43 Ind. 512 | Ind. | 1873
Complaint by the appellant against the
“ 1. The decision of the court is contrary to the evidence:
“ 2. The decision of the court is contrary to the law.
“ 3. The decision of the court is contrary to, and not sustained by, the finding of facts by the court.
“ 4. The court erred in matter of law upon the trial, in this, that after finding in fact for plaintiff, and such facts as entitled plaintiff to recover in said action, the court, notwithstanding such finding of facts, found for defendant.”
The evidence is not in the record, nor is any question presented by the motion for a new trial, unless it be whether or not the court erred in its conclusions of law upon the facts found.
In Nash v. Caywood, 39 Ind. 457, it was held by this court that where it did not appear that a special finding was made by the request of one or both of the parties, it must be regarded as nothing more than a general finding, and not within the section of the statute above quoted. If the finding in this case is regarded as only a general one, there is no question presented by the record. The evidence, as before remarked, is not in the record; no error appears to have been committed in the trial of the cause, nor is any reason shown why a new trial should have been granted.
But if the finding were to be regarded as a special one, as contemplated by the section quoted, in order to raise any question as to the correctness of the conclusions of law upon the facts found, exception must have been taken to such conclusions; and an error in such conclusions is not reached by a motion for a new trial. Welch v. Bennett, 39 Ind. 136. The leading object of the section seems to have been to enable parties to except to the conclusions of law on the facts being found. The finding of facts, and the' statement of conclusions of law upon them, are very different things. The facts may be correctly found, but the conclusions of law stated thereon may be very erroneous. Where the facts are correctly found, though the conclusions of law may be erroneous, what good purpose could be sub-served by having the facts found over again upon a new trial? The remedy for erroneous conclusions upon the facts found is furnished by an exception, and not by a re-examination of
The judgment below is affirmed, with costs.