Harroun v. Schultz

*611 Hamilton, J. -Appellant’s abstract was served, on tbe appellee on March 31, 1938, and filed with tbe clerk of tbe supreme court of Iowa on April 2, 1938. Tbe transcript of tbe record, from wbieb tbe appellant’s abstract, was prepared, was not filed in tbe office of tbe clerk of the district court of Floyd county, Iowa,- tbe county where tbe case was tried, for more than six months thereafter. Appellee has filed a motion to dismiss tbe appeal because tbe appellant failed 'to comply with section 12850-gl of tbe 1935 Code of Iowa wbieb reads as follows: “Shorthand translations — filing. Tbe shorthand reporter’s translation of bis report of a trial, duly certified by said reporter as correct, and from which an abstract, or an amendment to tbe abstract, has been prepared and served on appeal, shall be filed with tbe clerk of tbe district court immediately after said abstract or amendment is served on tbe opposite party, and be deemed a public record for tbe use of all parties to the appeal. ’ ’ This section of the Code was before this court in Goltry v. Relph, 224 Iowa 692, 276 N. W. 614, and First Trust Joint Land Rank v. Abkes, 224 Iowa 877, 278 N. W. 183, wherein we held tbe provisions of tbe statute to be mandatory. In those eases we extended tbe mantle of charity and refused to enforce tbe provisions because of tbe fact that the statute bad not previously been construed by tbe court. Tbe first of tbe cited cases was handed down in December 1937 and, generally speaking, tbe bar must be cognizant of tbe pronouncements therein contained. We have no desire to take snap judgment against litigants but statutory regulations and rules promulgated by the court governing the procedure in this court must be observed. We have read tbe resistance on file and find nothing of a meritorious nature therein excusing noncomplianee with tbe statute. There is a very simple method which could be pursued by tbe legal profession that would avoid controversies of this character. Tbe first step in preparing tbe record for an appeal is tbe obtaining of a transcription of tbe shorthand reporter’s notes and, if this transcript were filed immediately with tbe clerk instead of waiting until the abstract has been prepared, the *612 question as to whether the transcript was filed in time to comply with this statute would be entirely eliminated. Having construed the statute as mandatory and the transcript not having been filed within such time as to comply with the plain provisions of the statute, the only effective method by which the statutory provisions can be enforced is to dismiss the appeal for want of compliance. Accordingly, the appeal is dismissed. — Appeal dismissed. Richards, Stiger, Oliver, Hale, Bliss, Sager, and Miller, JJ., concur. Mitchell, C. J., takes no part.