Carron v. Wood

10 Mont. 500
CourtMontana Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 15, 1891
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 10 Mont. 500 (Carron v. Wood) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Montana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Carron v. Wood, 10 Mont. 500 (Mo. 1891).

Opinion

Harwood, J.

The appeal herein is from an order overruling defendants’ motion for a new trial.

The cause of action alleged by plaintiff is to the effect that defendants, during the year 1889, wrongfully diverted and deprived plaintiff of the use of 550 inches of the waters of Burnt Fork Creek, claimed by plaintiff by virtue of prior appropriation and use, for the purpose of irrigating plaintiff’s tract of 320 acres of land situate in Missoula County.

The relief demanded by plaintiff is: (1) The recovery of $2,000 damage alleged, to have been sustained by reason of such wrongful and continued diversion of said water during the year 1889. (2) That defendants be perpetually enjoined from further interference with plaintiff’s alleged water right.

A jury trial was had, which resulted in a verdict in plaintiff’s favor, to the effect that he was entitled to 550 inches of the waters of Burnt Fork Creek, as against all of the defendants; and that plaintiff had suffered damage in the sum of $1,535.88 by reason of defendants wrongfully depriving plaintiff of the use of said waters during the year 1889, which damage was apportioned against twelve defendants in divers sums, found by the jury and set forth in the verdict. The grounds upon which a new trial is sought, as recited in the notice of intention to move therefor, are: “(1) Errors of law committed and occurring at the trial of said cause duly excepted to. (2) Insufficiency of evidence to justify the verdict of the jury. (3) That the verdict is contrary to law. (4) Excessive damages.” Motion for new trial was made upon a statement of the case, and upon the hearing thereof was overruled; thereupon defendants appealed from the order overruling the motion.

[504]*504The points presented by appellants’ brief for consideration here are far more numerous than the exceptions saved and the specifications of error comprised in the record. We must confine our review to the record in this respect. (Code Civ. Proc. § 298.) The first assignment of error met with in the record relates to certain instructions given by the court to the jury. It is contended by appellants’ counsel that the court erred in giving a certain instruction as to points to be considered by the jury in ascertaining the quantity of water plaintiff was entitled to. The instruction cited and complained of reads as follows: “The extent of the appropriation of water is determined by the capacity of his head-gate and ditches, and the quantity of water required by the appropriator for the uses for which it may be appropriated. In this action plaintiff seeks to establish his claim to the waters of Burnt Fork Creek to the extent of 550 inches measured as the statutes of Montana require, and which is hereafter given.” Appellants’ counsel contend that “the test is not the head-gate, but what the ditch will carry.” We perceive no force in this contention. The head-gate is in one sense a part of the ditch, and at the same time is so devised as to conduct the water through such an aperture as to indicate the dimensions of the volume. The court said to the jury in the instruction that the “capacity of the head-gate and ditches” must be considered in determining the quantity of water to which the appropriator was entitled. The sense in which the observation is made is obvious and is free from error.

Appellants further complain of the modification of a certain instruction in the following respect. The court gave the jury an instruction as follows : “That in determining the amount of the water plaintiff is entitled to, you are instructed to find the same in inches measured in the manner provided by the laws of Montana for the measurement of water, and which is as follows: ” This instruction continues to give in detail and by illustration the unit of measurement of water appropriated as provided by statute. (Comp. Stats, p. 997, § 1262.) So far no complaint is made against this instruction. But it appears that as originally drawn, it contained a clause as follows: “In order for you to find the amount of water plaintiff is entitled to, the evidence and your finding must conform to the above [505]*505manner of measurements, and if the evidence does not, it is only speculative and uncertain.” This .clause was stricken out and the instruction as thus modified was given. The striking out of said clause is assigned by appellants as error. In the same instruction the court had told the jury that in finding the quantity of water to which the plaintiff was entitled the same must be estimated according to the unit of measurement prescribed by statute. Language to the same effect had been used in the other instruction quoted above. So that the portion of the clause stricken out which related to the unit of measurement, by which the jury should estimate the quantity of water plaintiff was entitled to, was only a repetition of what had already been given. The other part of the clause stricken out relates to the weight which the jury should give to evidence. We think that was properly stricken out. The jury were the judges of the weight to be given to evidence. The capacity of plaintiff’s ditches and the dimensions of the head-gates were questions of controversy upon the trial. Some witnesses, after testifying as to their experience in measuring water for irrigating purposes, and their knowledge of the ditches in question, said they could state the capacity of said ditches from their knowledge of the same and their experience in measuring water, and such testimony was allowed Other witnesses testified to having measured the head-gates and examined the ditches for the purpose of estimating the capacity thereof, and stated to the jury the dimensions. The jury was then instructed as to the statutory unit of measurement which the jury should apply in estimating the plaintiff’s water right. The jury were the judges as to the weight of the testimony, and we think the clause in said instruction was properly stricken out, for the reason that all that it properly expressed had already been given, and that it contained expressions as to the weight due to evidence, in the estimation of the jury, which was improper.

Appellants assign two other points wherein they allege the court erred in refusing to give certain instructions asked for on their behalf, relating to the measure, and manner of estimating, damages resulting from diverting and depriving plaintiff of the water to which he claimed title. By a careful review of the instructions given, we find that the court embodied in the [506]*506instructions given substantially all of the unobjectionable portions of the instructions mentioned -which appellants proffered, and which were by the court refused.

Passing from assignments of error in relation to the giving, and refusing to give, instructions to the jury, we find that all other specifications set forth in the record relate to “particulars in which the evidence is insufficient to justify the verdict.” (§ 298, Code Civ. Proc.) These latter specifications assert in effect the propositions which will be treated in the order stated, as follows: —

1. That the evidence introduced on the part of plaintiff as to the capacity of his ditches was too uncertain to justify the finding of the jury in that respect; and that the evidence introduced on the part of the defendants as to the capacity of plaintiff’s ditches “was certain and definite.” A study of the evidence presented by the record shows that witnesses for the respective parties had made examinations and measurements of the plaintiff’s ditches and head-gates, and stated to the jury the dimensions and capacity thereof.

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Bluebook (online)
10 Mont. 500, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/carron-v-wood-mont-1891.