Dismissing appeal.
In the recent primary appellant and appellee were candidates for the Republican nomination for circuit clerk. Upon a canvass the election commissioners certified that appellee had received a majority of the votes cast. Within the time and manner provided by 122.060 appellant requested a recount. The court in conformity with the section, supra, set a day for the recount. The court first took up the question of the integrity of the ballots, and upon hearing a number of witnesses touching thereon, found that from the time the county clerk receipted for the ballot boxes he had had neither their possession, custody nor control, but had turned them over to a janitor, who exercised custody and control.
There was litle dispute in the proof on which the order declining to recount was based, and from which ruling this appeal is prosecuted. The record before us shows that the judgment was rendered and entered on August 25, and supersedeas filed on same day; the record was filed in the office of the clerk of this court on September 4, 1945, and appellee moves to dismiss for want of jurisdiction.
Section 122.060 KRS, provides: "Either party may appeal from the judgment to the Court of Appeals * * * by filing the original papers and transcript of orders in the Court of Appeals within ten days after the entry of the judgment." The right to have a recount is purely statutory, and the provisions must be fully complied with to give this court jurisdiction. Any action brought under the statute is a special proceeding, and the remedy is exclusive. Gross v. Ball,
Appellant concedes the rule above mentioned, but in avoidance shows by affidavit that the transcript of evidence was not approved until August 31. It is not contended that in the face of the statute, supra, the time for filing should be computed from this date but given as a reason for not placing the transcript in the mail before that date. It may be noted that in Roby v. Croan,
It is contended by appellant that to turn the motion to dismiss on the probable issue of a one-half holiday custom (Saturday) and the definite holiday (Labor Day) will unjustly deprive him of his legal right to have his appeal decided on its merits. In final analysis the contention is that because September 3d, the last day on which the filing would, under the statute and our rulings, have given the court jurisdiction, was a legal holiday, it should not be included as a day in computation of the time. The statutes do not so provide.
Appellant cites Black v. National Bank of Kentucky,
In Tennessee Central. R. R. Co. v. Reeves' Adm'r,
In the Edge case [
We are aware that there are some cases where we have held that due to some casualty or unforseen circumstances, we have overruled motion to dismiss on the ground of late filing. Here, however, we are not inclined to waive the almost universal rule. The delay in placing the record in the mail may be traced to the failure of appellant, chargeable with the knowledge of the approaching Sunday and holiday, to see to it that the transcript of testimony consisting of less than 60 pages was sooner perfected. Under the rulings we have noted, we are of the opinion that the failure to get the record in the office of the clerk within the prescribed time requires us to sustain the motion to dismiss.
However, we do not deem it improper to say that notwithstanding the motion to dismiss, we have carefully considered the evidence upon which the court based dismissal, as we did in the companion case (Mitchell v. Demunbrun,
Appeal dismissed.
