194 Pa. 498 | Pa. | 1900
Opinion by
Joseph Wiley, the husband of plaintiff, kept a’ livery stable
While appellant concedes that punitive damages may be allowed in replevin, yet it is urged it must be a rare case of misconduct where the jury will be allowed to exceed in their verdict the value of the property. That punitive damages in replevin may be allowed in all cases where there have been pecu
The third and fourth assignments are to rulings of the court on admission of evidence offered by plaintiff. She offered in evidence the lease of the stable, and the assignments by her husband to her of a policy of fire insurance on the property, which against the objection of defendant the court admitted; the ruling was not error; plaintiff had a right to show, in addition to the bill of sale which she exhibited to defendant, the exclusive, open and notorious character of her tenancy and possession ; true, it was cumulative, but it was not for that reason irrelevant evidence. These assignments are overruled.
The fifth, sixth, seventh, eight and ninth assignments are to the rejection of evidence offered by defendant which tended to directly contradict his plea; that is, he attempted to prove that he had purchased the property from the husband, the ostensible owner, and paid him for it. The plea disclaimed any right of property in the things replevied; the court properly held that defendant could not disclaim property in himself, by plea, and then attempt to prove property in himself, when he had filed no plea making that an issue.
All the assignments of error are overruled, and the judgment is affirmed. •