Burt v. Florida Southern Railway Co.
Burt v. Florida Southern Railway Co.
Opinion of the Court
This cause was referred by the court to two of its commissioners, Mess. Maxwell and Glen, for investigation and they have reported that the judgment of the Circuit Court of Putnam county, from which this writ of error was taken, ought to be affirmed. The court after careful consideration is of the same opinion, but deems it proper to express its views more at length than by the ordinary per curiam.
The suit is an action of ejectment and was originally instituted by George Burt in 1890, who obtained judgment from which a writ of error was taken by the defendant to this court. Before the case was decided George Burt died, and the plaintiff in error was made a party in his stead in this court. The judgment was reversed (Florida Southern Ry. Co. v. Burt, 36 Fla. 497, 18 South. Rep. 581), and the cause remanded for a new trial upon the ground that the evidence did not show any title or right of possession in the plaintiff, George Burt. Another trial resulted in a judgment for the defendant, from which this writ of error was taken.
The cause is decided upon the abstract which lias not been excepted to. From this abstract it appears that the declaration by George Burt was filed April 4, 1890, claiming to recover of the defendant the possession of certain named blocks of land, described by their street boundaries, containing twenty-five acres, of which defendant was alleged to be possessed. Defendant pleaded, first, not guilty; second, that it was not then, and had not theretofore been in possesion of the land described in the declaration. Issue was joined on these pleas September 4, 1890. After the case was remanded by this court to the
Plaintiff also moved for a new trial upon the following grounds: 1st. No evidence before the jury as to when defendant took possession of the lands sued for. 2nd. No evidence of title or claim of title to lands sued for. 3rd. Verdict contrary to evidence. 4th. Verdict contrary to law. 5th. Withdrawal of second plea after change in the statute of limitations after plea pleaded and issue joined. The motion was overruled and plaintiff excepted.
The plaintiff also moved in arrest of judgment, which motion was denied and she excepted. This motion was based upon the following grounds, substantially, vis: That there was no replication filed to the amended plea, the issues tendered by that plea had never been tried; that the amended plea was inconsistent with the other plea of not
The errors assigned are as follows: 1st. The refusal of the judge to allow plaintiff to ask the witness James Burt, a certain question therein stated.
2nd. The refusal of the judge to allow plaintiff to give in evidence the expenditures of George Burt for attorney’s fees and other costs in the first trial of the case.
3rd. The ruling permitting defendant to withdraw its second plea during’ the progress of the trial.
4th. ■ The ruling permitting defendant to file a new plea and disclaimer after verdict and motion for a new trial.
5th. Allowing- defendant to file a plea after verdict changing the issues presented to the jury at the trial, which plea did not describe with reasonable certainty what part of the land sued for a defence was intended to be made, or the part for which by said plea a defence would have been made if the plea had been filed before the verdict under the rule in ejectment, and which plea was allowed to be filed without the written notice to the plaintiff of the restricted defence attempted, or the filing of such notice, and after an appearance and defence for the whole of the lands sued for.
6th. The ruling refusing to give instructions Nos. 1 to 12 inclusive, and No. 13, asked for by the plaintiff.
7th. The rulings giving- the charges Nos. 1, 3, 5, 6 and 7 asked for by defendant.
8th. The refusal of the judge to grant a new trial.
The 1st, 2nd, 6th and 7th assignments of error may
Before considering in detail the other assignments of error, it will be proper to say that according to the evidence given in ’the abstract, plaintiff failed to show any title in the original plaintiff, 'George Burt, or in herself, to any part of the lands sued for. The abstract states that plaintiff proved title back to A. D. 1852, from grantors then in possesion claiming- to own in fee by certain deeds which are not set forth in the abstract. The descriptions of lands in these deeds as. given in the abstract do not purport to include the lands in dispute, nor is there any testimony which tends to show that these descriptions embrace the lands in controversy or any of them. The first deed mentioned is one from Burt, Reid and Carr to Isaac H. Bronson. It is inferentially stated that this deed conveyed nearly all of the “ Palatka tract ” or “ Brush Grant ” the whole of which is now embraced
The eighth'has been disposed of by what has been said in relation, to the effect of the evidence, except the last ground of the motion for a new trial, which will necessarily be disposed of in considering the third assignment of error. }
The third assignment of error complains of the action of the court permitting the original second plea to be withdrawn during the trial. There can be no doubt that the court had power in its discretion to permit an amendment of the pleadings by withdrawing a plea, even during the trial under the statute hereinafter referred to. This power is not denied "by the plaintiff in error, but she contends that the court abused its discretion in this instance to her injury, because as she alleges the plea withrdrawn was an admission of record that defendant bad never been in possession of the lands sued for, and would estop it from claiming title by adverse possession to any part of such lands, and that the court by permitting the withdrawal of the plea deprived her of benefit of this estoppel by the record. Even if this contention be sound it does not follow that the ruling complained of will avail to reverse this case. That it would be clearly an error without injury, is apparent when we, remember that plaintiff showed
The fourth and fifth assignments of error may be considered together. They complain of the ruling permitting the amended plea to be filed after the verdict. Section 1042 Revised Statutes provides that “upon application of any party desiring- amendment the courts of this State shall at all times amend all defects and errors in any pleading or proceeding in civil causes whether there is anything to amend by or not, and whether the defect or error be that of the party applying to amend or not; and all such amendments shall be made with or without costs and upon such terms as the court may deem fit; and all such amendments as may be necessary for the purpose of determining in the existing suit the real question in controversy between the parties shall be so made, if duly applied for.” This section has been several times before this court for consideration (Robinson v. Hartridge, 13 Fla. 501; Smith v. Westcott, 34 Fla. 430, 16 South. Rep. 332), and in the last case it is said “our trial courts are clothed with a very broad discretion in the matter of allowing amendments of the pleadings in civil causes, and unless there is a very gross and flagrant abuse of the discretion, this court will not interfere with its exercise.” So far as we have been able to ascertain, no case permitting amendment of pleadings after verdict has ever
The judgment of the Circuit Court is affirmed-
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Anna G. Burt, as Administratrix of the Estate of George Burt, in Error v. The Florida Southern Railway Company, a Corporation Under the Laws of Florida, in Error
- Cited By
- 17 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- 1. Assignments of error based upon alleged rulings not shown by the abstracts to have been made, or not shown by the abstract to have been excepted to where an exception is necessary, or based upon instructions not set forth in the abstract, or if set forth, not accompanied by a statement of the substance of the testimony upon which they were based, will not be considered by an appellate court, where the cause is submitted upon abstracts of the record not excepted to. 2. Trial courts have discretionary power under section 1042 Revised Statutes to permit amendments of the pleadings by the withdrawal of a plea by a defendant during the trial, and unless the appellate court can see that the discretion was abused, and that the opposite party might have been injured by such an amendment, the ruling permitting the amendment will not be disturbed on writ of error. 3. Under section 1042 Revised Statutes trial courts have discretionary power to permit amendments of the pleadings after verdict in furtherance of justice, but this power should be more cautiously exercised than in cases where the application to amend is made before the verdict, and where such amendment after verdict makes a new issue which has not been submitted by the parties to the jury on trial, a new trial ought ordinarily to be granted, but where it clearly appears to the appellate court that the opposite party was not injured by such amendment, the ruling granting- it will not be disturbed, though the trial court refused to grant a new trial. 4. A plaintiff in ejectment must recover upon the strength of his own title and not upon the weakness of his adversary’s He cannot recover even as against one without title, unless he proves title or prior possession. 5. Plaintiff sued defendant, a railroad company, in ejectment for the whole of certain-blocks of land containing- nearly twenty-five acres. Defendant pleaded, first, not guilty; second, that it was not in possession of any of the lands sued for. During the trial the plea denying possession was by leave of court over plaintiff’s objections withdrawn. Plaintiff failed to show title to or prior possession of any of the land sued for, and defendant produced evidence that it claimed and was in possession of only a small strip of land across the lots as a right of way, covered by its railway tracks and ditches as laid. The jury rendered a verdict for defendant. After verdict, but before judgment, defendant was permitted, over plaintiff’s objections to file an amended plea denying that it was in possession of the whole of the lands sued for, but only of so much as was covered by its railway tracks and ditches as laid, and specially disclaiming any other possession or claim right or title to the lands sued for, but as to that portion occupied by its trades and ditches alleging that it claimed title exclusive of any other right. Thereupon judgment was entered for defendant: Held, that the plaintiff under the circumstances was not injured by the rulings permitting the withdrawal of the plea denying possession, and the. filing of the amended plea after verdict; that the plea filed after verdict in effect 'withdrew so much of the plea of not guilty as applied to the lands sued for other than the strip covered by the defendant’s railway tracks and ditches as laid; that by filing this plea the defendant voluntarily relinquished its right to a.judgment that would operate as an estoppel on the question of title as to all portions of the lots sued for except as stated; that the judgment entered must be construed with reference to the issues made by the amended pleadings; that the pleadings as amended put in issue the real controversy between the parties and that under the circumstances stated the filing of the amended plea after verdict did not require the granting of a new trial as plaintiff was not only not injured but actually benefitted by such amendment.