Gould v. Austin

Citations

• 52 Wash. 457
• 100 P. 1029
• 1909 Wash. LEXIS 1139

Syllabus

<p>Appeal — Review—Harmless Error — Notice of Signing Judgment. Failure to give notice of the signing of findings and judgment, after a hearing on proposed findings and the taking of the same under advisement, is error without prejudice, where the party was deprived of no substantial right.</p> <p>Judgment — Clerk’s Minutes — Conclusiveness—Subsequent Entry of Conflicting Judgment. A clerk’s entry in the journal that the court ordered the case dismissed on defendant’s motion, at the close of plaintiff’s case, is not conclusive evidence of the actual judgment, and does not preclude the court from subsequently making findings and entering judgment granting the defendant affirmative relief; and the formal judgment controls the clerk’s entry.</p> <p>Judgment — Recitals—Judgment on Merits — Effect—Appeal— Harmless Error. In an action to quiet title a recital in a judgment for the defendant, that “plaintiffs were duly sworn and offered evidence in support of their case” whereupon they rested and the court granted defendant’s motion for judgment, authorizes a judgment on the merits, barring the plaintiff from the prosecution of any further action; hence it is harmless error for the court to include in the judgment a provision quieting defendant’s title.</p> <p>Appeal — Review—Defective Findings — Effect — Record — Evidence — Presumption in Support of Judgment. In an equitable action, incomplete or defective findings are not ground for reversal, where the evidence is not brought up, as it will be presumed that the evidence supports the judgment.</p>