two years. It was necessary that the stay-bond filed by the appellants should be sufficient to cover the amount of the judgment below plus a reasonable sum to cover costs and disbursements in this court in the event that the appeal should be unsuccessful. The amount of the judgment below was $2,597.30 plus costs and disbursements in the amount of $66.15. We think it was reasonable that the bond should have included an additional sum of $500.00 to cover possible liability for costs and disbursements in this court. Appellants were entitled to secure a bond for the amount of $2,597.30 plus $66.15 plus $500.00. The sum of the three items is $3,163.45. They are entitled to charge one per cent a year upon that amount for two years, or a total of $63.26. The item claimed in the cost bill is $103.90. The objections thereto are *259sustained and that item is retaxed at $63.26. Barbour v. Johnson, 201 Or 375, 270 P2d 633; ORS 747.100. The cost bill contains an item of $158.00 for the expense of printing the Abstract of Record to which objection is made upon the ground that 46 pages of the Abstract of Record contain matter which had no proper place in the Abstract.
Because of the importance of this matter to the legal profession we will express our opinion as to the specific objections.
The answer of the defendants Nagel and Lee is reproduced in the Abstract. Motion for judgment on the pleadings was granted by the trial court as to the defendant Nagel and the case against Lee was dismissed for want of jurisdiction, he being a minor without a guardian. No appeal was taken by the plaintiff and neither Nagel nor Lee were parties to the appellate proceedings. The answer had no place in the Abstract.
One page of the Abstract is consumed in setting forth the verification of the answer and the certificate of service therefor. The insertion of this matter was improper. The Abstract sets forth the text of the alias summons and the return of service of the sheriff showing service upon Lee and Brown. Both defendants had appeared and answered. It was improper to encumber the record with this matter. A “Trial Summary” made by the trial court was included in the Abstract. This also was unnecessary.
The Abstract sets forth verbatim the original complaint as well as the amended complaint. The text of the original complaint was in this case unnecessary for a full understanding of the questions for decision. It was improperly included in the Abstract. Albert v. Salem, 39 Or 466, 65 P 1068, 66 P 233. The Abstract sets forth a subpoena and return of service on the de*260fendant Nagel which had no place in the printed Abstract. The instructions requested by defendants Nagel and Lee were improperly included in the printed Abstract. “The Memorandum of Law” had no proper place in the Abstract of Eecord. Two letters to the trial judge which referred to a motion in arrest of judgment and to the withdrawal thereof were improperly included in the Abstract. A motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict was set forth. The motion was not well taken, but we think it was not inserted with frivolous intent. An affidavit of counsel supporting the motion for judgment n.o.v. contains a narrative of events at the trial which could be ascertained from the pleadings and transcript of evidence. The affidavit was improperly included in the Abstract.
In an effort to aid the court, two pages of alleged “errata” in the transcript were set forth in the Abstract. The difficulty is that this court was bound by the certified transcript. The errors might perhaps have been suggested in the briefs if they were apparently typographical, but the errata had no place in the Abstract. The Abstract contains the text of “supplemental instructions” requested by Brown and Eoyce and a photostatic copy of clerk’s entries before appeal. Neither of these matters belong in the printed Abstract, but no objection was made to their inclusion.
The last objection to the cost bill is directed against the printing in the brief of 10 pages thereof which are addressed to the third assignment of error. It is asserted that the matter presented was frivolous. The contentions made were certainly not well taken, but we believe they were made in good faith. The same is true concerning three pages of the brief which were directed to the ninth assignment of error. We find that *261at least 41 pages o.f the printed Abstract contain matter which was improperly included therein.
The claim of expense in printing the Abstract should be reduced by the sum of $82.00. Costs are retaxed as follows:
Trial Fee..............................................................$ 6.00
Clerk’s Fees, appearance.................................. 20.00
Prevailing Costs ................................................ 15.00
Transcript & Abstract on Appeal, paid court clerk .............................:.................................. 20.65
Transcript of Testimony (paid to Charles Goodale-Waits, reporter) .............. 182.10
Premium (paid St. Paul-Mercury) on Undertaking on Appeal, 2 yrs. at $31.63.............. 63.26
Printing required:
Abstract of Eecord, 38 pp incl. index and cover at $2.00 .......................................... 76.00
Appellants ’ Brief, 71 pp in all.......................... 142.00
Eeply Brief, 30 pp in all.................................... 60.00
$585.01
This is a suitable occasion to call attention to the rule of this court as adopted 31 March 1954 and which provides that the printed abstract shall contain
“so much of the matters of record referred to in section 3 of this rule as may be necessary to a full understanding of the questions presented for decision * * *. Care should be exercised to eliminate averments and other matter immaterial to an adequate understanding of the cause. A copy of the circuit court’s opinion may be printed in the abstract. If this be not done either party may include a copy of the opinion in his brief as an appendix thereto.”