Dike v. Town of Bristol School District
Dike v. Town of Bristol School District
Opinion of the Court
On February 18, 1956 the plaintiffs brought a bill in equity seeking to have two special meetings of the Town of Bristol School District declared illegal because of alleged irregularities. The questioned meetings were held on August 24, 1955 and October 19, 1955 and they authorized a bond issue for a new school. The case was heard by Chancellor Divoll, who found that the meeting of August 24, 1955 was valid and that no meetings since that date have rescinded the action taken by that meeting of August 24, 1955. The chancellor also found
V. S. 47, §2158, so far as material here, provides as follows: "Upon petition of either party, the supreme court may grant a new trial in a cause determined by such court or by a county court, subsequent to the term of the court at which the original judgment was rendered.” §2158 is part of V. S. 47, chap. 103 entitled "New Trials”. The Legislature has provided for chancery procedure in V. S. 47, chap. 62. It makes no provision for the granting of a new trial by the Supreme Court in a cause determined by a court of chancery.
The plaintiffs quote from Hodge & Mattheis v. Vt. Stone Products Corp., 113 Vt 491, 492, 37 A2d 183, that "The right of a party to have his exceptions heard in this Court is a sub-, stantial one, the loss of which, if it has occurred without his fault, entitles him to a new trial.” But the Hodge case and all others referred to by the plaintiffs to support that statement were brought here from the county courts.
The plaintiffs refer to Spencer v. Lyman Falls Power Co., 109 Vt 294, 303-305, 196 A 276, which involved a petition for a
The plaintiffs claim the question of policy is for consideration here because of No. 34 of the Acts of the Legislature of 1941, now V. S. 47, §2128. This was an act to standardize the passing of causes to the Supreme Court and, the plaintiffs say, should be read with the statutes providing for new trials in the light of the legislative intention, as expressed in the Act, to treat exceptions taken from all courts in the same way. No authorities are cited in the brief. The act deals only with the taking of exceptions and passing a cause to this Court in the same manner as if passed to the Supreme Court from the county court. It has nothing to do with petitions for new trials and this Court has no power to extend its application.
The plaintiffs take the position that this Court has the right to entertain this petition as a bill of review because it arises from the practice in England. V. S. 47, §1277 provides as follows: "There shall be a court of chancery, the powers of which shall be vested in a chancellor. The powers and jurisdiction of such court shall be the same as those of the court of chancery in England, except as modified by the constitution and laws of the state.” The two decisions cited by the plaintiffs do not support their contentions; one of the cases is directly contrary thereto.
Slason v. Cannon and Warren, 19 Vt 219, was a petition for a new trial and for leave to file a bill of review, brought in this Court. The petition was dismissed on the ground that the application for relief was improperly made to this Court because of the provisions of the statute (now V. S. 47, §2158) under which this pending petition is brought. The Slason case is exactly in point. It is cited in Westinghouse Co. v. Barre & Montpelier Traction & Power Co., 97 Vt 306 at 309, 123 A 201. The Westinghouse case holds that original jurisdiction in all chancery matters is vested in a single chancellor and that the
Since the case was argued the plaintiffs have called our attention to that part of V. S. 47, §1302, which provides: "Exceptions taken on the trial of controverted questions of fact before a chancellor shall be available before the supreme court in the same manner as in county court actions tried by the court.” This section has no application because the plaintiffs have no available exceptions and the cases cited by the plaintiffs are not in point on the issue presented here.
Because we are without jurisdiction to grant the petition, its merits are not now before us. The plaintiffs chose to pursue the wrong course.
The motion to dismiss is sustained and the petition for a new trial is dismissed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Ezra S. Dike v. Town of Bristol School District
- Status
- Published