Baldwin v. Kramer

Decided October 15, 1852

California Supreme Court · decided 1852-10-15

Plaintiffs brought suit 24th December, 1851, against defendants for the possession of a tract of land, and for damages. Kramer filed his answer January 2d, 1852, denying the charges in the complaint. On the 18th May, 1852, the cause was called for trial, the defendants not appearing, a jury was empanelled; the plaintiffs introduced their evidence; the case was submitted, and a verdict of restitution and 500 dollars damages was rendered, and judgment entered upon the verdict.

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Decided 1852-10-15

How this case has been cited

Cited by 9 later decisions — most recently May 1940

9 state decisions

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

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Heydeneeldt, Justice,

¶1delivered the opinion of the Court; with which Murray, Chief Justice, concurred.

¶2This was an appeal from an order granting a new trial. The judgment was rendered in May, and the new trial granted at a subsequent term in September.

¶3We hold, that after the expiration of a term of the District Court, no power remains in it to set aside a judgment, or grant a new trial. A different doctrine would lead to great uncertainty, and pojsibly to gross abuse. There must be a time when the rights of the parties are to be considered as determined, and for litigation to cease; and for this purpose the law has wisely fixed the rule here indicated.

¶4Let the order be reversed with costs.