Wells v. Warrick Martin & Co.
Wells v. Warrick Martin & Co.
Opinion of the Court
Martin & Co. sued Wells in assumpsit on a promissory note, in Columbiana common pleas. On trial, a bill of exceptions was signed and sealed, which is in these words:
“ Be it remembered, that this case came on for trial upon the pleadings which are referred to. The plaintiff not producing the note described in the declaration, offered in evidence to *tho
The journal entries show the withdrawal of the juror, a discharge of the remaining jurors, and the tendering, signing, and sealing of the bill of exceptions; after which follows the judgment in these words:
“ It is, therefore, by consent of the parties, considered and adjudged by the court that the said Warrick Martin & Co. recover against the said Wells, defendant, their damages of $292, assessed by the court, and costs herein expended to be taxed,”
On error, the supreme court in Columbiana county affirmed this judgment. Whether any assignment of errors was filed in that court we can not tell. None appears in the record.
The present plaintiff now assigns for error:
1. “ The admission of the affidavit of Kahl, one of the plaintiffs below, without the affidavit of the other plaintiff and partner, who had equal access to the custody of the papers, etc., of the firm.
*2. “In holding that the evidence given by plaintiff below, of the loss of the note in suit, was sufficient to admit secondary evidence of its contents to be given to the jury.”
It is a sufficient answer to this assignment that it is shown, both by the bill of exceptions and the journal entries, that the judgment was entered “by consent of the parties.” It requires no argument to prove that a judgment, thus rendered by a court of competent jurisdiction, can not be reversed on error. Again: It
Again : The errors now assigned are based upon the admission •of an affidavit,- and the ruling that the testimony was sufficient to let in secondary evidence of the contents of the note. But none of this testimony is before us in a way that we can take notice of it. True, the record contains an affidavit of Kahl, and depositions of McYay & Coffin; but they are neither incorporated in the bill of ■exceptions, or attached to it or referred to in it by any mark or particular designation.
In Hicks v. Person, 19 Ohio, 446, the court, speaking of bills of exceptions, said: “ It will not do, as is sometimes attempted to be •done, to refer to the records of courts, or records of deeds, and attempt to make them parts of bills of exceptions. It will not do to refer to depositions on file, by the names of the deponents, ■or by artificial marks upon the depositions themselves, without •.something beyond this. They must be attached to or made part of the bill of «exceptions; so that, when a record of the case shall be made, they can be introduced into that record as constituting a part of the case.”
These remarks apply with their full force to the present case; for we have nothing before us to show that it was either right or proper to insert the affidavit and depositions aforesaid in the record, or that they are the same affidavits and depositions mentioned in the bill ■of exceptions. But there is yet another view that is fatal to the •plaintiff in error. The testimony spoken of was given on the trial >by jury. But, by consent of parties, the jury was discharged without rendering a verdict, and the cause seems to have been submitted to the court.
Now it does not appear what, if any, testimony was given to the •court. The record states that the judgment was by consent of the
But were the case such that we could consider the rulings complained of, the result would be the same. The affidavit of K.ahl was properly admitted. That the affidavit of a party to a suit may be used to prove the loss of a writing, in order to let in secondary evidence of its contents, is too well established to admit of question. Donaldson v. Taylor, 8 Pick. 390; Chamberlain v. Gorham, 20 Johns. 144.
But it is said that an affidavit of Martin ought also to have been produced. Suppose it were so, that would only prove that Kahl’s .affidavit was not of itself sufficient. It would not make it inadmissible as evidence. ■
"Was there, however, any necessity for Martin’s affidavit? A prima facie case of the loss of the note was to be made to the satisfaction of the court.
The fact was to be established, not conclusively, that is not required, but reasonably. To do this may, in some cases, where there is more than one plaintiff, require the affidavits of all of them. In •other cases, an affidavit of one of the plaintiffs may be sufficient. No general rule can be laid *down upon the subject. The ruling must depend upon the circumstances of each particular case. Page v. Page, 15 Pick. 368.
In the case under consideration, there was not only Kahl’s affi-' ■davit, but also the depositions of McYay and Coffin. 'Each of these tended to prove the loss of the note, and altogether established the fact, as we think, quite sufficiently.
Judgment affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.