GCA Title 7, Chapter 21
7 GCA CIVIL PROCEDURE
CH. 21 TRIAL & JUDGMENTS
CHAPTER 21 TRIAL AND JUDGMENT IN CIVIL ACTIONS
Article 1. Judgments in General.
- Article 2. Issues, Mode of Trial and Postponements.
- Article 3. Trial by the Court.
- Article 4. References and Trial by Referees.
- Article 5. Provisions Relating to Trials in General.
- Article 6. Manner of Giving and Entering Judgment.
ARTICLE 1 JUDGMENTS IN GENERAL
2017 NOTE: The source of this Article is Chapter 1 (Judgments in General), of Civil Procedure Code, Title VII; specifically CCP §§ 577-584. This Article was codified into the GCA after the enactment of P.L. 21-147:2 (Jan. 14, 1993) (Frank G. Lujan Memorial Court Reorganization Act of 1992). During the codification process, CCP provisions were renumbered and incorporated into the GCA; however, not all CCP provisions were included in the GCA, as explained in the following annotation, which followed § 21104 in past print publications of the GCA: NOTE: CCP §§ 581, Dismissals of Actions, has been superseded by GRCP Rule 41. Guam CCP § 581a has been declared repealed because it has been superseded by GRCP 41(b). Chan, et al. v. Kim, et al , Civ. Case No. CV 1562-93, Decision & Order, Weeks, J., Superior Court of Guam, March [31], 1995). Similarly, Guam CCP §§ 582 and § 583, have been repealed by implication (§ 66 CCP) and have been so held to have been repealed in the case of Jones and Guerrero, Inc. vs. Torres, Civil Case No. 187-74, Superior Court of Guam (December 1976) [Not reported]. This issue has not been appealed. In the order the Superior Court declared that dismissals for lack of prosecution were covered by Rule 41, not § 583. J&G vs. Atco Industries, Civil Case No. 925-72, Superior Court of Guam (not reported), also ruled in 1975 that matters of dismissal for lack of prosecution at the various stages of the action are covered by the Court rules, not by the Code of Civil Procedure. The legislature repealed § 583 by P.L. 16-120:13. Also found in past print publications is a reference to § 21104a, ‘Dismissal of Action for Failure to Issue Summons’, which appears to be the codification of CCP § 581a. However, it appears this reference to § 21104a was in error, in
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light of the following holding by Superior Court Judge Janet Healy Weeks: ‘[P]ursuant to Rule 89, Guam Rules of Civil Procedure, that Guam Code of Civil Procedure Section 581a was repealed by implication by the adoption of the Guam Rules of Civil Procedure.’ Chan v. Kim , Civ. Case No. CV 1562-93 (Guam Super. Ct. March 31, 1995). Accordingly, the reference to § 21104a, ‘Dismissal of Action for Failure to Issue Summons’ in past print publications of the GCA is deemed manifest clerical error, and will be omitted from future publications of the GCA pursuant to the authority of 1 GCA § 1606.
- § 21101. Judgment Defined.
- § 21102. Judgment May be for or Against One of the Parties.
- § 21103. Judgment May be Against One Party and Action Proceed as to Others.
- § 21104. The Relief to be Awarded to the Plaintiff.
- § 21105. Consent of Attorney General.
§ 21101. Judgment Defined.
A judgment is the final determination of the rights of the parties in an action or proceeding. SOURCE: CCP § 577.
§ 21102. Judgment May be for or Against One of the Parties.
Judgment may be given for or against one or more of several plaintiffs, and for or against one or more of several defendants; and it may, when the justice of the case requires it, determine the ultimate rights of the parties on each side, as between themselves. SOURCE: CCP § 578.
§ 21103. Judgment May be Against One Party and Action Proceed as to Others.
In an action against several defendants, the court may, in its discretion, render judgment against one or more of them, leaving the action to proceed against the others, whenever a several judgment is proper. SOURCE: CCP § 579.
§ 21104. The Relief to be Awarded to the Plaintiff.
The relief granted to the plaintiff, if there be no answer, cannot exceed that to which he shall have demanded in his complaint; but in any other case the court may grant him any relief consistent with the case made by the complaint and embraced within the issues. SOURCE: CCP § 580. CROSS-REFERENCES: GRCP Rule 4.
§ 21105. Consent of Attorney General.
No action in which the government of Guam is a plaintiff shall be dismissed without the consent of the Attorney General of Guam. SOURCE: CCP § 584.
ARTICLE 2 ISSUES, MODE OF TRIAL AND POSTPONEMENTS
NOTE: Guam CCP § 585, dealing with defaults, has been repealed by implication (66 CCP) and has been replaced by Rule 55 GRCP. Guam CCP, §§ 588 through 591 and 594 deal with matters which have been superseded by the Guam Rules of Civil Procedure, Rules 7, 8, 12, 16 and 40. CCP § 592 has been superseded by Guam Rules of Civil Procedure, Rules 38 and 39 and by Chapter 22 of this Title, relative to jury trials. CCP §§ 595 and 595 have been superseded by Guam Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 40.
§ 21201. In Cases of Adjournment — Testimony of Witnesses.
The party obtaining a postponement of a trial in any court of record must, if required by the adverse party, consent that the testimony of any witness of such adverse party who is not in attendance be taken by deposition before a judge or clerk of the court in which the case is pending or before such person authorized to administer oaths as the court may indicate, which must accordingly be done; and the testimony so taken may be read on the trial with the same effect and subject to the same objection as if the witness were produced. SOURCE: CCP § 596. CROSS-REFERENCES: See 6 GCA Chapter 8, Article 3, relative to the perpetuation of testimony in criminal cases.
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ARTICLE 3 TRIAL BY THE COURT
§ 21301. Order of Proceeding on Trial.
- § 21302. Time for Filing Decision. § 21303. Waiving Findings of Fact.
- § 21304. Agreed Statement of Facts. § 21305. Proceedings after Determination of Law.
§ 21301. Order of Proceeding On Trial.
The trial must proceed in the following order, unless the judge, for special reasons, otherwise directs: (a) The plaintiff, after stating the issue and his case, must produce the evidence on his part; (b) The defendant may then open his defense, and offer his evidence in support thereof; (c) The parties may then respectively offer rebutting evidence only, unless the court, for good reason, in furtherance of justice, permits them to offer evidence upon their original case; (d) When the evidence is concluded, unless the case is submitted to the court on either side or on both sides without argument, the plaintiff must commence and may conclude the argument; (e) If several defendants, having separate defenses, appear by different counsel, the court must determine their relative order in evidence and argument. SOURCE: CCP § 631. 2017 NOTE: Subsection designations altered pursuant to the authority of 1 GCA § 1606. COMMENT: The Compiler has not found any equivalent provisions to this section in the Guam Rules of Civil Procedure.
§ 21302. Time for Filing Decision.
Upon the trial of a question of fact by the court, its decision must be given in writing and filed with the clerk within thirty (30) days after the cause is submitted for decision. SOURCE: CCP § 632.
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CROSS-REFERENCES: For Rules governing method by which delay of decision mat be raised to the Court, see Rule 5E of the Local Rules of the Superior Court in Appendix B to this Title. COMMENT: Rule 52 of the GRCP has modified the requirement for written findings of fact, but there no reference in those rules to any deadlines for making the decision. NOTE: CCP § 633, Facts - - - law must be separately stated, has been superseded by GRCP Rule 52.
§ 21303. Waiving Findings of Fact.
Findings of fact may be waived by several parties to a issue of fact:
- (a) By failing to appear at trial;
- (b) By consent in writing filed with the clerk;
- (c) By oral consent in open court entered in the minutes. In all cases where the court directs a party to prepare the findings, a copy of said proposed findings shall be served on all parties to the action at least five days before findings shall be signed by the court, and the court shall not sign any findings therein prior to the expiration of such five days. SOURCE: CCP § 634. 2017 NOTE: Subsection designations altered pursuant to the authority of 1 GCA § 1606. COMMENT: The Rules of Civil Procedure discourage the court from ordering the parties to prepare the findings, but do not prohibit it from so ordering.
§ 21304. Agreed Statement of Facts.
The parties may, in any action or special proceedings, agree in writing upon the facts involved in the litigation and require the judgment of the court upon the questions of law arising from such agreed statement of facts. The ruling and judgment of the court upon such agreed statement of facts shall be subject to exception like all other rulings of the court. When an agreed statement of facts is entered into by the parties, no other finding of facts need be made by the court. SOURCE: CCP § 635.
§ 21305. Proceedings After Determination of Law.
On a judgment for the plaintiff upon an issue of law he may proceed in the manner prescribed by Rule 55 of the Guam Rules of Civil Procedure, upon the failure of the defendant to answer. If the judgment before the
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defendant upon an issue of law, and the taking of an account, or the proof of any fact, be necessary to enable the court to complete the judgment, a reference may be ordered, as in that Rule provided. SOURCE: CCP § 636. COMMENT: Since CCP § 585 has been superseded by GRCP Rule 55, the appropriate reference is changed in this section. Also, GRCP Rule 53 contains most matters relative to references, so the section is changed to reflect this fact.
ARTICLE 4
REFERENCES AND TRIAL BY REFEREES
§ 21401. Oath of Referees. § 21402. Grounds of Objection to Referee. § 21403. Objections, How Disposed of. NOTE: CCP §§ 638, 639, 640, 640b, 643, 643a, 644, and 645 all have been superseded by Rule 53 of the Guam Rules of Civil Procedure.
§ 21401. Oath of Referees.
Referees, before commencing the performance of their duty, shall be sworn to a faithful and honest performance thereof, and the fact that they have taken such oath shall be certified to on the commission by the authority administering the oath. The oath shall be administered by the clerk of the court or by the judge of the court having jurisdiction. SOURCE: CCP § 640a.
§ 21402. Grounds of Objection to Referee .
A party may object to the appointment of any person as referee, on one or more of the following grounds: (a) Consanguinity or affinity, within the third degree, to either party, or to an officer of a corporation which is a party, or to any judge of the court in which the appointment shall be made; (b) Standing in the relation of guardian and ward, master and servant, employer and clerk, or principal and agent, to either party; or being a member of the family of either party; or a partner in business with either party; or security on any bond or obligation for either party; (c) Having been a witness on any trial between the same parties for the same cause of action; (d) Interest on the part of such person in the event of the action, or in the main question involved in the action; (e) Having formed or expressed an unqualified opinion or belief as to the merits of the action; (f) The existence of a state of mind in such person evincing enmity against or bias to either party. SOURCE: CCP § 641. 2017 NOTE: Subsection designations altered pursuant to the authority of 1 GCA § 1606.
§ 21403. Objections, How Disposed of.
The objections taken to the appointment of any person as referee must be heard and disposed of by the court. Affidavits may be read and witnesses examined as to such objections. SOURCE: CCP § 642.
ARTICLE 5
PROVISIONS RELATING TO TRIALS IN GENERAL
- § 21501. When a New Trial May Be Granted.
- § 21502. New Trial; Time Limits.
- § 21503. Hearing; Setting Time. NOTE: Much of the material in Chapter 6 of Title 8, Guam CCP §(656-663a) has been included in the Guam Rules of Civil Procedure. Most of the provisions are contained in Rule 59 GRCP. However, that rule, itself, refers to certain sections of the Code of Civil Procedure, indicating that these sections are substantive in character and proper for inclusion within this Chapter. Therefore, the substantive sections will be included within this Chapter and the procedural sections are omitted as being null and void pursuant to law. Replaced by Rule 59 are §§ 656, 658, 659a, and 662.
§ 21501. When a New Trial May Be Granted.
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(a) The finding may be vacated and any other decision may be modified or vacated; in whole or in part; and a new or further trial granted on all or part of the issues, on the application of the party aggrieved, for any of the following causes, materially affecting the substantial rights of such parties: (1) Irregularity in the proceedings of the court, or any order of the court or abuse of discretion by which either party was prevented from having a fair trial; (2) Accident or surprise, which ordinary prudence could not have guarded against; (3) Newly discovered evidence, material for the party making the application, which he could not, with reasonable diligence have discovered and produced at the trial; (4) Excessive damages appearing to have been given under the influence of passion or prejudice; (5) Insufficiency of the evidence to justify the finding or other decision, and that it is against law; (6) Error in law, occurring at the trial, and excepted to by the party making the exception. (b) When a new trial is granted on all or part of the issues upon the ground of the insufficiency of the evidence to sustain the finding, the order shall so specify; otherwise, on appeal from such order it will be presumed that the order was not based upon that ground. SOURCE: CCP § 657. 2017 NOTE: Subsection/subitem designations added/altered pursuant to the authority of 1 GCA § 1606. CROSS-REFERENCES: Rule 59, GRCP. COMMENT: Again, § 657 excludes all references to jury trials. Note that the Guam Rules of Civil Procedure have abolished the need for exceptions. However, the issue of juries is covered in the Rules of Civil Procedure.
§ 21502. New Trial; Time Limits.
The party intending to move for a new trial must, either before the entry of judgment or within five days after receiving written notice of the entry of the judgment, file with t