Leonard C. Dewitt, Appellant, v. Shawn E. Mullen Et Al., Respondents

¶1 — Leonard Dewitt filed a personal injury lawsuit against Shawn Mullen, Kristina Lemay, and Albert Huniu. On the scheduled trial date Dewitt did not appear. Although Dewitt’s former attorney appeared, he was not prepared to proceed with trial. The trial court dismissed all claims with prejudice without stating the legal basis for the dismissal. Dewitt appeals the trial court’s dismissal.

¶2 We hold that (1) the trial court had authority to dismiss Dewitt’s case under CR 40(d) when Dewitt was not prepared to proceed with trial, and (2) in dismissing under CR 40(d) the trial court was not…