Tennessee River Nav. Co. v. Woodward
Tennessee River Nav. Co. v. Woodward
Opinion of the Court
After the giving of the court’s oral charge, reading to the jury several written charges, and before the jury left the jury box for the purpose of considering the cause, but after the court had ordered the jury to retire and consider their verdict, the defendant requested the court in writing to give to the jury three additional written charges, which charges the court refused to pass upon, and refused to write either “Given” or “Refused” thereon. The court’s action appears to have been based upon a rule of the court which reads as follows:
“(12) All charges requested by either party in a cause must be submitted to the judge presiding on the trial before the argument in the case has commenced, or the right to request such charges will be presumed to have been waived, and the judge will not consider or pass upon the same unless such charges so requested subsequent to the commencement of the argument are either explanatory in their nature or charges which the presiding judge thinks are properly requested by reason of some statement in the oral charge, or by reason of some charge given at the request of the adverse party.”
The bill of exception recites that this rule was known to appellant’s counsel at the time ,of the request for the giving of the written charges.
The record shows that judgment was rendered against the defendant on November 10, 1919, for $800, in accordance with' the verdict of the jury; that on November 21, 1919, the defendant filed a motion for a rehearing and new trial, assigning many grounds therefor; that on November 28, 1919, the court entered a judgment overruling the motion, to which defendant excepted.
“Said motion came on for hearing during said term of court, and upon consideration, etc., the court overruled said motion, to which action and ruling of the court the defendant then and there duly reserved an exception.”
One of the most serious insistencies of appellant, and one of its grounds assigned for a new trial, is that the verdict was excessive. Appellee insists that all jurisdiction in the lower court to disturb this verdict passed out of it, because the bill of exceptions does not show that the motion was ever made or passed on within 30 days from the date of the judgment. We cannot agree with the contention to such a conclusion. True enough, it is, that there. are now by law only two terms of the circuit court a year, each term lasting for five months or more, yet the recitation in the bill of exceptions is not conclusive that the motion in this case was not acted on within 30 days, and the judgment on the motion, as shown by the record, not being in conflict with the recitation in the bill of exceptions that it was acted upon in term time, is sufficient to show that the motion was acted upon within the time prescribed by law.
Remittitur of part of damages recovered ordered.
The appellee having filed in this cause a written release of the amount of the judgment in excess of $400, as was made a condition by the judgment of this court, the judgment of the' trial court is therefore affirmed.
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Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.