11 Colo. App. 476 | Colo. Ct. App. | 1898
delivered the opinion of the court.
Defendants in error received from the county clerk of Las Animas county and published in their newspaper the official ballot for the election of 1895, as required by statute. There was no agreement as to the amount to be charged for the publication. Thereafter, they presented to the board of county commissioners a bill for their services in the sum of $528. This was allowed to the amount of $470.25. Soon after, they presented another bill for $57.75, the balance due on the original bill. Upon this the commissioners on January 8,1896, allowed $2.75, and disallowed the balance. From this action of the board, an appeal was taken to the district court, under the provisions of sec. 547, Gen. Stats. The required appeal bond was executed and presented to the county clerk on February 8, and was by him approved on the same day. The clerk of the board then made out, as required by sec. 548, Gen. Stats., a return of the proceedings in the case before the commissioners, with their decision thereon, and this, together with the bond, was filed with the clerk of the district court on April 6, 1896. At the May term of the district court following, the cause was called and set for trial on the 26th of
The principal question in this case was before this court in Board of Commissioners of Pitkin County v. Price et al., 10 Colo. App. 519; and was determined adversely to the contention of the plaintiff in error. It was there held that the provisions of sec. 1428 of the general statutes, fixing the fees for the publication of all legal advertisements, do not apply to the publication of the official ballot under the election laws. In this case, in the absence of a special agreement as to price, the publishers were entitled to recover the value of the services. It is unnecessary to add anything on this point to what was said in that opinion.
It is insisted, however, that the motion to dismiss the appeal should have been sustained, and that its denial was error for which the judgment in this cause must be reversed. This might be true, although we do not decide the point, if it had not been for the action of the county, subsequent to the denial of the motion. The county attorney, as the legally authorized representative of the county commissioners, appeared at and took part in the trial immediately following the refusal of the court to sustain the motion. He cross-examined the witnesses for the plaintiff, and the testimony of witnesses was offered and heard in hehalf of the county. By such action, he clearly waived his right to insist upon the want of jurisdiction of the court. This principle has been repeatedly affirmed by the supreme court of this state and by this court. Smith
It is also assigned for error that the court erred in its rulings upon the admissibility of numerous and various questions of evidence during the trial of said cause. This assignment is entirely too general in its character to receive consideration under the rules and numerous decisions of this court. Our attention is not called to any particular ruling of the trial court, admitting or excluding any evidence, to which objection is made. We find no error in the proceedings, and the judgment will be affirmed.
Affirmed.