Hays v. Crist
Hays v. Crist
Opinion of the Court
By the Court,
George H. Crist brought an action against David Hays, to recover damages for injuries to his growing crops, alleged to have been done by defendant’s hogs, in June, 1865. Trial was'had before S. V. Lee, J. P., of Pottawatomie county, and Crist recovered a judgment for fifty dollars damages, and costs of suit. Defendant then appealed to the district court, where the issues between the parties were made up by the filing of the plaintiff’s petition, the answer of defendant, and the reply of the plaintiff. The cause was submitted to a jury, who returned a verdict for plaintiff, and upon which he had judgment.
On the trial, as the case made shows, the plaintiff was permitted, against the objection of the defendant, to offer evidence to prove what the crops of the said plaintiff would have been worth in the fall of the year, if the hogs of the defendant had not committed the alleged trespass, in order to prove the damages the plaintiff had sustained. This was clearly erroneous. The only just rule by which the damages, if any had been done to the crops, could be estimated, was to confine the testimony to what it was at the time the trespass was committed. Besides, it is not easy to see how testimony as to what the crops might have been worth in the fall, could be put before a jury so as to assist them in determining the real issue in the case, viz : How much was the plaintiff’s crop damaged by defendant’s hogs, in the month of June, 1865? This was certainly all the damages for which he, the defendant, could be held liable under the pleadings.
The judgment of the district, court is reversed, and cause sent back for a new trial.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- David Hays v. George H. Crist
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- On appeal to district court of an action brought before a justice, held that it was too late, after answer filed, for defendant to move to make the petition conform to the bill of particulars before the justice, or to move to strike it out for the same reason. The evidence of damages to a growing crop must be confined to value at the time of the injury. Held, error for the court to admit evidence of what the crop, injured in June, would have been worth in the fall of the year, if the injury had not been done. Semble, all joint owners of a crop injured are proper parties to an action for damages for such injury.