176 Mass. 374 | Mass. | 1900
The plaintiff seeks to recover for services performed and disbursements made for the defendant as an attorney at law. The services began in connection with an assignment made by the defendant for the benefit of his creditors, in which the plaintiff was one of the assignees or trustees. The account, which is a long one, includes, however, only one item in which a charge is made for services as assignee or trustee, and that embraces also services rendered as an attor
The account, as already observed, is a long one, and the items relate to many different matters. It is manifest that the presiding judge could not be required to instruct the jury in regard to each item in the account, nor in regard to all of the various aspects in which it was possible that the jury might view the different items. What he was required to do was to state for the guidance of the jury the rules of law in regard to the right of an attorney to recover for services and in regard to the defendant’s liability therefor, and what it was necessary for the plaintiff to show in order to maintain his action, accompanied by such explanations and references to the nature of the services rendered and the relations of the parties and the matters set up in defence, including the declaration in set-off, as would enable the jury to understand and apply to the case before them the rules thus laid down. And this, it seems to us, is what the presiding judge did. Having thus instructed the jury he could not be required, we think, to instruct them particularly as to the various supposable aspects in which the plaintiff might have acted as attorney for the defendant in connection with matters relating to the assignment and the trust created thereby, and to his right to recover reasonable compensation for services so performed. What has been said above applies to the first five requests. See Hicks v. New York, New Haven, & Hartford Railroad, 164 Mass. 424; Moseley v. Washburn, 167 Mass. 345. We think also that the eighth and ninth requests were properly refused. The fair import of the charge was, and we
The plaintiff has argued upon his brief the question of the competency of the auditor’s report. But the exceptions do not show that any objection was made to its admission, or exception taken.
We see no valid objection to the admission of testimony relating to the foreclosure proceedings and to the deed under the power contained in the mortgage. The plaintiff had already testified to the foreclosure proceedings, and his services in regard to them were the subject of one or more of the items in' his account.
The deposition of Dr. Cutter was clearly competent. The answer in regard to what Fowle said was admitted as tending to contradict Fowle, and was admissible for that purpose. No
The objections to the testimony of Dr. Bart are not argued on the plaintiff’s brief, and we treat them as waived.
¡Exceptions overruled.