Harnish v. Herr
Harnish v. Herr
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the Court,
But for a single error this judgment might have been affirmed. The court below permitted the plaintiff to testify, notwithstanding tlie fact that the action was against an administrator. It is settled by several authorities that the Act of 1869 does not apply in such cases: Taylor v. Kelly, 30 P. F. S. 95; Hoopes v. Beale, 9 Norris 82; Gamble v. Hepburn, Ibid. 439. It was said, however, that the administrator of Michael S. Harnish was not a necessary party; that Harnish was the mere agent of Keemer, the owner of the property against which the claim was filed. Yet the record shows no motion on the part of the plaintiff to amend by striking out the name of the administrator as a party defendant. He did ask to have the jury sworn only as to Keemer, which was objected to by defendants, and the objection sustained by the court. It was the right of the defendants to have the jury sworn as to the administrator so long as he was suffered to remain a party to the record. It will not be pretended that if Harnish had been the contractor for the erection of the building, had been included in the claim and sued as such, the plaintiff wonld have been competent to testify in a suit against his administrator. Harnish and Keemer were sued as owners or reputed owners. Whether Harnish was such owner, or merely the agent of Keemer, was one of the questions involved in the trial. The plaintiff was not a competent witness upon this point, nor as to any other matter which had occurred prior to the death of Michael S. Harnish.
The claim would not have been sufficient had the contract been with a contractor, for the reason that it does not set out
The judgment is reversed and a venire facias de novo awarded.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.