Ventresca v. Weaver Brothers

Levine, J., delivered the opinion of the Court. This is an appeal from an order vacating a default judgment obtained by the appellants (plaintiffs below) against the appellee, Weaver Brothers, Inc., for failure to file a responsive pleading to the declaration. Since the appellee was but one of four defendants sued by the appellants, an order was also entered pursuant to Rule 605 a, by which the court made an express determination that there was “no just reason for delay in entering a final judgment as to liability in favor of the Plaintiffs . . .” and directed that a final judgment as to liability be entered. Confusion arose immediately after suit was filed because the appellants, although shown by the allegations of the declaration to have been aiming at Weaver Brothers, Inc., erroneously sued a wholly different corporation known as “Weaver Brothers, Inc. of Maryland.” In what may be described as something of a “knee-jerk” reflex, the latter filed a general issue plea.

The appellants quickly recognized that they had captioned their case against the wrong party and sought to rectify their er ⁴⁰¹ ror by obtaining leave of court to interlineate the correct name, the effect of which was to substitute “Weaver Brothers, Inc.” for “Weaver Brothers, Inc. of Maryland.” The appellee was finally served on May 7, 1971, returnable to the first Monday of June. On July 2, 1971, ten days after “Weaver Brothers, Inc.” was required to plead, the appellants obtained their default judgment subject to proof of damages, and on August 3, 1971, there was entered the final judgment pursuant to Rule 605 a. The three other defendants filed general issue pleas on May 3, 1971, May 18, 1971 and August 11, 1971, respectively, each of them apparently being timely filed, as no defaults were sought against any of them. Neither the motion for default judgment nor the motion for entry of final judgment was served on any of the defendants.

On September 21, 1971, notwithstanding that “Weaver Brothers, Inc. of Maryland” and its attorney had previously been let out of the case after filing a general issue plea, counsel now representing the appellee filed a second general issue plea on behalf of “Weaver Brothers, Inc. of Maryland” and, jointly with one of the other defendants which they also already represented of record, Parkwood, Incorporated (Parkwood), filed a “Motion to Set Aside or Revise Judgment.” The motion alleged mistake and fraud, although the latter contention was subsequently abandoned; later, the moving parties also claimed “irregularity.” Only after the appellants signaled by a “Motion Ne Recipiatur” that the “Motion to Set Aside” had been filed on behalf of a corporation which was no longer a party, much less one in default, did counsel correct the error by moving to amend the motion so as to assert it on behalf of “Weaver Brothers, Inc.” together with Parkwood. Extensive memoranda, exhibits and affidavits of counsel were filed, and the matter finally came on for hearing before Judge Mitchell who, in setting aside the judgment, ruled from the bench that the appellant should have served all parties other than the appellee with the ⁴⁰² motion for default judgment. He was evidently under the impression that the “Motion to Set Aside” was addressed to his discretion, judging from this portion of his statement: “Well, gentlemen, I think this case comes within the area of discretionary action on the part of the Court rather than as a matter of any hard and fast legal right. * * * “Whether a strict interpretation of the letter of the Rule would place that obligation upon him [to serve the other defendants] is a matter that might be ruled upon either way I suppose, but this Court would seem to have some discretion in this matter. “Default judgments are not looked upon with favor, really, more so maybe under the rules than they used to be, but I can see no injury to anyone by permitting this case to go forward on its merits . . .” Although at least one seemingly material fact was in sharp dispute as a result of the lengthy affidavits of respective counsel, the court took no testimony. This was unfortunate, as the hearing consisted principally of extended argument of counsel, in which both sides made generous reference to “facts” neither contained in the aforementioned affidavits nor otherwise disclosed by the record. 1.

In limine, the appellee urges dismissal of the appeal for the reason that the order setting aside the judgment, from which this appeal was taken, was not a final judgment and, therefore, is not appealable. In support of its contention, it calls attention to the fact that the order, in addition to setting aside the judgment entered against it, required that the case “be placed upon the docket for trial.” The appellee apparently rea ⁴⁰³ sons, without citing any supporting authority, that an order which specifies the next logical step, given the vacation of the judgment, can only be interlocutory in nature, especially since the appellants had established neither liability of the remaining defendants nor damages against any of them. This argument, if we have correctly followed it, does not take into account a basic proposition which even the appellee has consistently recognized in the court below and here, namely, that the judgment had been enrolled some 18 days before the joint motion to set it aside was filed. Thus, since the order appealed from vacated an enrolled judgment, appellee’s contention is controlled by Mutual Benefit Society of Baltimore, Inc. v. Haywood, 257 Md. 538 , 263 A. 2d 868 (1970), where, in holding that “an order striking out a judgment more than thirty days after entry is in the nature of a final order appeal-able to this Court,” we cited with approval Gay Investment Co. v. Angster, 231 Md. 318, 322 , 190 A. 2d 95 (1963), and Williams v. Snyder, Adm’r, 221 Md. 262, 267-68 , 155 A. 2d 904 (1959).

Those decisions and other authorities cited in Williams , make it clear that one obtaining an enrolled judgment acquires a substantial right which, if divested by an order setting it aside, confers an immediate right of appeal to this Court. Having obtained an enrollment of their judgment by the expiration of 30 days following the order making the judgment final pursuant to Rule 605 a, the appellants acquired an immediate right of appeal to this Court. 2. Rule 625 a provides in relevant part that after a judgment becomes enrolled by the expiration of 30 days following its entry, the court has “revisory power and control over such judgment, only in case of fraud, mistake or irregularity.” As a result of a host of decisions too numerous to list completely here, it is now axiomatic that the power of the court to revise and control an enrolled ⁴⁰⁴ judgment is no longer discretionary. Berwyn Fuel & Feed Co. v. Kolb, 249 Md. 475 , 240 A. 2d 239 (1968) ; Suburban Properties Management, Inc. v. Johnson, 236 Md. 455 , 204 A. 2d 326 (1964) ; Tasea Inv.

Corp. v. Dale, 222 Md. 474 , 160 A. 2d 920 (1960), and Williams v. Snyder, Adm’r, supra, are but a few of the cases which stand for that proposition. Thus, to the extent that the court below set the judgment aside in what it viewed as an exercise of discretion, it acted in error. From numerous decisions applying Rule 625 a, there have also emerged the requirements that, in addition to proving “fraud, mistake or irregularity,” one seeking to set aside an enrolled judgment must also establish that he is acting in good faith, with ordinary diligence, and that he has a meritorious defense. Temple Hill Baptist Church, Inc. v. Dodson, 259 Md. 515 , 270 A. 2d 802 (1970) ; Grantham v. Board of County Commissioners, 251 Md. 28 , 246 A. 2d 548 (1968) ; Eliason v. Commissioner of Personnel, 230 Md. 56 , 185 A. 2d 390 (1962) ; Berwyn Fuel & Feed Co. v. Kolb, and Tasea Inv.

Corp. v. Dale, both supra. The appellee contends here, as it did in the court below in seeking to set the judgment aside, that the filing of the motions by counsel for the appellants without informing the other defendants was an “irregularity,” and that there was a “mistake,” in that the clerk should not have received