188 P. 963 | Or. | 1920
Lead Opinion
In the complaint it is alleged that the salmon was “damaged and rendered less valuable to the extent of” $3,539.40 on' account of the rust, which, the plaintiffs aver, was caused by the negligence of the defendant. David Hansen was the first witness called in behalf of plaintiffs, and, among other things, he testified on direct examination that he knew the market value of salmon in good condi
“I had them sold in a way, yes, when- they were ready to take them. They were not ready to take them at the time, so I had to leave them there until they called for-them when they wanted them.”
The record does not show with incontrovertible certainty the exact amount called for by the contract with Seaman Brothers, although the evidence might fairly be said to support the inference that the contract covered all the salmon in storage on December 2, 1915, for on redirect examination David Hansen testified that “he had a contract for sale,” and that he had sold the salmon to Seaman Brothers to be delivered “upon his request, whenever he wanted them.” Again, when asked upon cross-examination why the cans were tissue-papered in December, he explained:
“Because we wanted them ready for shipment. We didn’t know — I didn’t know what time he would call for them.”
Upon redirect examination, after having stated that the plaintiffs “had contracted” to sell the salmon to Seaman Brothers, David Hansen was asked: “What
The complaint accused the defendant of negligence in the following language:
- “That while said canned salmon were stored in defendant’s warehouse, the defendant, its agents and servants, carelessly and negligently allowed, permitted, and catirSed in some manner unlcnown to plaintiffs the tissue paper in which said salmon cans were wrapped, as well as the boxes in which they were cased to come in contact with and become saturated with water. That defendant also carelessly permitted the roof of said warehouse, over and above the place where defendant had stored and placed said canned salmon, to become out of repair, and that by reason of said defendant’s, its agents’ and servants’, neglect and lack of care the rain came through the roof of said warehouse over and above the place where defendant had placed said canned salmon, and said canned salmon became wet. That by reason of said cans being wet, as aforesaid, they became rusty and out of order.”
After the commencement of the trial the .complaint was amended by inserting the italicized words, placing a period after the words “salmon became wet,” and striking out the word ‘-‘and,” then appearing after the words “became wet,” and inserting in lieu of it the italicized word “that.” The defendant ob
It will be observed that the complaint contains two specifications of negligence, and that one is couched in general and comprehensive language, while the other is definite, explicit and precise. The plaintiffs say that the defendant permitted, “in some manner unknown to” them, the tissue-paper and the boxes “to come in contact with and become saturated with water,” and they then allege in definite and specific language that the defendant permitted the roof to become out of l'epair so that the rain came through and wet the cans.
Every witness who handled the cans in December, 1915, testified that they were in good condition. Lena Hansen said that the salmon was “in first-class condition”; that there was no rust on the cans, and that “the boxes were perfectly dry.” Laura Hansen stated that she found the.tins “in very good condition,” and that both the cans and the boxes were dry. Violet Ducich declared that the cans “were shiny, like any bright, good-looking cans”; that there was no rust on the cans, and that the boxes were dry. David- Hansen testified that he did not see any rust on the cans in December. There was evidence in behalf of the defendant to the effect that the boats in which the cans were brought across the river were
“It is conceded by all parties in this case that unwrapped and unlacquered salmon cans will sweat and rust, even when properly stored and cared for.”
The plaintiffs argue that the rust was not produced by sweat, and they contend that the defendant permitted water to come in contact with the cans. Attention has already been directed to the testimony of David Hansen and Lena Hansen, concerning the conditions found by them in March, when they took samples from some of the cases. It will be remembered that both witnesses stated that the samples were
The court told the jury that there were three questions ' to be decided, of which one was whether the cans were injured by coming in contact with water or by water leaking from the roof. The court properly instructed the jury that the burden rested upon the plaintiffs to prove “these facts” by a preponderance of the evidence and that:
“If the evidence is equally balanced, or if the defendant’s evidence is more satisfying and convincing than the plaintiffs’ as to any of these facts, your verdict must be for the defendant.”
In a subsequent portion of the charge the court told the jury:
“The burden of proof is upon the plaintiffs to show that this canned salmon was delivered to the defendant in good condition, that it was injured or damaged whilst stored in defendant’s warehouse, that the damage or injury was caused by its coming in contact with water.
“It is not necessary for the plaintiffs to prove that water came through the roof, or that the roof leaked. The plaintiffs will have established a prima facie case if they shall have produced evidence showing that the salmon became wet other than through purely atmospheric conditions while stored in defendant’s warehouse.
*209 “The rule of law is that, after plaintiffs shall have shown this by competent evidence, the burden is then upon the defendants to show that it was not through negligence that the salmon became wet, and such evidence must be sufficiently strong to overcome the presumption of negligence raised by the plaintiffs’ testimony in your minds.
“Therefore, if you should find from the evidence that said salmon was delivered in good condition, and while so in defendant’s possession, it became wet through other than natural atmospheric conditions or in some manner not within the defendant’s control, for plaintiffs are not required to offer evidence to show how it may have become wet other than not by atmospheric conditions, and you further find plaintiffs to have been the owners of the salmon, and you further find the salmon was for such reason injured or damaged, it will be your duty to find a verdict for the plaintiffs for the amount of such damage, unless the defendant shall establish by the evidence to your satisfaction that this salmon did not become wet by reason of negligence on its part.”
The court also instructed the jury as follows:
“The plaintiffs are required to prove that the defendant was negligent, and that the salmon became damaged because of the defendant’s negligence, but in this regard, if the plaintiffs established by evidence satisfactory to your minds that the salmon was stored in good condition, and while so stored with the defendant and owned by plaintiffs it became wet, but not by atmospheric causes, and for that reason rusted the cans and damaged the same, this is sufficient to entitle plaintiffs to recover, unless the defendant establishes by the evidence to your satisfaction that the salmon did not become wet by its own negligence. If under such circumstances it fails to show itself without negligence, plaintiffs are entitled to recover. That is to say, when the plaintiffs have established those facts that the goods were delivered in good condition, and that it owned the goods at the*210 time, and that the goods while so stored with the defendant became damaged, it has made a prima facie case, from which, it may rest its case, and if the testimony is believed by the jury, expect a verdict from the jury, unless defendant offers evidence which satisfied the jury that the damage was not due to its own negligence.”
It will be observed that the court said to the jury in substance that the burden of proof is upon plaintiffs to establish the negligence of the defendant, but, upon showing that the goods were delivered in good condition and returnéd in bad condition, a prima facie case of negligence is made, and the burden is then upon the defendant to show “that it was not through its negligence that the salmon became wet”; and, indeed, the jury was told that the burden so cast upon the defendant was so great that its “evidence must be sufficiently strong to overcome the presumption of negligence.” Pour times the court told the jury that upon establishing this prima facie case the plaintiffs were entitled to a verdict, unless the defendant established by evidence, to the satisfáction of the jury that it was without negligence.
‘ ‘ The party having the affirmative of the issue shall produce the evidence to prove it. Therefore, the burden of proof lies on the party who would be defeated if no evidence were given on either side”: Section 810, L. O. L.
As ruled, however, in Ashay v. Maloney, 92 Or. 566, 575 (179 Pac. 899), it is not improper to say that the “burden of proof” shifts from one party to the other, when that phrase is employed to express the idea that it is incumbent upon a named party to go forward with the evidence on a given question: 3 R. C. L. 150; 20 R. C. L. 195. The law of bailments furnishes many illustrations of the doctrine' which recognizes that there may be a shifting of the “burden of proof” from one party to the other, when the phrase is used merely to mean the duty of proceeding or going forward with the evidence.
It must be remembered, of course, that the bailor may by his own pleading or evidence ascribe the injury or loss to a cause, such as fire, burglary, larceny, and the like, which is consistent with due care, and thus relieve the bailee from the presumption of neg
“What is the practice there in regard tq — when a leaky condition of the roof is discovered?”
The defendant offered to prove that it was the practice to repair leaks immediately upon their discovery. There were two watchmen, one during the day and one during the night. The day watchman was over the warehouse several times daily, and the night watchman was required to make hourly inspections of the entire floor. The foreman counted the
Lena Hansen testified that after she saw the leak she called the attention of Canari to it; and, when asked to state what she told him, she said:
“I told Mr. Canari the roof was leaking, and he said that he told the Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation Company about it, and he said they didn’t pay any attention to it.”
The defendant moved to strike out the answer, and the court instructed the jury as follows:
“As to that part of the testimony stating what Mr. Canari said he had told the company, will be stricken out from the testimony and not be considered by you.”
The witness was then asked: “What else did Mr. Canari say?” And she answered thus:
“Mr. Canari said that it was no more than right that they should fix that, and he called their attention to it, they didn’t say — he said that it would be no more than right for us to complain about it.”
On cross-examination Lena Hansen stated that when she told Canari about the leak he said: “He had reported it to the Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation Company and they didn’t pay any attention to it.”
“Miss Hansen was talking to Mr. Canari about the cans getting wet and, how rusty a condition they were in, and he said, ‘Well,’ he says, ‘Lena, I will tell you,’ he said, ‘as far as I tell you, the owners,’ — well, he said, ‘I will tell you, I will report it, but I don’t know as it will do any good, because it is pretty hard in a big company like that, but’ he says, ‘there has been a lot of complaint about crates and-furniture getting wet and’ he also said, ‘that if somebody would get after them good and hard, perhaps they would pay more attention to leaks in the roof.’ ”
The defendant objected to the answer, and the court said:
“So far as her statements of the conversation as to what he said about other property owners there making complaint should be stricken. I think the first part of it is competent. * * As to what he said in response to her complaint that the goods were wet, (is competent) but what he said as to others making complaint about it, I think is not competent.”
“So long as the duty of the defendants to transport the goods (here to care for the goods) continued, the authority of the agent would continue, and so long his declarations in respect to it would be regarded as the declarations of the principal”: Cleveland etc. R. Co. v. Closser, 126 Ind. 348 (26 N. E. 159, 22 Am. St. Rep. 593, 9 L. R. A. 754); 1 R. C. L. 509.
It was competent to show that Lena Hansen complained to Canari about the leak and that “he said that he told the Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation Company about it,” and that “he had reported it to the” company: 1 R. C. L. 510; Johnson v. McLain Investment Co., 79 Kan. 423 (100 Pac. 52, 131 Am. Rep. 315, and note); North Pacific Lumber Co. v. Willamette Mill Co., 29 Or. 219, 221 (44 Pac. 286); Patterson v. United Artisans, 43 Or. 333, 336 (72 Pac. 1095); Morse v. Connecticut
We do not deem it necessary to discuss any other assignments of error.
The judgment is reversed and the cause is remanded for a new trial.
Reversed and Remanded.
Rehearing
On Petition for Rehearing.
(191 Pac. 655.)
The plaintiffs have petitioned for a rehearing, and they earnestly contend that onr original opinion is erroneous. The trial court instructed the jury that upon proof of delivery of the canned salmon in good condition, plus proof of return of it in bad condition, the law presumed that the bad condition of the salmon was caused by the negligence of the defendant, and that therefore the plaintiffs were entitled to a verdict, “unless,” as expressed in one instruction, “the defendant shall establish by the evidence to your satisfaction that this salmon did not become wet by reason of negligence on its part,” or, as stated in another instruction, “unless defendant offers evidence which satisfies the jury that the damage was not due to its own negligence.” In our original opinion we ruled that the above-quoted portions of the court’s charge in effect instructed the jury that the defendant was required to show a negative by affirmatively showing by a preponderance of evidence a want of negligence, and that the defendant was obliged to establish such negative to the extent of satisfying the jury that defendant was free from negligence. "We held that “the most that could
Learned counsel for the plaintiffs earnestly argue that our ruling conflicts with Section 797, L. O. L., which reads as follows:
“A presumption, unless declared by law to be conclusive, may be overcome by other evidence, direct or indirect; but unless so overcome, the jury are bound to find according to the presumption.”
It will be observed that this section does not define the meaning of the word “overcome,” and hence we must look elsewhere to ascertain the meaning of the term.
The argument made in behalf of the petitioners is that under the terms of Section 797, L. O. L., “it was not sufficient for the bailee to offer evidence equal to the presumption created by law.” The petitioners point to the fact that the word “overcome” is the controlling word in Section 797, L. O. L., and that the plaintiffs’ evidence cannot be said to be “overcome” if it is equaled or balanced.
Some text-writers take the view that it is fallacious to attribute to disputable presumptions any artificial probative force after the opponent comes forward with some evidence to contradict the presumption, and that therefore, when the opposite party contradicts a presumption with some evidence, the presumption immediately disappears’ as a rule of law, and the case goes to the jury free from any artificial rule of law: 4 Wig. on Ev., § 2491; 17 Am. Law Review, 894. Other text-writers and courts maintain that a disputable legal presumption is in the nature of evidence and is to be weighed as such: State v. Kelly, 22 N. D.
In this jurisdiction the Code makes presumptions-a species of evidence; for Section 793, L. O. L., declares that indirect evidence is of two kinds: Inferences and presumptions. A presumption, according to Section 795, L. O. L., is a deduction which the law expressly directs to he made from particular facts: Doherty v. Hazelwood Co., 90 Or. 475, 481 (175 Pac. 849, 177 Pac. 432). See, also, Section 868, subd. 2, L. O. L. Instead, then, of laying the presumption out. of the case the moment evidence contradicting the presumption is received, the presumption remains in the case to be considered by the jury as evidence. As already pointed out, Section 797 does not define the meaning of the term “overcome”; but other provisions of the Code make the meaning plain.
As pointed out in the original opinion, in some jurisdictions the defendant is required to acquit himself of negligence by a preponderance of the evidence; but we said in the original opinion, and now repeat, that we cannot give approval to that doctrine. The plaintiffs must show as an ultimate-fact. that the defendant was negligent as charged in the complaint; and it cannot be said that they have shown this alleged ultimate fact, unless the evidence preponderates in their favor, because this is the standard fixed by the legislature. The evidence cannot and does not preponderate in favor of the plaintiffs if it is evenly balanced; and therefore, if the evidence for the defendant in weight- equals the evidence for the plaintiffs, then the evidence for the plaintiffs is “overcome,” because the evidence for the defendant prevents the plaintiffs from succeeding and entitles the defendant to prevail. Proof of delivery in good condition and return in bad condition are the two facts which support the disputable presumption of negligence; and these two facts, plus the disputable presumption, make a prima facie case, and suffice for the proof of the ultimate fact of negligence, “until contradicted and overcome by other evidence”: Section 695, L. O. L.
If the presumption of negligence is not contradicted at all, the jury must find for the plaintiffs. If, however, there is contradictory evidence, it becomes a question for the jury to decide whether or not, from a consideration of the whole case, the evi
“"When a prima facie case is made out by presumption or otherwise, in order to destroy its effect and shift the burden of producing further evidence the party denying it must produce evidence tending to negative the claim asserted to a point where, if no more testimony is given, his adversary cannot win by a preponderance of the evidence.”
See, also, Toledo etc. R. R. Co. v. Star Flouring Mills Co., 146 Fed. 953 (77 C. C. A. 203); 1 Elliott on Evidence, §§ 129, 132, 139.
“In pursuance of that practice, what was done to repair any leaks that occurred?”
An objection to the question was sustained, and thereupon the defendant offered to show “that the witness would further testify that in pursuance of the practice that any and all leaks were immediately repaired.” We adhere to the "original opinion.
The petition for a rehearing is denied.
Reversed and Remanded. Rehearing Denied.