Dodge v. Superior Court

ARCHBALD, J., pro tem. Proceedings brought to compel the superior court to proceed with the trial of a case after making the following order in response to a motion to abate: “That the above action abate pending the final determination of said action No. 259-996 in the Superior Court of the State of Washington for King County, and in the event said action is finally terminated and adjudicated in favor of the defendants in said action, the defendants in this action be allowed to amend their answer to plead such judgment in bar of this action. ” It is urged that the pleadings and files of said superior court action show that the court exceeded its jurisdiction in making such order and that it was made entirely without authority.

Briefly stated, the pleadings in this case set out the pleadings in a prior action in the Superior Court of King County, Washington, which the parties admitted were true and correct copies in the opening arguments which preceded the urging of the defense set up in the answer of a prior action pending in the courts of such state between the same parties for the same cause. It appears from said pleadings that B. PI. Canfield, a short time prior to his death, together with defendants E. W. Scrippg, Josephine S. Scripps and James G. Scripps, were the owners of the capital stock of [180]various publishing companies, also named as defendants in both the California and Washington cases, Canfield owning approximately thirty per cent of such stock and the other individual defendants approximately seventy per cent. It also appears that E. W. Scripps, senior, started such business, and together with Canfield built the same into a very large and lucrative one. The senior Scripps had a son, James G. Scripps, who was the husband of defendant Josephine S. Scripps and the father of defendants E. W. and James G. Scripps. After the death of the elder E. W. Scripps the management of the business continued in the hands of Can-field until shortly before his death, when he was succeeded by defendant E. W. Scripps. It appears that large sums of money had been loaned to Canfield by Josephine S. Scripps and E. W. Scripps, trustee, and that the stock of said Can-field had been pledged with defendant E. W. Scripps to secure said loans under certain trust agreements; that after Canfield’s death, such indebtedness being in default, proceedings were commenced by said trustee to sell the Canfield stock to satisfy the same. The Washington case was instituted by plaintiff as special administrator with general powers of decedent Canfield’s estate, with whom were joined as plaintiffs the legatees and devisees under the last will and testament of Canfield, for the purpose of preventing such sale on various grounds of invalidity of any attempted sale, including charges of fraud. The trial of such case consumed about four .weeks and resulted in a judgment for the defendants dismissing the action, from which judgment an appeal is now pending in the Supreme Court of Washington. After such judgment defendants proceeded with said sale and bought in the Canfield notes.