156 Iowa 343 | Iowa | 1912
For the purpose of effecting the sale
The theory of plaintiff is that those who had entered their names in the book had become bound as purchasers of the horse, and that the notes were binding obligations of the signers thereof, if Lefebure elected to accept the notes as they then were; while the theory of defendants is that the notes were not to be delivered until the names of twenty-four responsible persons were signed to them, and that Headley, having taken the notes from Carlson into his own hands for the ostensible purpose of copying off the names of the signers, wrongfully retained the notes in his possession and' carried them away with him, with the result that no legal and effectual delivery of the notes was ever made; Carlson having authority to deliver the notes on this theory only when they bore the names of twenty-four signers.
As the paper contained in the little red book on which twenty-four persons had entered their names, on which paper "was printed a blank contract, the blanks filled out by or for .Lefebure, and his name attached to it as party of the first part, was received in evidence without objection and admitted on both sides to be material evidence in the case, we may here briefly describe it. It consists of a cover of about the usual size of a pocket memorandum book, hinged at the top, into which is held, by a rubber band, a piece of paper of approximately the same size as the cover when open; the included paper having a blank contract so printed upon it that, as the paper is folded- in the book, the printing faces the back cover. The blank portion of the paper facing the front cover contains lines for signatures, and on these lines, as well as on the back portion of the sheet, which is entirely blank, the names of these defendants and others signed are in pencil. As the
By reference to the statement of the issues already given, it will appear that what purports to be a contract contained in the little red book cover is not pleaded or relied upon in the pleadings by either the plaintiff or the defendants, and that there are no allegations of fraud perpetrated by Lefebure or his agents upon the signers of such contract.
Exhibit C was relied upon by appellant to show that the notes in the suit were obligatory on the signers, although they did not bear the signatures of all the persons who had signed the contract, and as tending to rebut the evidence of an oral or written arrangement that the notes themselves should not be delivered until the names of twenty-four persons had been procured thereon. For the purpose
But no question with reference to such improper argument is presented for our determination on this appeal. In law cases, this is a court for the correction of errors committed by the trial court, Schulte v. Chicago, M. & St. P. R. Co., 124 Iowa, 191; and no error of the trial court in this connection is presented to us, or even suggested.
An exception to argument of counsel preserves no question for our consideration. “An exception is an objection taken to a decision of the court or person acting as the court on a matter of law.” Code, section 3749. Misconduct of counsel for the prevailing party is a ground for new trial under Code, section 3755, and the misconduct complained of was in this case urged as a ground for new trial, and an exception to the overruling of the motion for a new trial was properly preserved; but no error in the
Under the assignment that “the court committed sundry errors in the admission and rejection of testimony,” with reference to at least forty different pages of the abstract, counsel call attention in argument to a. great number of disconnected rulings- relating to the admission or exclusion of evidence. Many of these involve to questions that were rendered wholly immaterial in the subsequent progress of the case. We have examined counsel’s argument under this heading without being able to discover any erroneous rulings which, under the record,’ could possibly have prejudiced the appellant. We are unwilling to extend this opinion for the purpose of pointing out