Cole v. Kinch

1928 OK 518, 272 P. 1017, 134 Okla. 262, 1928 Okla. LEXIS 857
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedSeptember 11, 1928
Docket18315
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 1928 OK 518 (Cole v. Kinch) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cole v. Kinch, 1928 OK 518, 272 P. 1017, 134 Okla. 262, 1928 Okla. LEXIS 857 (Okla. 1928).

Opinion

RILEY, J.

Mattie M. Kinch, administra-trix of the estate of Joseph Kinch, deceased, and Mattie M. Kinch in her own proper person recovered a judgment against W. J. Cole, based upon a promissory note in the sum of $2,500, from which judgment Cole appeals.

Joseph Kinch in his lifetime loaned Cole six United States Liberty Bonds of the par value of $3,000, for the purpose of permitting Cole to pledge them, as security for a promissory note in the sum of $2,500 with E. T. Creegan, guardian of William McKinley Clayton, a minor. Cole executed and delivered a note to said Grteegan as such guardian in said amount and pledged therewith said bonds. Kinch died testate, willing all his property to his wife, Mattie M. Kinch, plaintiff, and W. H. Odell succeeded Creegan as guardian of William McKinley Clayton, minor. The Cole note matured without payment, and in order to redeem, the bonds pledged, Mrs. Kinch paid the Col'e note and secured the pledged bonds; likewise the Cole note was transferred to h’er by indorsement from Odell, guardian, “without recourse,” and plaintiff below commenced this action against Cole and one S. J. Smith, who subsequent to execution and delivery of the note sued upon, as well as the execution of the pledge, had indorsed the note: “Payment guaranteed, S. J. Smith.” Judgment was rendered in favor of Smith, from which plaintiff appealed. That matter is considered separately. In the matter at bar, two assignments of error are strenuously urged, to wit:

(1) That the state, tax had not been paid on the note, and it was, therefore, not competent evidence of the indebtedness, and that the court erred in permitting its introduction as evidence over objection;. and

(2) That the guardian to whom the note was payable assigned it to Mrs. Kinch, who paid the note without authority of the county court, and she, therefore, was not the lawful owner of the note and had no right of action on it.

As to the first ground urged, wej find that no specific objection was made to the introduction of the note on the ground of nonpayment of the state tax, and the only objections made were: (1) That the guar--dian had transferred the note without authority; and (2) that the petition did not state a cause of action.

“Simply objecting to the admissibility of evidence without assigning the statutory grounds named in section 5070, R. L. 1910, or any other ground of objection, is not such objection as will cause this court to review the action of the trial court in overruling the purported objection.” Bishop-Babcock-Becker Co. v. Estes Drug Co., 63 Okla. 117, 163 Pac. 276.

The better and safer practice is to point out the species of objection relied upon.

Perhaps the statutory objection mentioned would have been sufficient, i. e., that the evidence offered was “immaterial, irrelevant and incompetent,” in the event no' further inquiry had been made, but here the defendant particularized and his particularization was not upon the grounds here presented, for counsel said: “I object to the introduction of the note in evidence — the record shows that the plaintiff is not the owner of the note and is not 'entitled to maintain an action upon same.” (O.-M. p. 30.) And in, addition thereto, counsel urged the ground that the petition did not state a cause of action, and moved for a directed Verdict at the close of plaintiff’s evidence. (C.-M. p. 36.) There was no defense set up in the pleadings on the ground that the tax had not been paid.

We hold that defendant’s objection to the introduction of the note was not sufficient to raise the question of its. competency for the reason of nonpayment of tax as provided by section 9613, C. O. S. 1921. Objections to evidence must be specific. Fender v. Segro, 41 Okla. 318, 137 Pac. 103. Let us turn to cases upon the subject:

Wommer v. Wommer, Adm’x, 91 Okla. 79, 216 Pac. 150, wherein the objection to the Introduction of the note in evidence was that the same was “irrelevant, immaterial and incompetent”; that objection was sufficient to raise the question. No such objection was made herein.

Harrell v. Suter, 100 Okla. 56, 227 Pac. 404, is based upon the rule in the Wcmmer Case, supra, and tó be properly bas'ed thereon, the objections must have been specific. However, that opinion extends the rule in th'ese words:

“We also thing the Act of March 10. 1917, should be applied to the pleadings, and since a copy of the note, .as above described, was *264 made a part of th'e petition, the demurrer interposed by the defendants should have been sustained, and ithe court committed error in overruling the demurrer offered (and in allowing the note to be introduced as evidence).”

Such extension of the rule to the pleadings will not be followed, for the reasons herein set out.

Maupin v. Binion, 100 Okla. 32, 227 Pac. 391, cited, does not help defendant, for there the cause was affirmed upon evidence independent of the written guaranty to which objection was made under section 9613, supra.

In Cockrell v. Martin, 124 Okla. 284, 255 Pac. 1105, where specific objections were urged, it was said:

“The court refused to permit the defendant to make inquiry on cross-examination of the plaintiff as to whether she had caused the tax to be paid on said notes as required by the provisions of section 9608, supra.”

AVe adhere to the rule that such action on the part of the court was error. AVe follow that case to th'e extent that in view of specific objections being made, the question being so raised, and the fact that the notes showed upon their face that th'ey were incompetent, the court should have excluded the notes as evidence.

We call attention to the case of Jones v. First Nat. Bank of Oktaha, 102 Okla. 185, 228 Pac. 992, where specific objections were made to the introduction of a note on the ground of nonpayment of taxes thereon, whereupon the holder of the note paid the tax to the county treasurer, and the court then permitted the notes to be introduced in evidence, and this court h'eld the notes admissible, although the. tax thereon was paid after commencement of the trial. Such being the rule in September, 1924, it follows that the earlier extension of the rule to the pleadings must fail.

“A party cannot try his case in the trial court on one theory, and then ask a reversal of the judgment in this court on a theory not presented to the trial court or raised by the pleadings.” Bouton v. Carson, 51 Okla. 579, 152 Pac. 131; Wallace v. Blassingame, 53 Okla. 198, 155 Pac. 1143; Primous v. Wertz, 65 Okla. 7, 162 Pac. 481; Board of Commissioners of Pottawatomie County v. Henderson, 66 Okla. 282, 168 Pac. 1007; Edwards v. Phillips, 70 Okla. 9, 172 Pac. 946.

It would be injustice to permit a litigant to be lulled into a sense of security by a subtle and crafty objection and thereafter destroyed. As in the Maupin Case, supra, even though the objection be specific, the plaintiff may prevail by r'eason of other evidence than by the note; as in the Jones Case, supra, where specific objections are made, th'e plaintiff may thereupon pay the tax and proceed to introduce the note.

Considering that the note was not admissible for the reason now.cited, i.

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Bluebook (online)
1928 OK 518, 272 P. 1017, 134 Okla. 262, 1928 Okla. LEXIS 857, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cole-v-kinch-okla-1928.