Court Opinion

ID: 9674549
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 04:30:27.344179+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:16:28.101625
License: Public Domain

John I. Purtle, Justice, concurring in part and dissenting in part. I agree with the conclusion by the majority that the ruling by the chancellor refusing to grant the appellants an extension of time “was both erroneous and an abuse of discretion.” However, I dissent in the most vigorous way possible from the holding that the denial of the petition for certiorari precludes an appeal on the merits of the case. This decision does a great injustice to the appellate process and denies equal protection and due process to these appellants. I think the majority misunderstands the decision in Bertig Bros. v. Independent Gin Co., 147 Ark. 581, 228 S.W. 392 (1921). If the majority is correct in its interpretation of Bertig Bros., we should overrule it at this time. This ancient decision should not require this court to put form over substance by denying these litigants their right to an appeal. Although Bertig Bros, is not quite 200 years old, it is as archaic as Lord Mansfield’s Rule. Bertig Bros, appealed a trial court decision to the Arkansas Supreme Court and obtained a reversal. Prior to the mandate being issued by this court, the parties waived the filing of the mandate in the trial court and tried the case a second time. This judgment also went against Bertig Bros. They appealed from the second judgment by certiorari questioning the judgment entered at the second trial on the grounds that the trial court was without jurisdiction to try the case because the mandate had not been received by the trial court. This court held the judgment was valid and in a supplemental opinion stated: It has always been the practice in this court where the record of the trial court is brought before us on certiorari which questions only the jurisdiction of that court, either to quash the judgment if it appears that the court has no jurisdiction, or to affirm it if the court had jurisdiction. Obviously the court had the record of the trial before it when the Bertig Bros, opinion was rendered. The decision simply held that the judgment entered in the trial court was jurisdictionally valid because “[t]he waiver [of the filing of the mandate] itself presupposes that the Supreme Court had entered the judgment of reversal and ordered a remand of the cause for further proceedings.” In the case before us we not only did not review the record (because it was not completed), we did not review even the facial validity of the judgment because there was no record of the judgment to review. The Bertig Bros, opinion further stated: Certiorari can not ordinarily be used as a substitute for appeal, but the aggrieved party has the election to test the validity of the judgment on its face, either by appeal or by certiorari; and if he adopts the latter remedy, he cannot afterwards resort to the former, for it is the duty of an appellate court, if it is found that a judgment is not void, to affirm it, which cuts off any further review by appeal. I agree that certiorari can not ordinarily be used as a substitute for appeal. However, I cannot agree with the proposition that the appellants, having elected to seek certiorari, cannot now appeal the judgment on its merits. I must point out that when we denied the petition for certiorari in the present case there was no record before us and therefore no judgment before us to review. Thus the statements in Bertig Bros, are not applicable to the present appeal. Moreover, under the rationale of the present decision, a party who petitions this court for a writ of prohibition, which petition also questions the jurisdiction of a trial court, cannot later appeal the trial court’s judgment on the merits if the petition is denied. Implicit in this court’s denial of the petition for writ of certiorari was the fact that the writ is indeed discretionary and the assumption that the appellants had a remedy by appeal. The majority fail to recognize the purpose of a writ of certiorari. In State v. Nelson, Berry Petroleum Co., 246 Ark. 210, 438 S.W.2d 33 (1969), we held that certiorari was available in the exercise of this court’s superintending control over inferior courts which are proceeding illegally where there is no other adequate mode of review. Am. Jur. 2d defines certiorari as a writ issued by a superior to an inferior court requiring the return of the record and proceedings in order that the record may be revised and corrected in matters of law. 14 Am. Jur. 2d Certiorari § 1. The majority opinion denies the appellants their right of review on the merits by appeal. We have many times held that an aggrieved party is entitled to one fair appellate review. This decision violates the basic concepts of fundamental fairness and equal protection of the laws. Our system of justice guarantees an aggrieved party the right to appeal the decision of a trial court. The decision of this court in this case denies these litigants this fundamental right essentially because their attorney used the wrong label on their request for relief from the ruling of the trial court; in other words, he “elected” the “wrong remedy.” Certiorari having already been denied, the effect of the decision today is that the appellants have no remedy at all.