11 Utah 68 | Utah | 1895
Lead Opinion
This action was originally brought before a justice of the peace to recover a certain sum of money due on two> promissory notes. The justice rendered judgment for the amount sued for, interest, and costs, in the total sum of $444.27, in favor of the plaintiff, and from this judgment
It appears that upon this statement the court continued -the cause until 4 o’clock p. m. of said day, when a further continuance was asked until the next day,' which was denied, and thereupon the case was tried, and judgment Tendered, without any testimony on the part of the defendants. Thereafter counsel for the defendants made a motion for a new trial, and in support of this motion submitted a number of additional affidavits, showing, in substance, that when counsel telephoned the attorney in Salt Lake City about the condition of the calendar the ■court was three days behind its settings; that some of the
We will first consider the question whether the court erred in refusing a continuance. It may be observed that about seven years elapsed from the time this suit was brought in the justice’s court until it was finally set for a trial in the district court, and that the cause of this-long delay is not disclosed by the record, but it is reasonable to presume that the plaintiff did not use proper diligence to bring the case to trial. The defendants had set up a meritorious defense, and there is nothing in the record which indicates that they caused this long delay, or that on the occasion in question they were seeking-unnecessary delay. They were advised by counsel when to appear in court. He was misled by the condition of the court’s calendar, and, while it was his duty to consult with the court about the matter instead of an attorney,
The next question is whether the judgment rendered by the justice of the peace is in excess of his jurisdiction, and, if so, whether the district court acquired jurisdiction over the case on appeal. Under our statute, every justice of the peace has jurisdiction in “ an action arising on contract for the recovery of money only, if the sum claimed is less than three hundred dollars.'’'’ Comp. Laws Utah 1888, § 3020. The “sum claimed” is the test of the justice’s jurisdiction in such cases, and it may be any sum less than §300. The amount, therefore, claimed in the plaintiff’s complaint determines the jurisdiction of the justice, and when jurisdiction has once attached it will
The question now is, ought the district court to have included such interest in its judgment, it having acquired .jurisdiction by appeal? In other words, can a district •court, in a case like the one at bar, render judgment for a sum in excess of the jurisdiction of the justice of the peace? In the district court such a cause must be tried ■4e novo, the same as any other cause (Comp. Laws Utah, 1888, § 3658); and, upon principle, it is difficult to perceive why that court, being a court of general jurisdiction, should not do complete justice between the parties, in an action upon contract for money only, where the justice had jurisdiction when the suit was commenced before him, and rendered judgment in excess of the justice's jurisdiction, when such excess is for interest only which has accrued on the notes or contract subsequent to the rendition of the judgment by the justice. Upon what prin
From an examination of the facts and circumstances shown by the record in this case, we are of the opinion that the judgment rendered by the justice was in excess-of his jurisdiction; that such excess, however, did not oust, him of jurisdiction; that after a district court acquires-jurisdiction, by appeal, from a justice of the peace, it may render judgment upon trial for any amount found due-within the jurisdiction of the justice, and, in addition thereto, for the interest on such amount which has accumulated since the commencement of the action before the-justice, and at the rate provided in the note or contract; and that the defendants are entitled to a new trial. The-
Concurrence Opinion
I concur in the opinion, except as to that portion restricting justices of the peace from giving judgment for accumulated interest, when the sum claimed was within their jurisdiction.