21 Haw. 710 | Haw. | 1913
Lead Opinion
OPINION OP THE COURT BY
The plaintiff brought an action to quiet title, claiming an undivided one-eighth interest in fee simple in certain lands described in the declaration. The defendants denied that plaintiff had any title and the verdict and the judgment were for the defendants. Thereupon plaintiff sued out this writ of error.
At the trial now under review it was stipulated “that the plaintiff and the defendants both claim an interest in the lands described in plaintiff’s complaint under the same source of title, to wit, as heirs of Isaac H. Kahilina, deceased; that the defendants claim an interest in the lands described in plaintiff’s complaint as the heirs of Isaac H. Kahilina, deceased, by descent from said Isaac II. Kahilina; and that all of the lands described in plaintiff’s complaint were at and before the death of Isaac H. Kahilina owned by him in fee simple.” Erom undisputed evidence it further appeared that the defendants were the daughters of Kaukalia, the brother of Isaac Kahilina; that the parents of Isaac and Kaukaha were Kahilina, Senior, and Kenoi (w) ; and that the plaintiff was the son of Ana, one of the daughters of Paulo (k) and la (w). It was claimed by the plaintiff and not denied by the defendants that if Paulo was, as asserted by the plaintiff, the half brother of Isaac Kahilina the plaintiff was entitled .to a verdict for an undivided one-eighth interest in the lands described in the declaration; and the sole issue of fact at the trial was whether Paulo was the half brother of Isaac, the plaintiff’s claim upon this point being that Kahilina, Sr., was the second husband of Kenoi,
The verdict shows that the jury found from the evidence that Paulo was not the half brother of Isaac or at least that the plaintiff did not prove to the satisfaction of the jury by a preponderance of the evidence that Paulo and Isaac were half brothers. It is assigned as error that the finding is contrary to law, in that, as it is contended, the plaintiff’s evidence was a prima facie showing of the existence of the relationship and that the defendants’ proof did not rise beyond the dignity of a “scintilla of evidence” of its non-existence.
Kenoi, Kahilina, Sr., Isaac, Kaukaha and Paulo were all dead at the time of the trial. Kamahuula, presumably, died before Kenoi. Testimony from any and all of these persons was therefore unavailable. So also the plaintiff did not produce any entries from a family Bible or from tombstones or any other record evidence of a similar nature. His case upon the disputed question of fact rested wholly upon hearsay testimony properly admitted under the well-known pedigree exception to the hearsay rule. Six witnesses gave this testimony, which was to the effect that on one or more occasions Paulo or Kaukaha or Isaac, or more than one of them, as the case might be, had stated to each of the witnesses that Kenoi, the wife of Kahilina, Sr., had a first husband named Kamahuula and that Paulo was the son of Kenoi by Kamahuula and therefore the half-brother of Isaac and Kaukaha. In view of plaintiff’s contention that the jurors were under a legal obligation to accept this evidence as true and to return thereon a verdict in his favor, some further reference to these witnesses and their testimony will not be out of place.
Hana Scott and Puali Keawe were daughters of Paulo and sisters of Ana, the plaintiff’s mother. Each testified that their parents had six daughters, Hana, Puali, Ana, Maluae, Pouli and Mahoe. On cross-examination Hana admitted that some years earlier at a judicial hearing concerning the administra
Uuku, the father of plaintiff, after stating that he had known Paulo and that he had heard that his wife, Ana, and Puali were related to Paulo, was asked, “What did he say about his relationship with these people” (meaning, clearly, Ana and Puali) “if anything?” and replied, “He said he had two brothers on Kauai.” The answer was stricken out, by consent, because not responsive.
Mrs. Paookalani and Noa Kuiki were not related to any of the members of the family under consideration. Paoo thought he was related to some of them but far from clear as to what the relationship was. Noa on cross-examination testified that Isaac had told him that Kahilina, Sr., was the father of Paulo as well as of Kaukaha and Isaac, a claim in conflict with that presented by. the testimony of four of the other witnesses called on plaintiff’s behalf.
Paoo testified in his direct examination that Kaukaha told him that he had two brothers, Paulo and Isaac, and that Paulo told him that he had two brothers, Kaukaha and Isaac, but
Mrs. Paookalani testified that Isaac told her that Paulo was “his own older brother” and that Kaukaha told her that Paulo was “his half brother through his mother.”
There can be no doubt that if the jury had believed the testimony of these six witnesses and had returned a verdict for the plaintiff the verdict could not have been set aside on the ground that it was unsupported by evidence; but the testimony was not such as to require, as a matter of law, a verdict for the plaintiff. As reasonable men actuated solely by a desire to arrive at the truth and to render justice to both parties the jurors could well have felt that the evidence of Hana and Puali was tainted with some degree of improbability and that their failure in their earlier statements under oath to disclose the fact of the birth of six children to their parents rendered any reliance on their evidence wholly unsafe. They may well have been unfavorably impressed with the undue eagerness of Uuku, Sr., to place before the jury the information that Paulo had told him that he (Paulo) had two brothers on Kauai. Their confidence in plaintiff’s case may well have been lessened upon finding Noa
• Upon another ground, however, the verdict must be sustained and that is that the defendants’ evidence was clearly sufficient to support it.
liana Scott, daughter of Paulo, had testified, for the plaintiff, that at a certain luau and in the presence of Elizabeth Kaio, daughter of Kaukaha, Paulo had said that, “if his mother had died in giving him, Paulo, birth, Mrs. Kaio never would have existed,”- — another way of saying that Paulo’s mother Kenoi was the mother of Kaukaha. Elizabeth, in the course of her testimony on her own behalf, denied absolutely that Paulo ever made that statement in her presence.
A brief statement of some of the remaining evidence adduced for the defense here follows:
Elizabeth Kaio was born in 1863 at Hanalei and lived with her parents till her death. She knew Isaac, lived at his home for one year after Kaukaha’s death, and visited there at subsequent times. Her father kept a family Bible and in it made entries of births and deaths. (Leaves from this Bible -were in: troduced at the trial but are not with the record now before us.) At no time prior to the commencement of this litigation did she hear from any member of the family or from any other
J. A. Kaopuo was born in 1857 at Hanalei. His mother was Paaldi who after the death of his father married Kaukaha. This witness lived in the same home with Elizabeth and her mother for ten years before Kaukaha’s death and for ten years after that event and at no time heard in the family circle that Isaac and Kaukaha had a half brother. During that period of twenty years Paulo did not visit at the Kaukaha home.
Mary Kaiawe, whose mother’s sister was the wife of Kaukaha, was born in 1855 and knew Kahilina, Sr., Isaac and Kaukaha and saw Paulo in Hanalei. She visited frequently at Kahilina, Sr.’s, slept there and had meals there; also lived there for a period of six or more years. Paulo when at Hanalei lived at the home of one Kealaiki and not at the Kahilina home. Witness was a schoolmate of Maluae, daughter of Paulo. Maluae lived at Kealaiki’s. Witness never saw Maluae at the Kahilina home and never heard from Isaac or Kaukaha that Paulo was their half brother.
Kekahimoku, nephew of Kahilina, Sr., was born in 1832 and moved to Kauai in 1857. He often visited at the Kakilinas in Hanalei and would remain there for months at a time. Knew Kenoi, Kaukaha and' Isaac. Saw Kaukaha’s dead body and was present at Isaac’s death. Never heard of Kamahuula or that Kenoi had a first husband or a son Paulo or that Isaac and Kaukaha had a half brother.
Sam Kanewanui, administrator of Isaac’s estate, established a permanent home in Hanalei in 1876, the year after Kaukaha’s death. He married Loki, a daughter of Kaukaha’s wife and after his marriage lived in Kaukaha’s home; witness knew Isaac intimately until his death. Never heard from Isaac or in the Kaukaha home that Paulo was a half brother.
J. S. Kaheleiki was born in 1835 and resided at Hanalei from the fifties until the time of the trial. Lived “within calling distance” of the Kahilina home. For years knew Isaac
S. W. Wilcox was born in Ilanalei in 1847, lived there till 1872 and visited the place after that. Was sheriff of Kauai from 1872 till 1895 or 1896. Lived about one-half mile distant from home of Kahilina, Sr. Knew Kaukaha and Isaac very well, was schoolmate of Kaukaha. Isaac was district magistrate and a senator; Kaukaha practiced law and was a member of the legislature. Both were prominent in the community. Never heard of their having a half brother. Knew Maluae from childhood to womanhood. She lived at Kealaiki’s and witness never saw her at the- Kahilina home.
A. S. Wilcox, born in 1844, spent much of his time in Hanalei from 1846 till 1877. Knew Isaac and Kaukaha and was intimate with the latter in his later years. Knew natives by the name of Paulo but never heard of any Paulo being half brother of Isaac and Kaukaha. Neither Isaac nor Kaukaha ever referred to any half brother.
Counsel for plaintiff characterizes the testimony of these witnesses as being purely negative and as constituting at best a mere scintilla of evidence. It cannot be so regarded. It came, in the main, from persons who were either members of the Kahilina family or otherwise so situated as to have ample opportunity to learn of Paulo’s relationship to Isaac and Kaukaha if it had existed. Under the circumstances their failure to hear of a half brother may properly have been regarded by the jury as good cause for believing that none such ever existed, — at least it would justify a finding that plaintiff had not proven the alleged relationship by a preponderance of the evidence.
Elizabeth Kaio gave testimony which is construed by plaintiff’s counsel as an admission that in 1906 she paid. Hana and Puali the sum of $5500 for a conveyance of their interest in the property in question and therefore as a further admission
It is further assigned as error that the court refused to instruct the jury that “all other things being equal, the witnesses of equal credibility, positive testimony on a given point must always predominate over negative testimony on the same point; testimony of a positive character is always more to be relied upon than testimony of a negative character.” Even if it were otherwise unobjectionable, the instruction was correctly refused because it was ambiguous and misleading. What meaning would the phrase, “all other things being equal,” convey to a jury of laymen unaccustomed to analyzing the indicia of credibility and to the rules relating to the weighing of evidence? One prerequisite to the applicability of the instruction is stated, to wit, that the witnesses must be of equal credibility; but the other prerequisites are not defined. The relationship of the witnesses to'one or more members of the family, the degree of intimacy of their acquaintance with Paulo, or with Isaac, or with Kaukaha or Kenoi, their place of residence with reference to that of the Kahilina family, their opportunities or lack of opportunity for receiving information concerning the alleged relationship between Paulo and Isaac, the probability or improbability of their hearing of the existence of the fact, if it did exist, — none of these matters were mentioned to the jury as necessary to be considered in determining whether “all other things” were equal. Nor was it pointed out that the phrase had no reference to the mere number of witnesses’ testifying upon a given subject.
Plaintiff moved for a new trial on the further ground of newly discovered evidence consisting of certain “entries in an official record book of the Laie, Oahu, Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints, said entries on their face showing that Paulo was the son of Kenoi and tending strongly to show that Paulo was the husband of la.” In sup
“Sex Name Date of Birth Place of Birth Name of father
Male: Paulo: 1835: Hanalei, Kauai: Waiohakini
“Name of mother Date of baptism Place of baptism By whom baptized
Kenoi: 1862: Pokii, Kauai: Hoepu:
“Church office When chosen to office By whom ordained
Elder: 1862: Palau:”;
that “accompanying said entries and immediately following the same is the record of entries concerning one ‘la’ a female, the record giving the date of her birth as 1838 and the date of her baptism as 1862, the same year with Paulo above named ; that from the position of said entries as to the said la, your affiant believes without doubt that said la was the wife of said Paulo.
The evidence of the elder as to his belief concerning the inference to be deduced from the fact that the entries relating to “la” immediately follow those relating to “Paulo” would be inadmissible. Any such inferences, if proper at all, are to be made by the jury and not by witnesses. There is no memorandum in the book showing whether la was the wife of Paulo and the movant did not offer to prove that in the book the name of an unmarried woman never appears immediately following that of a married man.
It is well settled that in order, to prevail a party seeking a new trial on the ground of newly discovered evidence must show that due diligence was used to discover it. Malani v. Puhi, 5 Haw. 504. “It should appear not only that the proposed testimony is newly discovered, that it would be material to the issue and that it would not be merely cumulative, but that the” movant “did not lose the opportunity to lay it before the jury by his own laches. Eor when it appears to the court that the party might, by the exercise of due diligence, have discovered and obtained the proposed new testimony at or before the time of the trial, a new trial will not be granted”, — with certain exceptions inapplicable in the case at bar. Weston v. Montgomery, 2 Haw. 309, 310. “There are but few cases tried in which new evidence cannot be hunted after trial, and in order to secure to parties the termination of their legal controversies the court must be wary about granting new trials upon insufficient excuses for not procuring the evidence when the parties had their day in court.” Burns v. Bowler, 4 Haw. 303, 301. See also Territory v. Kum Foo Sung, 20 Haw. 195, 197. With equal clearness it has been held that the movant “must search for it” (the evidence) “wherever there is a probability of finding it”. Clement v. Cartwright, 7 Haw. 676, 678; Kaheana v. Nalimu, 8 Haw. 271, 272.
This action was instituted in January, 1908, the law firm of Thompson & Clemons being then attorneys for the plaintiff, and was at issue in July of the same year. A trial was had in the early part of 1911 resulting in a directed verdict in favor of the defendants. Upon exceptions the verdict was set aside for error
The judgment is affirmed.
Concurrence Opinion
CONCURRING OPINION OF
I concur in the conclusion reached by the majority, also in the reasoning except as to the last point — the motion for a new triál on the ground of newly discovered evidence. It seems to me that except in one respect which will be explained the showing made as to diligence on the part of Mr. Lymer and the plaintiff
But in another respect the plaintiff’s showing was deficient. Mr. Lymer is a member of the firm of attorneys which, with some changes in personnel, has represented the plaintiff since the action was instituted over five years ago. He does not say in his affidavit that he has had charge of the case since its inception or exclusively at any time. I understand it to be admitted that Mr. Lymer did not handle the case at the first trial. Who had charge .of it at the second trial does not appear. The record shows that at the last trial J. W. Russell was associated with Lymer. From the fact that the evidence offered was not known of by Mr. Lymer until after the trial it does not necessarily follow that it was not known to counsel who acted for the plaintiff before Mr. Lymer took charge of the case nor does it follow that the existence of the evidence was not known to his associate Mr. Russell. The affidavits in support of the motion did not negative these possibilities. The plaintiff himself is chargeable with all the information which any and all of his attorneys had concerning the ease, and if one of his attorneys other than Mr. Lymer had been aware that the .evidence was available but thought it was not needed, or for any reason decided not to produce it, another trial of the case is not to be had simply because present counsel was not aware that the evidence existed and failed to find it after diligent search. In justice to the opposing party courts must demand a strict compliance with the rule which requires the moving party to show that neither he nor any attorney of his who has had any connection with the case knew of the existence of the evidence alleged to be newly discovered. Upon this ground I concur in the overruling of the exception to the denial of the motion for a new trial for ■ newly discovered evidence.