Bell v. Jacobs
Bell v. Jacobs
Opinion of the Court
After verdict for defendant, plaintiff moved for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. The court took the motion under advisement and three months later denied it. Pending decision of the motion, plaintiff took no steps for a motion for a new trial, but within a week thereafter procured an order requiring defendant to show cause why time for giving notice of intention to
Four days later notice of intention to move for a new trial upon a record to be thereafter settled was served. The motion for a new trial was brought on for hearing on May 17, 1928, at which time defendant objected to the jurisdiction of the court to hear and determine the motion for the reason that no notice of intention to move for a new trial was given within the time fixed by law, and no extension of such time hadi been applied for prior to the expiration of the time fixed by law, and therefore the court was without power to make any order extending the time after the statutory time had expired, and on the further ground that no showing of good cause had been made for either an extension of time of the fixing of a new time within which plaintiff might give notice of intention to move for a new trial. The objection was overruled, and the court on September 21, 1928, made an order granting a new trial, from which order defendant appeals.
While the notice of intention was not served within the statutory twenty days after rendition of the verdict, the court is authorized by statute (Rev. Code 1919, § 2559) to grant an extension, or after the time has expired, to fix a new time, for good cause shown. Within the twenty days allowed for giving notice of intention, plaintiff had moved for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. That he had a right to do, and there is certainly nothing in the record indicating that he had not reasonable grounds for making the motion. While the motion was pending and undetermined it would have been absurd for him to give notice of intention to move for a new trial. Should his motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict be granted, he would have no intention to move for a new trial. Whether he'would have any. such intention could not be determined by him until he knew whether or not his motion for judgment would be granted. Promptly after the motion for judgment was denied plaintiff’s counsel procured an order to show cause why another time should not be fixed in which to give notice Of intention. This order to show cause was the equivalent of a motion made upon notice (Carlton v. Saville [S. D.] 224 N. W. 957), so that defendant’s contention that, after the expiration of the statutory twenty days for giving such notice, a new time can only be fixed after notice to‘ the opposite party, was fully complied with. While the order to show cause for the fixing of a new time asked for ninety days because a transcript could not be sooner procured, the order of the court fixing a new time allowed only ten days, and the notice of intention was actually given within four days after the making of the order. Thé proceedings therefore moved with reasonable celerity as soon as the motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict was disposed of. That the pendency of the motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict was good cause for failure to give notice of intention within the statutory period of twenty days after the verdict, is indicated in the
The order appealed from is affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- BELL v. JACOBS
- Status
- Published