Opinion

Stevens v. Saunders

  • 159 W. Va. 179
  • 220 S.E.2d 887
  • 1975 W. Va. LEXIS 253
Court
West Virginia Supreme Court
Filed
Dec 9, 1975
Status
Published
Author
Neely
On the bench
Haden, Neely, Flowers
Cited by
25 cases
Authority
More cited than 5.9%

Superseded by statute, as recognized in Frantz v. Palmer

affirming dismissal on ' statute of limitations grounds where cost bond not obtained until after period of repose had run

How later courts described this case

  • affirming dismissal on ' statute of limitations grounds where cost bond not obtained until after period of repose had run
  • “[Statutes which require the giving of bond as a prerequisite to the prosecution of an appeal are strictly construed and their requirements are mandatory and jurisdictional. An untimely filing of such a bond dictates the dismissal of a case.”
  • “Statutes of limitation are statutes of repose and the legislative purpose is to compel the exercise of a right of action within a reasonable time[.]”
  • “Law should not be a game of ‘Mother may I!’”

Written by the judges who cited it.

Later courts went against this

  • Superseded by statute, as recognized in Frantz v. Palmer

    See, e.g., Syl. pt. 2, Perdue v. Hess, 199 W.Va. 299, 484 S.E.2d 182 (1997) (“The ultimate purpose of statutes of limitations is to require the institution of a cause of action within a reasonable time.”); Syl. pt. 1, in part, Stevens v. Saunders, 159 W.Va. 179, 220 S.E.2d 887 (1975) (“Statutes of limitation are statutes of repose and the legislative purpose is to compel the exercise of a right of action within a rea…
    West Virginia Supreme CourtNov 14, 20012 citing opinionsby statuteother groundsRead it

The opinion

Neely, Justice,

dissenting:

I must respectfully dissent from the majority holding in this case based upon my view regarding frivolous procedural technicalities, particularly when a litigant is penalized because of an error of a lawyer which in no way goes to the merits of the case or causes prejudice to the other side, as expressed in my opinions in Rosier v. Garron, Inc., W. Va., 199 S.E.2d 50 (1973); Roe v. M & R Pipeliners, Inc., W. Va., 202 S.E.2d 816 (1973); and Dawson v. Canteen Corp., _W. Va. _, 212 S.E.2d 82 (1975). Law should not be a game of “Mother may I!”

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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