Pitthan v. Schaithman
Pitthan v. Schaithman
Opinion of the Court
The action was instituted in the probate court where the plaintiff filed his claim against the estate of the deceased for the sum of $300. The claim was allowed by the probate court and the administratrix appealed to the circuit court, where the plaintiff again obtained judgment from which the administratrix appealed to this court.
The plaintiff seeks to have allowed against the estate of Oscar Schnaitman said sum of $300 purporting to be for money loaned to the partnership of Schnaitman & Erath of which deceased was a member. A jury was waived and the cause was tried by the court. The testimony introduced by the plaintiff was that on the day the loan is alleged to have been made Erath the partner of deceased said to him that he needed some money with which to cash checks and that deceased replied that he would get it; that, together with the porter employed by the partnership the deceased went to plaintiff’s place of business and plaintiff gave him the money. The plain
It is the contention of defendant that the mere reception by the deceased of the $300.00 is no evidence of a loan more than the payment of an indebtedness and was not sufficient to authorize any finding in favor of plaintiff. In the first place it is contended before a claim should be allowed against the estate of a deceased person “very satisfactory evidence” should be produced of its justness. We do not know that the rule of law in such cases would be different materially from that prevailing in ordinary civil cases. The rule that should prevail is, that the very best evidence obtainable should be introduced by the claimant, against the estate of the deceased person, for in all instances by reason of the death of one party the lips of the other are closed and thus the plaintiff is deprived of the benefit of his own testimony as well as that of deceased. It is true fraudulent claims may and. no doubt sometimes are allowed against the estate of deceased person. But we do not think that on account of such a condition any particular rule could with safety be adopted other than that which prevails in ordinary civil cases which is to require such evidence as will best disclose the truth.
The point however, relied upon by appellant is that there was no evidence of a loan by plaintiff to deceased.
And it is a rule of practice in this State that a demurrer to the evidence requires a reasonable inference from the fact and circumstances in evidence to be made in favor of the opposite party. [Knapp v. Hanley, 108 Mo. App. 360.] And it is said in 181 Mo. 504, Montgomery v. Railroad: “It is axiomatic that a demurrer to evidence admits the fact the evidence tends to prove, and in passing upon it the court is required to make every inference of fact in favor of the party offering the evidence which a jury might, with propriety have inferred in his favor, and if when viewed in this light it is sufficient to support a verdict in his favor, the demurrer should be overruled.”
We cannot divest ourselves of the conclusion that there was at least some evidence upon which the court was authorized to render its finding and such being the case we do not feel authorized to interfere with it. Affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.