Series 24290District Court (Fifth District : Beaver County) Civil case files
Dates: 1896-
40.00 cubic feet and 64 microfilm reels
These records are housed in the Utah State Archives' permanent storage room.
Scope and Content
These case files from the Fifth District Court in Beaver County document the legal process and the administration of justice in conjunction with a civil proceeding for the determination of a controversy between parties wherein rights are enforced or protected, or wrongs are prevented or redressed. Included are all cases which cannot legally be called "criminal cases". Records and documents pertaining to a particular action are filed together by the court clerk, who is required by the Rules of Civil Procedure to file pleadings and other legal papers. Collectively they constitute the case file.
A civil action commences with the filing of a complaint with the court or by service to the defendant of a summons together with a copy of the complaint. A unique case number is assigned by the court when the papers are filed with the clerk. The case file for a particular action includes the original complaint or summons together with all legal papers subsequently filed in connection with thecourt proceeding through disposition or dismissal. Included are such documents as: depositions (or written testimony), demurrers (which are pleas for the dismissal of a lawsuit on the grounds that even if the statements of the opposition are true, they do not sustain the claim), interrogatories (a pretrial discovery tool in which written questions are propounded by one party and served to the adversary, who must answer by written replies made under oath), answers, counter claims, replies, motions, petitions, affidavits (written statements made under oath before an officer of the court, notary public, or other authorized person), stipulations (an agreement between attorneys that concerns business before a court and is designed to simplify, shorten, or settle litigation and save costs), exhibit documents (written contracts, bills, receipts, etc.), notices, objections, citations, sheriff's certificates, judge's orders and rulings, judge's instructions to the jury, judge's findings offact and conclusions of law, final decrees, judgments, and executions (the process of carrying into effect a court's judgment, decree, or order).
Demurrers, pleas, and exceptions for insufficiency were abolished in 1953. Transcripts (an official and certified copy of what transpired in court or at an out-of-court deposition) and exhibits (items of real evidence) are not included in the case files.
Petitions for divorce are the predominant type of action in the civil case files. Suits to recover money are also common. These actions arise out of failure to honor promissory notes or other contract terms and non- payment of rent, lease payments, and court-ordered judgments. Attempts by plaintiffs to recover medical costs and lost income arising out of personal injury cases resulting from alleged carelessness or neglect appear frequently. These include traffic mishaps or accidents involving neighbors, employees, or business customers. Property cases include disputed ownership, damage,and contested improvements.
Legal actions include voluntary withdrawal or dissolution of corporations as well as petitions for a writ of habeas corpus (a court order requiring that a prisoner be brought before a judge to decide the legality of his detention or imprisonment). Court business (grand jury lists and reports, orders summoning persons to serve as jurors, various writs, etc.) have also been assigned civil case numbers.
According to statute, the district court has jurisdiction in all civil matters not excepted by the state constitution and not prohibited by law. During each calendar year the court is required to hold at least three terms at the county seat of each county within the district. The county clerk in each county serves as ex- officio clerk to the court and is responsible for maintaining the case files for actions arising in that county.
Responsibility for cases involving minimal monetary claims was reassigned to the newly created small claims departments ofinferior courts in 1933. When inferior courts have original jurisdiction, the district court is limited to hearing appeals. Included are violations of city and town ordinances, as well as minor traffic laws, where a City Court or Justice of the Peace Court is established. Upon receipt of an appeal, the district court conducts a complete retrial of the case.
Arrangement
Numerical by case number.
Research Note
The earliest case files kept by the court were housed in tri-fold jackets. These tri-fold jackets often contain the case file number, however many of the early cases are missing their jackets and will need to be identified by defendant name.
Related Records
Judgment record books from the District Court (Fifth District : Beaver County), Series 13138, contains the case files documented in the judgments recorded in this series.
General indexes to actions from the District Court (Fifth District : Beaver County), Series 24546, contains index books for cases cited in the civil registers between 1896 and 1925.
Case indexes from the District Court (Fifth District : Beaver County), Series 24549, is comprised of index books for civil and criminal cases heard in the court between 1896 and 1998.
Civil registers of actions from the District Court (Fifth District : Beaver County), Series 24551, record the date any action was taken on a case and briefly state what that action was.
Custody History
All case files created between 1896 and 1959 were transferred to the Utah State Archives in 2005. For access to case files post-1959 researchers should contact the clerk of the Fifth District Court in Beaver County. In July 2014, the Fifth District Court in Beaver County transferred case number 625 (Hardy, et al V. the Beaver Irrigation Company) to the Utah State Archives. This case is composed of two cubic feet of material that has been microfilmed and incorporated into archival holdings. In October 2015 the Beaver County Attorney's office transferred contents from case 3352 (Chevron Oil Company vs Beaver County) and Case 3357 (Phillips Petroleum Company and Deseret Investors Group vs Beaver County) to the Utah State Archives. These cases dealt with the development of the I-15 highway service zone in Beaver County between 1965 and 1969.
Additional Forms
This series is available on microfilm.
Access Restrictions
This series is classified as Public.
Preferred Citation
Cite the Utah State Archives and Records Service, the creating agency name, the series title, and the series number.
Gaps in Series
There are many gaps throughout this series with a notably large run of gaps between 1953 and 1956. The case files to fill these gaps were not found in the court and are presumed to be lost.
Processing Note
This series was archivally processed by Jim Kichas and Emily Gurr in April 2008 as part of a NHPRC grant project designed to preserve the historic records of Utah's Fifth District Courts.
Indexing Terms
- Civil Procedure and Courts
Container List
| REEL | BOX | DATE | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1896-1897 | 1-38 |
| 2 | 1 | 1898 | 39-64 |
| 2 | 2 | 1898 | 65-67 |
| 3 | 2 | 1898-1900 | 68-93 |
| 4 | 2 | 1900-1902 | 94-119 |
| 4 | 3 | 1902 | 120-122 |
| 5 | 3 | 1903 | 123-152 |
| 6 | 3 | 1903 | 153-164 |
| 6 | 4 | 1903 | 165-183 |
| 7 | 4 | 1904-1905 | 184-212 |
| 7 | 5 | 1905 | 213-220 |
| 8 | 5 | 1905-1906 | 221-253 |
| 9 | 5 | 1906-1907 | 254-269 |
| 9 | 6 | 1906-1907 | 270-285 |
| 10 | 6 | 1907-1909 | 286-323 |
| 11 | 6 | 1909-1910 | 324-330 |
| 11 | 7 | 1909-1910 | 331-380 |
| 12 | 7 | 1910-1911 | 381-400 |
| 12 | 8 | 1911 | 401-429 |
| 13 | 8 | 1911-1912 | 430-458 |
| 13 | 9 | 1911-1912 | 459-466 |
| 14 | 9 | 1912-1913 | 467-507 |
| 15 | 9 | 1914 | 508-522 |
| 15 | 10 | 1914 | 523-532 |
| 16 | 10 | 1914-1915 | 533-563 |
| 16 | 11 | 1914-1915 | 564-567 |
| 17 | 11 | 1915 | 568-600 |
| 17 | 12 | 1915 | 601-605 |
| 18 | 12 | 1916 | 606-624 |
| pending | 41 | 625 | |
| pending | 42 | 1916-1961 | 625 |
| 18 | 12 | 1916 | 626-645 |
| 19 | 12 | 1917-1918 | 646-653 |
| 19 | 13 | 1917-1918 | 654-674 |
| 20 | 13 | 1918 | 675-697 |
| 21 | 13 | 1918 | 698-699 |
| 21 | 14 | 1918 | 700-729 |
| 22 | 14 | 1918 | 730-746 |
| 22 | 15 | 1918 | 747-752 |
| 23 | 15 | 1918-1920 | 753-785 |
| 24 | 15 | 1918-1920 | 786-803 |
| 24 | 16 | 1918-1920 | 804-828 |
| 25 | 16 | 1918-1920 | 829-868 |
| 25 | 17 | 1918-1920 | 869-880 |
| 26 | 17 | 1920 | 881-933 |
| 27 | 17 | 1920-1921 | 934-946 |
| 27 | 18 | 1920-1921 | 947-979 |
| 28 | 18 | 1921-1922 | 980-1023 |
| 29 | 19 | 1922 | 1024-1085 |
| 30 | 19 | 1923 | 1086-1099 |
| 30 | 20 | 1923 | 1100-1147 |
| 31 | 20 | 1924 | 1148-1169 |
| 31 | 21 | 1924-1925 | 1170-1204 |
| 32 | 21 | 1925-1926 | 1205-1246 |
| 33 | 21 | 1926 | 1247-1249 |
| 33 | 22 | 1926 | 1250-1280 |
| 34 | 22 | 1926-1928 | 1281-1325 |
| 35 | 23 | 1928 | 1326-1362 |
| 36 | 23 | 1928-1929 | 1363-1379 |
| 36 | 24 | 1928-1929 | 1380-1398 |
| 37 | 24 | 1929-1930 | 1399-1425 |
| 37 | 25 | 1929-1930 | 1426-1431 |
| 38 | 25 | 1929-1930 | 1432-1483 |
| 38 | 26 | 1929-1930 | 1484-1487 |
| 39 | 26 | 1930 | 1488-1535 |
| 40 | 26 | 1930-1932 | 1536-1554 |
| 40 | 27 | 1930-1932 | 1555-1574 |
| 41 | 27 | 1932 | 1575-1593(E) |
| 42 | 27 | 1932 | 1593(F) |
| 42 | 28 | 1932 | 1594-1610 |
| 43 | 28 | 1932-1933 | 1611-1651 |
| 44 | 28 | 1933 | 1652-1654 |
| 44 | 29 | 1933 | 1655-1671 |
| 45 | 29 | 1933-1934 | 1672-1707 |
| 46 | 29 | 1934-1935 | 1708-1714 |
| 46 | 30 | 1934-1935 | 1715-1743 |
| 47 | 30 | 1935 | 1744-1772 |
| 47 | 31 | 1935 | 1773-1780 |
| 48 | 31 | 1935-1936 | 1781-1813 |
| 49 | 31 | 1936-1937 | 1814-1838 |
| 49 | 32 | 1936-1937 | 1839-1845 |
| 50 | 32 | 1936-1937 | 1846-1890 |
| 51 | 32 | 1937-1938 | 1891-1935 |
| 51 | 33 | 1937-1938 | 1936-1939 |
| 52 | 33 | 1938-1939 | 1940-2010 |
| 53 | 33 | 1939-1940 | 2011-2052 |
| 53 | 34 | 1939-1940 | 2053-2059 |
| 54 | 34 | 1940-1942 | 2060-2148 |
| 55 | 34 | 1942-1945 | 2149-2176 |
| 55 | 35 | 1942-1945 | 2177-2248 |
| 56 | 35 | 1945-1947 | 2249-2298 |
| 56 | 36 | 1945-1947 | 2299-2307 |
| 57 | 36 | 1947-1948 | 2308-2369 |
| 58 | 36 | 1948-1949 | 2370-2403 |
| 58 | 37 | 1948-1949 | 2404-2447 |
| 59 | 37 | 1949-1951 | 2448-2527 |
| 59 | 38 | 1949-1951 | 2528-2541 |
| 60 | 38 | 1951-1953 | 2542-2662 |
| 60 | 39 | 1953 | 2663 |
| 61 | 39 | 1956 | 2800-2806 |
| 62 | 39 | 1956-1958 | 2807-2812 |
| 62 | 40 | 1958-1959 | 2813-2919 |
| 63 | 40 | 1958-1959 | 2920-2952 |
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