§ 9-7-3.Appointment of auditor in matters of account; on application and notice; on court’s own motion

This section widens the auditor’s reach past the equity cases covered in 9-7-2. Any case in a superior, state, or city court that turns on “matters of account” — the kind of dispute built around ledgers, running transactions, and figures that need careful tracing — can go to an auditor if the case requires it, no matter which of those three courts is hearing it.

The appointment mechanics mirror the equity referral: either a party applies and gives notice to the opponent, or the judge acts alone on his own motion when the facts and circumstances call for it. Either way, appointment is discretionary, tied to whether “the case shall require it.”

The accounting-heavy cases this section targets are exactly the kind where a judge’s time is better spent managing the law of the case than tracing every debit and credit personally — which is why the legislature extended the auditor device beyond superior court equity practice into state and city courts as well.