Bailey v. Gooding

CARLTON, Justice.

I

The procedural quagmire that confronts us here is best unraveled by a chronological account of the proceedings in the trial court.

This controversy arose from a collision between a bus and an automobile on 6 February 1977. The plaintiffs filed complaint on 16 June 1977 and all defendants were duly served. On 7 July 1977, W.S. Pearce, Jr., a representative of defendants’ insurance carrier, called on plaintiffs’ attorney, George K. Freeman, Jr. The following day Freeman wrote Pearce confirming their understanding that no default judgment would be taken “until our negotiations…