Ambrose v. Hackert

41 N.W.2d 42, 241 Iowa 379, 1950 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 411
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedFebruary 7, 1950
Docket47602
StatusPublished
Cited by26 cases

This text of 41 N.W.2d 42 (Ambrose v. Hackert) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ambrose v. Hackert, 41 N.W.2d 42, 241 Iowa 379, 1950 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 411 (iowa 1950).

Opinion

MulRONBy, J.

Plaintiff, a turkey raiser, purchased 3112 turkey poults from defendants’ hatchery which were delivered to her in the late spring of 1943 in three deliveries on the days the poults were hatched, to wit, 1545 on April 27,1064 on May 1, and 503 on May 4. She paid $1887.56 for the poults, and shortly after they were delivered to her they started dying, until 1673 of said poults died by July 31,1943. On April 21,1948, she filed her suit against defendants alleging that defendants warranted the poults as being “good, healthful and free from disease” and that the warranty was breached in that the poults were at the time of delivery “unhealthy and diseased” and the “turkey poults were infected with pullorum disease.” The prayer was for judgment in the sum of $4500.

Defendants’ answer admitted the sale but denied the warranty and the breach. Counsel for defendants admitted in his opening statement to the jury that there was an express warranty that the poults were free from disease and were healthy birds, and the court instructed, without objection, on the theory of express warranty. The jury returned a verdict for $2016.14 and defendants appeal from the judgment entered thereon asserting the trial court erred in certain rulings on admission of evidence and in certain instructions given to the jury.

I. The plaintiff as the first witness in her suit testified that she entered in a book entitled “Farm Account Book” a daily record of the poults that died during the year 1943. She testified, that the entries therein were true and correct, all in her own handwriting and that on the evening of each day when she found dead poults she wrote down the month and day and the number of poults that had died on that date. When the book was offered in evidence defendants asked leave to cross-examine plaintiff with respect to the book. The leave to cross-examine was granted and thereafter defendants objected to the admission of the book on the ground it was not a general book of account but contained merely self-serving declarations not binding on defendants and irrelevant and immaterial. The trial court sustained the *382 objection, stating, however, to plaintiff: “It is available for refreshing yonr recollection * * When direct examination of plaintiff was resumed she testified she could remember that around 1600 poults died between April 27, 1943 and August 1, 1943 but could not remember, the number of poults that died each day of said period. The book was again offered in evidence and defendants objected and the court again ruled that while the book would not be admitted, plaintiff would be permitted to refer to the book in testifying concerning the dates when the poults died and the number of poults dying on each of said dates. Plaintiff then, by referring to the book, testified as to the number of poults that died on various dates between April 27 and August 1, 1943. Defendants say in argument plaintiff “read” this from the book and plaintiff’s brief does not exactly deny the charge.

Defendants assign error in the trial court’s “permitting plaintiff to testify from and read to the jury the entries in the book.” The only case cited by defendants is State Bank of Tabor v. Brewer, 100 Iowa 576, 577, 69 N.W. 1011. In that case a bank cashier was permitted, over objection, to testify from a record book which he had made and knew to be correct. The opinion states:

“The ruling of the court, when made, was correct. If it appeared on cross-examination that the witness, after refreshing his memory, could not recall the matters referred to, the defendant might properly have moved that the evidence already given be stricken from the record.”

This statement in the Brewer case is dictum and the case has never been cited as authority that a memorandum made by the witness at the time of the transaction, and now known by the witness to be correct when made, is inadmissible or cannot be used by a witness merely because the witness has no present recollection of the transactions recorded in the memorandum. The rule is that such a memorandum is admissible. It is best stated in Graham v. Dillon, 144 Iowa 82, 84, 121 N.W. 47, 48, where a number of decisions of this court and courts of other stales are cited and the pronouncement made that:

“Under the rule of the cases cited, if a witness can testify *383 that at or about the time a memorandum or entry was made he knew its contents, and knew it to be true, his testimony and the memorandum are both competent evidence, although the witness cannot testify to the facts as a matter of independent recollection, even after his memory has been refreshed.”

See also Worez v. Des Moines City Ry. Co., 175 Iowa 1, 9, 156 N.W. 867, where the foregoing rule was quoted with approval, and the note in 125 A. L. R. 19.

Defendants in argument seem to recognize the foregoing rule as being the law of this state with respect to the admission of a memorandum made by a witness, for their entire argument (aside from merely citing State Bank of Tabor v. Brewer, supra) is that the rule of the Dillon case does not apply “for the reason that the undisputed evidence here clearly establishes that the entries in plaintiff’s book, Exhibit B, which she read to the jury could not have been made at or near the times listed in the book.” Defendants point to the entries in the book showing 284 poults had died by May 4, the date of the third delivery of poults, and the evidence that plaintiff was given a discount of $30 when paying for the poults delivered on May 4, and the evidence of defendants that on May 4 plaintiff was claiming she had lost 27 poults and the discount was to cover loss of 50 poults, and then defendants pose the questions:

“If appellee accepted $30 on May 4 for the 27 poults which she then claimed had died, is it likely that at that time she had written in her private book, Exhibit B, the death of 3 poults on April 27, 18 poults on April 28, 36 on April 29, 29 on April 30, 53 on May 1, 51 on May 2 and 46 on May 3 ? * * * If she had made entries in her book showing the death of 238 poults by the end of May 3, would she have accepted 500 more poults on May 4 ?”

The trouble with this argument is that it is based on defendants’ version of the May 4 incident which was denied by plaintiff. Plaintiff testified she was taking the last delivery on a prior order placed in the early spring of 1943 for 3000 poults. She further testified:

“When Mr. Hackert^ made the delivery on May 4, I didn’t tell him that 27 poults had died. I gave him the full amount. He *384 didn’t say that he would allow me credit for 50 poults which would be the normal death loss on the last bunch of turkeys. I paid for the May 4, 1943 delivery with a check in the amount of $275. He did not state that I was getting an allowance of $30 for the turkeys that I claimed had died.”

She went on to testify that she told defendant at this meeting on May 4 that “Dr. Killips said the poults were sick” and she asked him what he was going to do about it and she understood him to say “he would come down and see them later and see how many more would die.”

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Miller v. Rohling
720 N.W.2d 562 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 2006)
World Radio Laboratories, Inc. v. Lybrand
538 N.W.2d 501 (Nebraska Court of Appeals, 1995)
Knudsen v. Chicago & North Western Transportation Co.
464 N.W.2d 439 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1990)
Miller v. Bonar
337 N.W.2d 523 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1983)
Ruden v. Hansen
206 N.W.2d 713 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1973)
Walters v. Williams
203 N.W.2d 383 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1973)
W & W Livestock Enterprises, Inc. v. Dennler
179 N.W.2d 484 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1970)
U. S. Homes, Inc. v. Yates
174 N.W.2d 402 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1970)
Durant Elevator Co. v. S. J. Hoffman & Sons
145 N.W.2d 25 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1966)
Christensen v. Kelley
135 N.W.2d 510 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1965)
Turner v. Kunde
128 N.W.2d 196 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1964)
Cardamon v. Iowa Lutheran Hospital
128 N.W.2d 226 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1964)
Reed v. Bunger
122 N.W.2d 290 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1963)
Breitenkamp v. Community Cooperative Association
114 N.W.2d 323 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1962)
Doden v. Housh
105 N.W.2d 78 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1960)
Newman v. Blom
89 N.W.2d 349 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1958)
Trachta v. Iowa State Highway Commission
86 N.W.2d 849 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1957)
Mongar Ex Rel. Mongar v. Barnard
82 N.W.2d 765 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1957)
Colvin v. John Powell & Company
77 N.W.2d 900 (Nebraska Supreme Court, 1956)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
41 N.W.2d 42, 241 Iowa 379, 1950 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 411, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ambrose-v-hackert-iowa-1950.