Strickland v. Phillips
Strickland v. Phillips
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the Court was delivered by
In this suit upon a promissory note given by defendant to plaintiff for the purchase of a steam1 engine and boiler, in which defendant plead a discharge or payment by a return of the property under an agreement, plaintiff recovered judgment for the sum claimed, and de *265 fendant appeals on exceptions to rulings of the Court in excluding testimony 'alleged hy appellant to be relevant and in admitting testimony alleged to be irrelevant.
The defendant in his answer plead that the consideration of the note in suit Was a steam engine and boiler sold defendant by plaintiff for $250; that plaintiff thereafter agreed to take back the property and surrender 'the note if defendant would purchase a stock of merchandise belonging to' the Saluda Mercantile Co., which was then embarrassed and of Which defendant was a stockholder and director, and that defendant was thereby induced to purchase and did purchase and pay for said stock in the sum of $3,200', and that thereby said note was paid and discharged. The defendant testified in support of these allegations, but was flatly contradicted by the plaintiff with respect to the alleged agreement. With, a view to- render probable defendant’s testimony as to the agreement, he offered to show that plaintiff w:as not only a *266 director and1 stockholder in the embarrassed company, as alleged in the answer, but was personally liable as endorser on the notes in bank of said company, and, therefore, was particularly interested in effecting the sale'of the stock of merchandise so- as to pay said notes. The Court ruled that the evidence was irrelevant, as it was not. alleged in che answer. The ruling was probably technically erroneous under the principles stated as to> relevancy, but as the record shows that the facts sought to' be proven were already in evidence by the same witness without obj ection, and the probative force of the facts, slight at best, could' not have been increased by repetition, appellant has in no wise been prejudiced, and certainly the Court did not abuse its discretion This disposes of the first and second exceptions.
The judgment of the Circuit Court is affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Strickland v. Phillips.
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- 2 cases
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- Syllabus
- 1. Relevant Evidence. — It is not reversible error to rule out evidence technically relevant to an issue in the case where same facts had already been proved by same witness without objection. Relevant evidence defined. 2. Ibid. — Where the issue is whether plaintiff agreed to take back from defendant a steam engine and to return the purchase money note, if defendant would buy a stock of goods in which plaintiff was interested at a certain price, evidence that the plaintiff was offered by another, after sale to defendant without knowledge thereof, the same price defendant had paid, is relevant to that issue.