17 Kan. 204 | Kan. | 1876
The opinion of the court was delivered by
This was an action by defendant in error in the district court of Bourbon county to recover the possession of certain horses claimed to have been unlawfully taken and detained by the plaintiffs in error, defendants below. The principal point made by the learned counsel for plaintiffs in error is, that the verdict was not sustained by sufficient evidence. It appears that Brewer had a livery stable, and that one Jackson was in charge of it, Brewer’s time being principally employed in a restaurant which he also owned. Jackson sold and delivered the property in question to Ladd, one of the defendants, who the next day sold and delivered it to Routt, another defendant. The defendants claimed that Jackson was a partner of Brewer’s, or, if not, an agent with power to sell. To this point then, the relation of Jackson to Brewer, the principal part of the testimony is directed. Brewer’s testimony was clear against any partnership or any authority to sell. True, he did not use the very words, “there was no partnership,” but he says it was his livery stable, that hired men took charge of it for him, that Jackson was tending stable for him as a “hired man,” stated the terms of arrangement between them, which showed Jackson an employé simply, and denied ever giving him authority to sell. Jackson testified that there was a partnership. Other testimony went to the statements, admissions, and conduct of these two parties. ‘The jury found that there was no partnership or authority to sell. We cannot say that they erred. True, several witnesses testify to 'statements from Brewer indicating a partnership — some even to his speaking of Jackson as his partner. Still, we cannot say that this testimony compelled
A second important question is, in the kind of testimony offered to prove the damages for the detention, and the basis upon which the jury assessed the damages. Evidence was admitted of the value of the use of the property from the time it was taken, down to the time of the verdict — the property having been retained by the defendants under a redelivery bond — and the jury evidently returned such value as the damages for the detention. This, in the judgment of the writer of this opinion, is not the true rule; but a majority of the court hold otherwise. See the opinion in Yandle v. Kingsbury, recently filed, (ante, p. 196.) Counsel contended that such damages are'special damages, and must be alleged in the petition, or proof thereof is inadmissible. "We do not think so. By the detention the party is deprived of the use of his property; and whatever is the value of such use, the ordinary value of the use of such property, is the natural and necessary result of the detention. No special use was suggested, and the only proof was as to the ordinary value of the use of such property.
Several errors are alleged in the admission and rejection of testimony. Without noticing them in detail, it is enough to say that most of the rulings of the trial judge in this matter were unquestionably correct; that while some of them perhaps were technically wrong, yet that these were in minor matters, and whether right, or wrong are not in our judgment of sufficient materiality to justify us in sending the case back for a new trial. •
Some fifteen special instructions were asked by plaintiffs in error, all of which were refused; and the only instructions
Thus far we have noticed no error of sufficient moment to
One-half of the costs of this court will be taxed against the defendant in error, and one-half against the two plaintiffs in error against whom the judgment is affirmed.