Chrysler Credit Corporation v. Fairfield Chrysler-Plymouth, Inc.
Chrysler Credit Corporation v. Fairfield Chrysler-Plymouth, Inc.
Opinion of the Court
This appeal arises out of an order imposing sanctions for failure to comply with a discovery order. The plaintiff, Chrysler Credit Corporation (hereinafter Chrysler Credit), sued the defendant Fairfield Chrysler-Plymouth, Inc. (hereinafter Fairfield) on a debt and a security interest in the form of a floor plan loan account. The defendant Morris Goldman was sued as garnishee of and assignee from the defendant Fairfield. Goldman moved to dismiss the complaint against him,
Before we address the merits of the several challenges to the mandate of the trial court, we must first clarify our own jurisdiction in the premises. Is the order of March 16, 1979, which imposes sanctions for noncompliance with the notice of deposition for discovery a final judgment which is presently appealable, or must appeal await disposition of the case as a whole? Although the plaintiff in its brief does not contest our jurisdiction, and the defendants urge it, jurisdiction cannot be conferred upon this court by the consent of the parties, or by waiver. Guerin v. Norton, 167 Conn. 282, 283, 355 A.2d 255 (1974); Gores v. Rosenthal, 148 Conn. 218, 221, 169 A.2d 639 (1961); Cone v. Darrow, 148 Conn. 109, 112, 167 A.2d 852 (1961). We must therefore determine the finality of the order of March 16, 1979, for the purposes of an immediate appeal. See General Statutes § 52-263.
The procedures that govern adjudication of disputes concerning jurisdiction over the person, or territorial jurisdiction as it is now denominated in the Restatement (Second), Judgments §§7-13 (Tent. Draft No. 5, 1978),
The order of the trial court imposing sanctions for noncompliance with a duly filed notice of deposition was issued in support of the court’s authority to determine, in an orderly fashion, whether the defendants’ motion to dismiss should be granted or denied. A court must have jurisdiction to determine its own jurisdiction, especially where, as here, the defendants have by their appearance put that question into issue. A party in a civil action is permitted by our rules to take the testimony of any person, whether or not a party, by deposition. Practice Book, 1978, § 243 (formerly Practice Book, 1963, § 185). Under similar rules, the federal courts have permitted discovery to show whether a court has personal jurisdiction. See Budde v. LingTemco-Vought, Inc., 511 F.2d 1033, 1035 (10th Cir. 1975); H. L. Moore Drug Exchange, Inc. v. Smith, Kline & French Laboratories, 384 F.2d 97 (2d Cir. 1967); Moore, Federal Practice & Procedure § 30.52 (5) (2d Ed. 1978). Our rules specifically authorize, as one of the sanctions for noncompliance with a discovery order, the entry of an order that the matters regarding which the discovery was sought may be taken as established for the purposes of the action. Practice Book, 1978, § 231 (formerly Practice Book, 1963, §172).
The trial court determined that it had jurisdiction to proceed because of the defendant’s contuma
The appeal is therefore dismissed.
In this opinion Bogdanski and Pakskey, Js., concurred.
Both defendants also moved to dismiss the action against them on the ground of a prior pending suit between the parties involving the same issues. That motion has apparently not yet been adjudicated and is not at issue in the present appeal.
The term “territorial jurisdiction” is used in the Restatement to refer “to the connection between the territorial authority of the court and the action that has been brought before the court.” Restatement (Second), Judgments, Introductory Note to Chapter 2, p. 8 (Tent. Draft No. 5, 1978). Territorial jurisdiction includes jurisdiction in personam, in rem, or quasi in rem. Id., 9.
“[General Statutes] Sec. 52-119. pleading to be according to rules and orders op court. Parties failing to plead according to the rules and orders of the court may be nonsuited or defaulted, as the case may be.”
The statutory counterparts to Practice Book, 1978, § 146, General Statutes (Rev. to 1977) §§ 52-91 and 52-124 concerning pleas in abatement to the jurisdiction of the court, were repealed by Public Acts 1978, No. 78-379, §§ 19, 26.
Concurring Opinion
(concurring). I concur. My only purpose in concurring by a separate opinion is to make sure that my concurrence is not construed as a tacit approval of a court obtaining jurisdiction over a person by way of sanction.
The court found that Goldman did not cooperate with the notice of discovery in New York.
Beyond the rules of practice, jurisdiction is the power in a court to hear and determine the cause of action presented to it. LaReau v. Reincke, 158 Conn. 486, 492, 264 A.2d 576 (1969); Brown v. Cato, 147 Conn. 418, 422, 162 A.2d 175 (1960); Samson v. Bergin, 138 Conn. 306, 309, 84 A.2d 273 (1951). It is well established that a court is without power to render a judgment if it lacks jurisdiction and that everything done under the judicial process of courts not having jurisdiction, is, ipso facto, void. Martin v. Hunter’s Lessee, 14 U.S. (1 Wheat.) 304, 364 (1816); Marshall v. Clark, 170 Conn. 199, 205, 365 A.2d 1202 (1976); Clover v. Urban, 108 Conn. 13, 17, 142 A.2d 389 (1928).
In this case, the issue of jurisdiction was put squarely to the court by the motion to dismiss. The court was then under a duty to determine its own jurisdiction. At that time jurisdiction depended on whether Harold Parker was served in Connect
In this opinion Healey, J., concurred.
Although Goldman agreed to be deposed, he refused to comply with the order as given. Whether Goldman’s failure to cooperate was excused due to Chrysler’s lack of specificity in the notice of deposition need not be considered here because the court’s ruling shows that the court acted within its discretion in that respect.
There is no claim that Goldman might be subject to jurisdiction under the “minimum contacts” rule as enunciated in Shaffer v. Heitner, 433 U.S. 186, 212, 97 S. Ct. 1269, 53 L. Ed. 2d 683 (1976) and discussed in Hodge v. Hodge, 178 Conn. 308, 317-18, 422 A.2d 280 (1979).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Chrysler Credit Corporation v. Fairfield Chrysler-Plymouth, Inc., Et Al.
- Cited By
- 69 cases
- Status
- Published