Cooke v. Manly
Cooke v. Manly
Opinion of the Court
By the Oowrt,
In this case the plaintiff in error, who was defendant below, served upon the attorneys of the defendants in error, ten days before the term of court, a notice requiring such defendants in error to appear and be sworn as witnesses upon the trial of this cause. They not appearing he offered himself as a witness, and insisted upon being sworn; but was objected to and excluded by the court. The reason for excluding him appears to have been that the court deemed the notice insufficient in point of time to secure the attendance of the defendants in error, or to take their testimony under the statute; and that therefore Cooke was not entitled to be sworn in the cause. The suit was upon a promissory note given by Cooke to the defendants in error, and it was proved by one of their attorneys on the trial that they resided in the State of New York.
Tinder the circumstances we think Cooke was properly excluded as a witness in the ease. His right to testify only resulted from the failure or neglect of the opposite party appearing or having his testimony taken, after a sufficient notice served upon him, to appear at the time of trial. Sec. 57, chap. 98, R. S. What is to be deemed a sufficient notice must be determined very much by the circumstances of each particular case; but in general it may be remarked that a reasonable time should be given to secure the attendance of the
Judgment affirmed with costs.
I cannot concur in the conclusion to which my brethren have arrived in this case. There was nothing on the record to show that the plaintiff's resided in the State of New York, nor can I perceive any reason why the defendant should be presumed to know that fact. On the contrary it seems to me that the legal presumption is, that the plaintiff is a resident within the jurisdiction of the forum where he sues, if there is nothing on the record to repel such presumption. It is not contended but that ten days notice would in such case be sufficient. No notice of the non-residence, or of the place of residence of the plaintiffs was given the defendant until the cause
Reference
- Full Case Name
- THOMAS COOKE, in Error. v. DEAN S. MANLY and AMASA MASON, in Error
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published