Court Opinion

ID: 9853299
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 05:46:03.251975+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:22:44.754580
License: Public Domain

On Petition for Rehearing
On petition for rehearing it appears that the principal grounds relied upon are, that the American Legion Posts of Rolette County and some of the individual county commissioners, named as the members of the Board of County Commissioners in the Notice of Appeal, are aggrieved by the judgment herein, and are therefore entitled to appeal therefrom on the merits.
The parties in the Notice of Appeal, dated May 20, 1957, are described as, John B. Hart, plaintiff v. Clarence Bye, Arthur Lindbo, Walter Tastad, Bennie Haagenson and Edward Jollie, as the Board of County Commissioners of Rolette County. It is evident that this action was tried against the Board of County Commissioners, as such, and not against the named commissioners individually, and it is further evident that none of the American Legion Posts of Rolette County are named in such notice, nor were they parties of record in the action in the District Court which rendered judgment herein.
The American Legion Posts, nor any of them, not being parties of record, neither representatives nor privies of a party of record, have no right of appeal from such judgment in the absence of a statute giving them such right. North Dakota has no such statute but, on the contrary, the statutes on appeal do not authorize one who is not such a party of record to appeal. Sections 28-2703, 28-2704, 28-2705, and 28-2708, N.D.R.C.1943. Guenther v. Funk, 67 N.D. 543, 274 N.W. 839, 112 A.L.R. 428; Chicago, B. & Q. R. Co. v. Board of Supervisors, 206 Iowa 488, 221 N.W. 223.
The Board of County Commissioners must act collectively at a duly called and held meeting. The county is not bound by any action taken by a commissioner or commissioners acting individually. Rolette State Bank v. Rolette County, 56 N.D. 571, 218 N.W. 637; Rolette State Bank v. Rolette County, 55 N.D. 377, 213 N.W. 848; State ex rel. Kopriva v. Larson, 48 N.D. 1144, 189 N.W. 626; Rockingham County v. Luten Bridge Co., 4 Cir., 35 F.2d 301, 66 A.L.R. 735.
Nor has an individual County Commissioner a right of appeal in an action brought against the Board of County Commissioners, such attempted appeal being a nullity. State ex rel. Erb v. Sweaas, 98 Minn. 17, 107 N.W. 404; Rockingham County v. Luten Bridge Co., supra.
Upon the original hearing on the motion for dismissal of the appeal, the contention was that the Board of County Commission*639ers of Rolette County was the appellant, but the said Board having- acquiesced in the judgment of the District Court, the appeal was dismissed.
In the petition for rehearing, it is urged that the individual county commissioners and the American Legion Posts or Rolette County, being aggrieved by the judgment of the District Court, are proper parties to the appeal and entitled to be heard on the merits. These contentions are untenable, for the reason that, one not a party of record in the District Court or, a county commissioner in his individual capacity, is not a proper party to an appeal from a judgment of the District Court against a Board of County Commissioners. There is no appeal herein.
The petition for rehearing is denied.
•GRIMSON, C. J., and BURKE, SATHRE and MORRIS, JJ., concur.
JOHNSON, J., deeming himself disqualified did not participate.
MARK H. AMUNDSON, District Judge, sitting in his stead.