Childers v. Baird
Childers v. Baird
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the court.
This writ of error is to review a judgment dismissing the petitioner’s appeal from the County to the District Court and affirming the judgment of the County Court. The motion therefor contains eleven different grounds. As the court did not state the one or more on which it was sustained, we will consider the tw;o urged to be well taken. They are that the appeal bond was not filed and approved within
The record discloses, that the plaintiff in error filed her petition in the County Court of Douglas County In the Matter of the Estate of her father, James T. Baird, in which she sought the removal of David B. Baird, as administrator, etc.,' alleging numerous reasons, including a conspiracy between him and Anna Maria Baird, who was also made a respondent; that on September the 12th, 1912, a decree was filed adversely to her. It then states, that on September the 21st, following, through her husband, Guy Childers, she presented to the court her appeal bond concerning which the record states, “the court being sufficiently advised that said appeal bond is not properly sealed by the notary public before whom the acknowledgment of the surety on said bond was taken, now, therefore, said bond is returned to said Guy Childers with instructions that the seal of said notary public be placed at the left of the jurat on the back of said bond, and it is ordered that said bond be filed, when returned properly sealed as herein directed, as of today”; that upon the same date an order was entered granting the petitioner an additional ten days from that date within which to perfect her appeal to the District Court; that the'bond, which is in the record, discloses but one filing mark thereon, which bears date September 21, 1912, and is thus signed by the clerk; that on September the 24th, following, the respondents (defendants in error here) filed their motion to vacate the order extending time for perfecting the appeal; that upon the same date the respondent, David B. Baird, filed his motion to set aside and disapprove the appeal bond, Which it is alleged the petitioner has sought to file therein; that this motion states that at this date the clerk of the court has refused to accept and file the bond because of gross irregularities in the filling out and sealing of said bond; that on' September 26th, following, an order was entered which recites that the petitioner who prays for an ap
The record next recites an order made October 10, 1912, in part as follows, comes counsel for petitioner who present, etc., for filing the appeal bond in this matter; that this said appeal bond has been presented to the clerk of this court three times heretofore, but because said appeal bond was improperly sealed by the notary public, and incompletely filled out on the face of said bond, the names of said respondents having been omitted therefrom, the said bond was returned each time to counsel, etc., for correction in the particulars aforesaid, and the court having reviewed the several steps in this said matter, finds: First, that on the 18th day of September, 1912, petitioner presents her appeal bond in this court, but said appeal bond being without the notary seal where the oath is recorded, and certain omissions being apparent on the face of said bond, same was returned to petitioner. Second, that on the 21st day of September, Guy Childers, husband of petitioner, presents said bond to the clerk of said court for filing, and informs the clerk that the seal has been properly affixed, but the expiration of commission of the notary public omitted, whereupon, said Childers offers to take said appeal bond back to the notary, and have same placed on the bond. The court finds that no effort or request was made on this date or any other day prior thereto, or subsequent thereto, until today, to have the judge or clerk approve said bond. Third. That upon the request of counsel for petitioner on the 14th of September, 1912, and again by counsel through said Childers on the 21st of
That this record is inconsistent within itself is readily apparent. As an excuse for not attempting to reconcile or explain it, present counsel for both sides call attention that
In Hook v. Fenner, 18 Colo. 283, 32 Pac. 614, 36 Am. St. 277, it was held that it was not necessary to constitute the filing of a paper that the justice perform the clerical act of indorsing it as filed, that if the paper was actually placed in his hands for filing, it was sufficient.
In Perkins, Adm’x v. Shadbolt et al., 44 Wis. 574, it was held that there was a substantial compliance with the provision of the statute and that the bond on appeal was sufficient, although the bond was not formally approved by the county judge until after the limit of sixty days, as provided by the statute.
In Starkweather v. Bell, 12 S. D. 146, 80 N. W. 183, it was held that the indorsement of a filing mark by a judge or clerk is not an essential part of the filing of papers.
In Main Inv. Co. v. Olsen, 44 Wash. 121, 86 Pac. 1112, the appeal bond was left, with the clerk for filing on the day the notice of appeal was seryed, held, the failure of the. clerk
In section 377 of Elliott on Appellate Procedure, it is said, “Where the parties act in good faith and with reasonable promptness the courts deal with them liberally. The courts, it has been often said, are reluctant to permit an appeal to fail where there has been no culpable fault, although there may be some errors or irregularities.” Applying these "principles to the facts here, the bond was brought to the county judge for filing and' approval within the time provided by statute; the judge stated that the seál of the notary should be placed in the proper place, and returned the bond to the plaintiff’s agent to be corrected in that particular, with an order that when done it be filed as of that date, and the bond shows that it was filed on that date. The bond was a valid and binding one as it stood, and we do not think that the- actions of the court in ordering its return for this correction, or its subsequent proceedings wherein it first extends the time for filing it, then vacates this order, or any of its -. other subsequent proceedings, which are in conflict with each other, including at too late a date its ultimate attempt to approve it and declare that the petitioner has perfected her appeal in the manner provided by the statute, should defeat . her right in this respect.
’Tis true, that in one of «these subsequent orders it is stated that at one time the names of the respondents were omitted therefrom. The order of October 10th refers to omissions in it on September 18th, but not the 21st, but the bond, which is in the record, discloses that it is complete in this respect, and Mr. Childers’ testimony is to the effect that it was as it is now in this respect when tendered to the court upon September 21st. This is not contradicted by the record. Another of the recitals in the record is a lack of the date of the expiration of the notary’s commission. It haS this upon it in two different places now, and the seal in three different places, put there evidently in an effort to.
The contention that the bond is inadequate is not well taken. It complies substantially with the provisions of section 1537, Revised Statutes 1908. The bond in Denver and Rio Grande Railroad Co. v. Paonia Ditch Co., 49 Colo. 281, 112 Pac. 692, which case is relied on by counsel for defendant in' error to sustain this contention, is materially different from the one under consideration.
For the reasons stated, the judgment is reversed and the cause remanded with instructions to set aside the judgment affirming the judgment of the County Court, and to deny the motion to dismiss the appeal. As the pleadings have not been passed upon by the District Court, we express no opinion concerning them or ¿ny of the matters sought to be accomplished thereunder.
Reversed and remanded with instructions.
Reference
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- Childers v. Baird, Administrator
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