Murray v. Fowler
Murray v. Fowler
Opinion of the Court
The plaintiff (appellee) sued the defendant (appellant) for damages resulting from an alleged wrongful entry on lands of plaintiff, and cutting and removal of timber therefrom. Counts 1 and 2 claim the statutory penalty for destroying trees. Code, § 6035. Count 3 declares in trespass on the land, averring the cutting and removal of timber therefrom. Count 4 is in trover for removing a quantity of “heading timber.” The trial was by the court without jury, the trial court rendering judgment for plaintiff, and stating that its judgment was not to be referred to the statutory penalty counts, thereby referring (for some, the inconclusive purposes) to tire causes of action averred in counts 3 and 4.
“He did not know where the line between Mrs. Fowler and Dave Fowler was except Dave Fowler told Mm.”
The witness was then asked this question by plaintiff’s counsel: ’
“From where he told you the line was, was the cutting ,of the trees on Mrs. Fowler’s side of the line?”
The defendant objected on the grbund, with another, that the question sought to elicit hearsay evidence; that there was no evidence that the line pointed out to witness by Dave Fowler was the true line. The witness answered in the affirmative. The court erred in overruling the objection. The location of the line between the lands of plaintiff and Dave Fowler, with respect to the timber latterly cut, was a material issue on the trial, the defendant attributing the only cutting he had done to the right given him by Dave Fowler to cut from Dave Fowler’s land. The evidence called for by the question was hearsay, and inadmissible.
The same error affects the matter and rulings referred to in assignments 14 and 22.
“You did tell them that you would release your interest when they had that settlement down there, didn’t you?”
The objection was erroneously overruled. This witness was not a party to this suit. It is not asserted that defendant Murray was present on that occasion. So far as appears from the evidence, this witness had no authority to release or surrender' any right the defendant had or claimed in the premises. If such authority was conferred on the witness Brown bjr the defendant, it should have been shown before seeking to elicit the testimony indicated by the quoted question.
For the errors indicated, the judgment is reversed, and the cause is remanded.
Reversed and remanded.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Murray v. Fowler.
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published