Bank of Union v. Fidelity & Casualty Co.

62 F.2d 1040, 1933 U.S. App. LEXIS 3918
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
DecidedJanuary 11, 1933
DocketNo. 9600
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 62 F.2d 1040 (Bank of Union v. Fidelity & Casualty Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bank of Union v. Fidelity & Casualty Co., 62 F.2d 1040, 1933 U.S. App. LEXIS 3918 (8th Cir. 1933).

Opinion

KENYON, Circuit Judge.

Appellant (herein called the -Bank), plaintiff in the trial court, is located at the town of Unoin, Mo. Appellee (herein called the Casualty Company), defendant in the trial court, is a corporation of New York. It issued to the Bank a policy of insurance to protect it against losses sustained by robbery of moneys and securities. On October 28, 1929, the Bank was robbed and certain moneys and securities taken. The Casualty 1 Company paid the money loss, but denied liability as to the securities taken. Action was brought by the Bank in a Missouri state court against the Casualty Company to recover $4,250, the claimed value of the securities alleged to have been taken, and also asking damages for vexatious delay in paying the- loss. The ease was removed to the United States District Court. After removal the Bank filed an amended petition claiming the securities stolen amounted to $5,813.75. Thereafter the Bank filed a second amended petition, in which it placed.the value of the stolen securities at $2,264.91.

At the close of the evidence both parties moved for a directed verdict, at the same time submitting requests for additional instructions in the event the court should not [1041]*1041direct a verdict. Both motions were overruled. The requested instructions were in part given, and the case submitted to the jury, which returned a verdict for the Casualty Company.

The errors assigned which should bo considered are: The submission of the case to the jury after both plaintiff and defendant had moved for a directed verdict; failure of the court to sustain the motion of plaintiff for a directed verdict.

Ordinarily, where both parties move for a directed verdict without reservations, it amounts to a waiver of a jury trial, and a submission to the court of questions of fact as well as of law. Beuttell v. Magone, 157 U. S. 154, 15 S. Ct. 566, 39 L. Ed. 654; Williams v. Vreeland, 250 U. S. 295, 39 S. Ct. 438, 63 L. Ed. 989, 3 A. L. R. 1038. But, where a party makes such motion, and at the same time requests instructions to the jury 'which show he does not intend to waive his right to jury trial if his motion is overruled, he cannot be held to have waived a trial by jury of the fact questions. This court apparently held otherwise in Empire State Cattle Co. et al. v. Atchison, T. & S. F. R. Co. (C. C. A. 8) 147 F. 457. While Judge San-born concurred in the result, he disagreed with the majority as to the effect of requesting instructions to the jury at the time of making the motion to instruct a verdict, saying at page 462 of 147 F.: “The series of requested instructions to the jury which generally accompanies a request for a directed verdict has no other office but to indicate that the party who presents them does not waive his right to a trial by jury, but insists upon it if his request for a directed verdict is denied, and if they do not have this effect, they are without meaning, purpose or effect. * * * In my opinion, the right to a submission to the jury of every question of fact upon which the evidence is not so conclusive that a verdict but one way could be sustained, is waived only when a request or motion for a directed verdict, without other requests, is made by each party, and it is expressly reserved and demanded by presenting, with a request for a directed verdict, requests for other instructions to the jury respecting the issues of fact in the case.”

Upon appeal of this case to the Supreme Court (210 U. S. 1, 28 S. Ct. 607, 52 L. Ed. 931, 15 Ann. Cas. 70), it sustained the position taken by Judge Sanborn. The court said at page 8 of 210 U. S., 28 S. Ct. 607, 609: “It was settled in Beuttell v. Magone, supra, that where both parties request a peremptory instruction and do nothing more, they thereby assume the facts to be undisputed, and, in effect, submit to the trial judge the determination of the inferences proper to be drawn from them. But nothing in that ruling sustains the view that a party may not request a peremptory instruction, and yet, upon the refusal of the court to give it, insist, by appropriate requests, upon the submission of the ease to the jury, where the evidence is conflicting, or the inferences to be drawn from the testimony are divergent.” This would seem to settle the question. See, also, Minahan v. Grand Trunk Western R. Co. (C. C. A.) 138 F. 37; Sampliner v. Motion Picture Patents Company, 254 U. S. 233, 41 S. Ct. 79, 65 L. Ed. 240. While the instructions requested by both parties at the time of making motions for directed verdicts do not appear in the record, the trial court in passing on the motion for a new trial filed a memorandum in which he stated: “It is true that at the close of all the testimony both parties moved for a directed verdict. Neither party indicated an intention of standing on its motion, but, on the contrary, each party, at the same time, submitted requests for additional instructions in the event the Court should not direct a verdiet. Both motions for a directed verdict were overruled, the requested instructions given, in part, and the case was submitted to the jury.” It is clear that under these circumstances the jury was not waived.

Appellant’s motion for an instructed verdict was: “At the conclusiqn of all the evidence, the Court instructs the jury that under the law and the evidence your verdict must be for the plaintiff.”

Appellee insists that this motion is not specific enough to raise any question as to the sufficiency pf the evidence, and relies on Wharton v. Ætna Life Ins. Co. (C. C. A. 8) 48 F.(2d) 37. The motion in that case was limited to one issue, i. e., Did the insured make material misrepresentation in answering an interrogatory? and this court held that the motion could riot be construed to embrace all possible grounds upon which it might be supported.

In Mansfield Hardwood Lumber Co. v. Horton (C. C. A. 8) 32 F.(2d) 851, this court held that a general motion to direct a verdict was not sufficient to raise the question of whether there was substantial evidence to support a verdict. In Ozark Pipe Line Corporation v. Decker (C. C. A. 8) 32 F.(2d) 66, 67, where the same judges sat as in the Mansfield Hardwood Lumber Co. [1042]*1042Case, supra, 'this court held that a requested declaration (a jury being there waived), as follows: “The court declares "the law to be that under the pleadings and evidence in this case, the plaintiff is not entitled to recover against the Ozark Pipe Line Corporation, and the decision and judgment of the court is in favor of the defendant,” was sufficient to save for consideration by this court the question of sufficiency of the evidence.

In United States v. Schweppe (C. C. A. 8) 38 F.(2d) 595, 596, we held that the motion made at the close of all the evidence by the defendant, “to instruct the jury that under the pleadings, the law and the evidence, its verdict must be for the defendant,” was sufficient to preserve for consideration the question of substantial evidence upon which a jury could base a verdict. The instruction here requested by plaintiff Bank is only slightly different from that in the Schweppe Case; the only difference being that it does not refer to the pleadings. We think it was sufficient.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
62 F.2d 1040, 1933 U.S. App. LEXIS 3918, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bank-of-union-v-fidelity-casualty-co-ca8-1933.