Hafner v. Fitzpatrick
Hafner v. Fitzpatrick
Opinion of the Court
— This is a replevin action to recover an automobile owned by the respondent. The trial court, on conflicting testimony, found that the automobile was feloniously taken from the respondent’s possession by one S. J. Nowland and sold by him to the appellant, and ordered the automobile, or its value, returned to the respondent.
The testimony does not preponderate against the findings of the trial court. As a matter of fact, it is nearly conclusive that the findings are correct.
After the judgment had been entered, the appellant made a motion for a new trial upon the ground of newly discovered evidence, and in substantiation of the motion presented the affidavits of Nowland and others, which contradicted the testimony given on the trial by the respondent and her witnesses. These af
The denying or granting of a motion for a new trial is, to a large extent, in the discretion of the trial court, and we are satisfied that this discretion was wisely exercised in the instant case. Nowland was admittedly a wrongdoer. The trial court was justified in placing little credence in his statements, and in addition, his and the accompanying affidavits were flatly contradicted by counter affidavits.
The court, having heard the witnesses at the trial and being fully conversant with the facts, is in a far better position than this court to determine whether sufficient showing had been made to justify a reopening of the case. We are satisfied that he did not act improperly in disposing of the motion, and the judgment is affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Mary Hafner v. P. P. Fitzpatrick
- Cited By
- 11 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- New Trial (34) — Grounds—Newly Discovered Evidence — Discretion. The denial of a motion for a new trial cannot be said to be an abuse of the court’s discretion in such matters where the affidavits for and against are flatly contradictory, and when one of the affidavits for a new trial was that of a person who was admittedly a wrongdoer in the subject-matter of the action.