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Reed v. Scott11/5/1991
CERTIORARI PREVIOUSLY GRANTED; COURT OF APPEALS OPINION VACATED; TRIAL COURT JUDGMENT AFFIRMED IN PART AND REVERSED IN PART, AND CAUSE REMANDED WITH INSTRUCTIONS.
The opinion of the court was delivered by: SUMMERS, Justice.
Scott claimed she was stepped on by Reed's cow and sued for injuries to her foot. Reed, perhaps underestimating the consequences, ignored the summons. Scott took judgment by default for the amount of the prayer in her petition. When she attempted to collect the judgment by garnishing Reed's bank account, Reed got a lawyer who timely sought to set aside the judgment under 12 O.S. 1981 ยงยง 1031 , 1033 . The trial judge declined to vacate and the Court of Appeals affirmed. Now on certiorari we confront this question: Can a default judgment for personal injuries including future medical expenses, future pain and suffering, and permanent disability be upheld in the absence of some evidence from a skilled medical practitioner? We hold it can not under the facts of this case, and reverse the judgment in part.
Plaintiff Scott's petition alleged negligence in allowing the cow to escape and in the efforts of defendant Reed's employees to capture the cow. The trial court awarded her judgment for $600.00 in medical expenses, $300.00 for lost wages, and $45.00 for damages to her yard and fence. We find no fault with that part of the judgment adjudicating liability and fixing recovery in those amounts. The problem is with the rest of it - that part awarding $1,000.00 for future medical expenses and $50,000.00 for pain and suffering, past and future, and for permanent injuries.
Defendant Reed, once he became aware of the seriousness of the suit, had filed a petition to vacate the judgment, claiming the cow was not his, that the petition failed to state a cause of action, and that the court had insufficient evidence upon which to base its ruling. The trial court conducted a hearing on the petition to vacate. Witnesses were heard, but the court found that the failure to defend was the result of Scott's own neglect. We must review the lower court's decision not to vacate by the "abuse of discretion" standard, Midkiff v. Luckey, 412 P.2d 175 (Okl. 1966). Finding no such abuse, we do not disturb the adjudication of liability. Nor do we disturb the awards for past medical bills, lost wages, and property damage. The award of damages for future pain and suffering, future medical bills, and permanent injuries, however, presents a problem.
A court's judgment must be based upon the three well known jurisdictional elements: personal jurisdiction, subject matter jurisdiction, and jurisdiction to render the particular judgment. La Bellman v. Gleason & Sanders, Inc., 418 P.2d 949, 953 (Okl. 1966). In La Bellman we reviewed the action of the trial court in declining to vacate a default judgment. We found that the judgment roll, on its face, revealed that a portion of the default judgment was beyond the issues framed by the pleadings, and that the trial court lacked the power to render a part of the particular default judgment. Id. 418 P.2d at 953-954.
We have explained that when the face of the judgment roll shows a judgment on the pleadings without evidence as to the amount of unliquidated damages then that judgment is void. Tippins v. Turben, 162 Okl. 136, 19 P.2d 605, 606 (1933), overruled in part on other grounds, American Bank of Commerce v. Chavis, 651 P.2d 1321, 1324 (Okl. 1982). We explained that such a judgment was void because the face of the judgment roll lacked one of the three well known elements of jurisdiction, power to render the particular judgment. 19 P.2d at 606-607. This resu
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