Reynolds

This is more about when is a judgment a judgment. 1

In this case the district judge filed an opinion on March 26, 1956. The conclusion of his opinion was that the complaint did not state a cause of action. The ultimate sentence of the opinion was: “The motion for dismissal is granted and the case dismissed.” That is “judgment talk,” at least.

Then on April 18, 1956, a separate paper called “Judgment and Decree” was signed and filed by the trial judge. This latter instrument goes beyond the opinion of March 26 and decrees that the “defendant recover attorney fees in the amount of $250.00.” As to plaintiff’s complaint, this purported judgment says: “It is hereby ordered, adjudged and decreed that the complaint be and it is hereby dismissed for the reasons stated in the court’s opinion of March 26, 1956.”

Dismissal of a complaint, we have often held, does not constitute a final judgment. The court must take the next step and dismiss the action. We do not repeat the citations here.

At oral argument, the question arose as to whether the judgment language in the opinion of March 26 constituted a judgment. This court concluded that it should call for the civil docket entries made by…