47 Wis. 400 | Wis. | 1879
The learned circuit judge instructed the jury, in substance, that in law the conveyance executed by Hammond to the plaintiff vested in the latter the right to the possession of the farm conveyed, as against Hammond and his creditors,
After the jury had retired to consider their verdict, they returned into court for further instructions; whereupon the learned judge restated the issue in the following language:
“ I have instructed you that you have nothing whatever to do with the title of that land. I have instructed you distinctly that under and by virtue of this deed Mr. Fay had the right to the possession of this land, so that the right to possession is not a question with which you have anything to do. You are to assume that he had the right to the possession. He had a deed of conveyance of the land from Hammond, the man who held the fee; under and by virtue of that deed, Fay had the right to possession. The question I submitted to you was, whether or not he, in his own right, for himself and at his own expense, went on and cultivated this crop upon the land during the season of 1875; or whether there was some arrangement between him and Hammond, 'by which the possession in fact was to be Hammond’s all the while, and the crop that might be raised upon it was to be the property of Hammond. But the question as respects the legal title, I have instructed you, was not drawn in controversy here. It is simply the question of possession.” Upon this issue the cause was tried and determined.
After the plaintiff had introduced evidence tending to prove that he was in the exclusive possession of the farm, and raised.
Were this a contest for the crops between the plaintiff and Hammond, it is clear that the latter would not be allowed to
We are unable to perceive why a different rule of evidence should be applied here than would be applied were Hammond, instead of his creditors, a party to the action claiming the property. Moreover, were the question of fraudulent intent involved in the issue, we should hesitate to hold that the declarations of Hammond that he had an interest in the property, made in the absence of the plaintiff, and while the latter was ostensibly in possession of and carrying on the farm, and which were no part of the res gestae, are admissible to prove the fraudulent intention of Hammond. It would seem that to admit such evidence would be to enable any grantor or vendor to endanger the title of his grantee or vendee, at any time, by loose declarations or statements not made under the sanctions of an oath, which cannot be subjected to the scrutiny of a cross-examination, and which may have been maliciously made for the express purpose of defeating the title which he had conveyed.
We conclude that the testimony of the statements of Hammond to Uichols was improperly admitted.
It is evident that this testimony may have had influence with the jury in determining (as they did) that the crops in controversy were raised for the use and benefit of Hammond. The probability that it had such influence is strengthened by the fact that, when the jury returned into court for further instructions, the testimony of Uichols was read to them at their request, after which they agreed on a verdict for the defendants. The error in admitting the testimony is therefore fatal to the judgment.
By the Court. — The judgment of the circuit court is reversed, and the cause remanded for a new trial.