Oliver v. Dupee
Oliver v. Dupee
Dissenting Opinion
(dissenting).—I think the motion to dismiss the appeal should have been granted. The record discloses that the order and judgment appealed from was based in part upon at least one affidavit. This affidavit was not brought into the record by any bill of exceptions or statement of facts, and cannot, therefore, properly be considered. Clay v. Selah Valley Irrigation Co., 14 Wash. 543 (45 Pac. 141); State v. Howard, 15 Wash. 425 (46 Pac. 650). But in reference to this the majority say “it was incumbent on the respondent to see that such matters were brought here in some proper manner.” On the contrary, I think that error will not be presumed; that it was appellant’s duty to bring to this court a true record of the proceeding upon which the order appealed from was based. And when, as here, it clearly appears that he has not done so, the appeal should be dismissed.
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court was delivered by
This case came before the superior court by an appeal from a decision rendered by the board of state land commissioners. The respondents there, who are also respondents here, filed a motion to dismiss the appeal, upon a number of grounds, going to the jurisdiction of the court to entertain it, etc., and this motion was granted, and an appeal was taken to this court. The respondents moved here to strike the entire record, made up of affidavits and papers filed with the board aforesaid, and the record of the proceedings of the board, etc., for the reason that the same were not brought by a bill of exceptions or a statement of facts, and a number of decisions of this court are cited as sustaining that proposition. But none of them are applicable, as in each of the cases the documents stricken, or which the court refused to consider, were filed originally in the superior court, and were not made a part of the record by including them in the statement of facts or bill of exceptions, except in one instance: where affidavits were sought to be filed in this court to contradict the record (Ward v. Springfield Fire, etc., Ins. Co., 12 Wash. 631, 42 Pac. 119), and the court held that the record could not be modified here by affidavits. In Winsor v. McLachlan, 12 Wash. 154 (40 Pac. 727), it was held that stipulations entered into in the trial court would not be con
“ ( 2) All other tide lands having valuable improvements thereon in actual use for commerce, trade or business on and prior to March 26, 1890, not including oyster lands. ( 3 ) All tide lands in the state not included in the above classes. And said lands shall he sold and disposed of in the manner provided by this act.”
The tide land in controversy in this case is called by the parties a “tide island” and belongs to either the second or third class, as above specified. The respondents contend that it belongs to the third class, and that, under the last proviso contained in § 70 of said act, it must be sold to the first applicant. It is conceded that their application was prior in point of time. The proviso above mentioned is as follows :
“ That any tide lands not forming a portion of or lying adjacent to the shore shall be sold to the first applicant at the rate of five dollars per acre, after survey made by him at his own expense, and subject to the same conditions and limitations as provided for sale of tide lands of second class.”
The appellant claims that said tract was, some time since, supposed to belong to the state of Oregon, and that he purchased it and has a deed therefor from said state; and his application here to the commissioner of public lands to purchase alleges that he had been in possession of the land for nine years prior to making said application, engaged in the business of fishing (the only apparent purpose for which it was
In addition to applying for the purchase of the land, the appellant also contested the application of the respondents; and the point was made that he could not bé considered an applicant, for the reason that he was not the first applicant, and that, as a contestant of the right of the respondents to purchase, he had no right to appeal from the board of commissioners. But if the respondents’ application was invalid and was rejected, appellant’s application would be first, and would entitle him to purchase, regardless of his improvements and user, if his application was sufficient.
The motion of the respondents in the superior court to dismiss the appeal was based upon nine grounds, and the court, in its judgment of dismissal, saw fit to indicate its reasons, and sustained the motion upon the first, second, third, fourth and ninth grounds. These allege, in substance, that the board of state land commissioners had no jurisdiction to hear the protest of appellant against the attempted purchase by the respondents; that appellant had no legal claim to the land in controversy; that the land belonged to the third class, and must be sold to the first applicant; and that appellant was not a qualified applicant. One of the grounds of the motion to dismiss was that a sufficient appeal bond had not been filed. The lower court found against this proposition, but the respondents urge that it should have been sustained, and that this would justify the action of the court in dismissing the case, although that court found otherwise
The ground upon which appellant’s application was rejected was that the plat of survey accompanying it did not conform to the rules prescribed by the board of state land commissioners. What these rules were does not appear; and we would be unable to say, were we to consider it now, whether they were such rules as the board had authority, under the law, to adopt, and whether, as a matter of fact, appellant’s application complied with them. These were matters to be determined by trial upon the merits. Under the provision relating to an appeal, the evidence is not certified to the superior court by the board, and the result of the court’s action upon the motion to dismiss was apparently to decide against appellant upon the merits, without hearing his case. At least, there was nothing upon the face of the record to warrant it without some further showing.
It is urged by the respondents that unless appellant’s application was complete, and conformed to the law in every particular, he was not entitled to purchase nor to appeal; and the case of State, ex rel. Megler, v. Forrest, 13 Wash. 268 (43 Pac. 51), is cited as sustaining that proposition. But the application there was for a writ of mandamus, and in order to grant such a writ the rights of the relator must be clearly established, while in this case the matter came before
Reversed and remanded for further proceedings.
Dunbar, Anders and Reavis, JJ., concur.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.